Ingrid Betancourt: What six years in captivity taught me about fear and faith
Ingrid Betancourt: O que seis anos de cativeiro me ensinaram sobre o medo e a fé
Ingrid Betancourt was a presidential candidate in Colombia in 2002 when she was kidnapped by guerilla rebels. After six years in captivity and a high-profile rescue, she now writes about what she learned about fear, forgiveness and the divine. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
I'd climb the highest tree,
any temperature."
Colombian politics,
na Colômbia,
to withstand any temperature.
qualquer temperatura.
com a corrupção no país;
and drug traffickers.
out of the country one morning,
os meus filhos muito pequenos
do embaixador de França,
in the French ambassador's armored car.
but emerged unharmed.
mas saí ilesa.
with the highest number of votes.
com o maior número de votos.
because I was brave.
gostavam de mim por eu ser aguerrida.
candidate in Colombia
à presidência da Colômbia
o meu programa de campanha
by a group of armed men.
por um grupo de homens armados
with military garments.
usava botas de couro.
wore leather boots.
guerrilheiros das FARC.
everything happened very quickly.
muito rapidamente.
to stop the vehicle.
para parar o veículo,
stepped on an antipersonnel mine
pisava uma mina antipessoal
that the young man understood:
tinha caído mais longe.
because I'm reliving these emotions --
porque revivo as emoções —
that something inside of me was breaking
que qualquer coisa se quebrava em mim
with his fear.
pelo medo dele.
não conseguia pensar.
the deepest depths of the jungle,
no mais profundo da selva,
cheia de medo.
as insónias.
was what was happening to my mind,
de todos os telefones,
all the phone numbers,
significativos da minha vida.
to doubt my mental health.
da minha saúde mental.
chegou a depressão.
behavioral changes
de comportamento
in moments of panic.
em momentos de pânico.
chained by the neck to a tree.
pelo pescoço a uma árvore.
exposta às intempéries,
to use the bathroom.
de ir à casa de banho.
tomei a decisão
a procurar a forma,
the right moment, the right way to do it,
numa via de crescimento.
when I talk about all of this,
quando falo de tudo isto
que dei para lá chegar.
três desses passos.
and mental block,
e do bloqueio mental,
that the guerrillas had built
que a guerrilha tinha construído
guns at us 24 hours a day.
apontando durante 24 horas.
acordaram assustados
in numbered sequence.
com números em sequência.
call me by my name."
chamem-me pelo meu nome".
to that of the other hostages,
dos meus companheiros
they would be punished.
por minha culpa, os castigassem.
to defend my identity,
de defender a minha identidade,
a thing or a number.
numa coisa, num número.
a dignidade humana.
muito bem analisado,
para nos dividir.
supportive trust,
confiança solidária,
while I was in the jungle.
enquanto estive na selva.
scorpions, anacondas ...
os escorpiões, as anacondas.
with a 24-foot long anaconda
de oito metros de comprimento
did us as much harm
they sparked betrayals,
for a long time was with Lucho.
for two years longer than I had.
de sequestro do que eu.
de nos amarrarmos com cordas.
to lower ourselves into that dark water
para nos metermos naquela água escura
we would hide in the mangroves.
metíamo-nos dentro de água
and let the current carry us.
levar pela corrente.
through that with Lucho,
vivido aquilo com Lucho,
juntos, unidos,
was so damaging to us
da guerrilha nos fizeram tanto mal
that I want to give to you.
how to develop faith.
a desenvolver a fé.
for more than eight years.
há mais de oito anos.
the biggest scaredy-cat of us all.
de todos nós.
— ele dizia "Pincho" —
de querer fugir.
a master's degree in escape attempts.
o mestrado em tentativas de fuga.
had to learn how to swim.
tinha que aprender a nadar.
all these preparations in total secrecy.
num segredo total.
had everything ready,
tínhamos tudo pronto,
one afternoon and said,
uma tarde e disse-me:
and I can't find the way out.
e não encontro a saída.
Ajuda-te na mesma".
choveu durante toda a noite.
com grande reboliço
and we started marching.
começámos a marchar.
that Pincho had died,
que Pincho tinha morrido
because they were torture for me.
e, obviamente, estava vivo.
que fez na rádio:
estão a ouvir-me.
that rescued me from the jungle."
que me tirou da selva",
o medo é contagioso
everything that we are --
tudo aquilo que somos
as nossas debilidades,
e de olhar mais além.
we have inside of us
que há em nós mesmos
raging around our boat.
em volta do nosso barco.
into the helicopter
nos tirou da selva,
as when they kidnapped me.
como quando me sequestraram.
amordaçado,
neste momento.
dividirem-nos a todos
referendum in Colombia;
pela paz na Colômbia,
between Mexico and the United States;
entre o México e os EUA,
of using fear politically
de utilização política do medo
e para nos recrutarem.
our principles, unity, faith.
da nossa condição humana
para sobreviver.
cada um de nós constrói
a nossa personalidade.
the first time I felt fear,
a primeira vez que senti medo
what to do with that fear.
o que fazer com esse medo.
until you reach the stars,
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ingrid Betancourt - Writer, peace advocateIngrid Betancourt was a presidential candidate in Colombia in 2002 when she was kidnapped by guerilla rebels. After six years in captivity and a high-profile rescue, she now writes about what she learned about fear, forgiveness and the divine.
Why you should listen
Born December 25, 1961, in Colombia, Ingrid Betancourt is a French-Colombian activist in the cause of freedom. She was a politician and presidential candidate in Colombia, celebrated for her determination to combat widespread corruption. In February 2002 she was taken hostage by the FARC, a communist guerrilla organization. For six and a half years, the FARC held her hostage in the Amazonian jungle. She was rescued on July 2, 2008.
Since her release, Betancourt has become a memoirist and fiction writer. Her first book, Even Silence Has Its End, which lyrically recounts her six years in the impenetrable jungle, was published in 2010. In 2016, she published a second work -- this time of fiction -- called The Blue Line, about the disappearances in Argentina during the Dirty War from 1976 to 1983.
Betancourt has received multiple international awards, including the French National Order of the Légion d’Honneur, the Spanish Prince of Asturias Prize of Concord, the Italian Prize Grinzane Cavour, and was nominated to the Nobel Peace Prize for her commitment to democratic values, freedom and tolerance.
Ingrid Betancourt | Speaker | TED.com