Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Endurance

I've just finished reading "Even Silence Has an End" by Ingrid Betancourt.  She was the Columbian politician captured by FARC rebels and held in the jungles of S. America for six years.  It's almost impossible to imagine her existence in the dreadful conditions of capture, cruelty and the uncertainty of her fate.  Nonetheless in true political fashion there are other books stating that she was selfish, uncaring, and not as compliant as she states.

Last night I watched a film called "Alive" which is an account of the Uruguayan rugby team, who crashed into the Andes range on Friday, October 13th, 1972.  The 14 survivors of the crash survived by eating the dead bodies of their colleagues.  Two men managed to walk 40 miles over incredible terrain to reach help and get the others out.  I remember the scandal that erupted when their "canabilism" came out.  But today all of the survivors are still living and have no regrets.  The Catholic Church also gave them their blessing.  Coupled with the recent miners escape from the mine in Chile, it is testament to how people can endure the most horrendous circumstances.  It is quite a coincidence that these three situations all occured in S. America.

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