Consultant Dan
01 April 2011
Ingrid Betancourt to visit Australia
It was announced today that the next Green Oration will be given by Ingrid Betancourt, the former Columbian Senator who was held hostage by FARC terrorists for 6 years. I have just bought my ticket.
The Green Oration is a lecture series instigated by Bob Brown. It brings green luminaries ‘home’ to Hobart, which was the birthplace of the world’s first green party (the UTG, in 1972).
Ingrid Betancourt is a hero of mine. Below is a post from my old blog, that I published on 3 July 2008, when Ingrid Betancourt was released from captivity.
What wonderful news that the great and lovely Ingrid Betancourt is free from her FARC hell-hole today!
Like many Greens, I met Ingrid at the Global Greens conference in Canberra in 2001. She came over with Partido Verde Oxigeno Secretary-General Eduardo Chavez and Carlos Fonseca.
We had a good contingent of Greens from countries with constant political unrest and the picture of political harassment and violence was awful. Even local Government Greens in Mexico had body-guards, so it was no surprise to learn that Senator Betancourt had up to a dozen in her security detail at various times.
I worked in the Global Greens media unit, helping the most interesting of the international Greens – including Kenya’s Wangari Maathai and Die Grunen Secretary General Reinhard Beutikofer – do their media work.
At that time Ingrid was a Senator in Columbia, who almost nobody from the Australian domestic or foreign media corps had heard of. But she stole the show every time she opened her mouth in a joint party press conference.
Finally we had to organise a press conference just for Ingrid to talk about her life, something I have never attended before or since for a Green, indeed for any politician. It was also unique how the media responded to her. I have never seen a crowd of working media so respectful, concerned and serious in their questioning of a politician.
After establishing just how principled and at-risk Ingrid was and getting a picture of her family and personal history, the questions inevitably came to her softest point – her children. They asked how she could impose this danger and potential tragedy on her children. Even though her children had been shuttled between safe houses in at least two countries and were presumably beyond the tentacles of Ingrid’s opponents, there was no way she could protect them from worry and in the event of the unthinkable, irreparable loss.
Ingrid was silent and the room held its breath. She quietly explained that it had made them spiritually stronger, but it was so clear how torn she was between following her principles and wanting to protect her children.
Later we bundled into a taxi for the conference dinner at Parliament and Ingrid was just one of us again. She laughed and dined with us all, happily enjoying a freedom from danger, knowing that she intended to go back into the firing line soon.
Ingrid treated all us service providers and underlings with complete respect and sincerity. Our thoughts and prayers were with her all these years.
Like green activists in many countries around the world, including Wangari Maathai in Kenya or Ken Saro-Wiwa in Nigeria, Ingrid put her life on the line. She took green values and politics to a level of commitment that is, in her words, spiritual.
Welcome home, Ingrid Betancourt.
POSTSCRIPT
Ingrid is also speaking in Sydney, doing at 3 events during the Sydney Writers Festival. My pick would be the Family Politics session.
Melbourne get to hear Ingrid at the Wheeler Centre.
Bill, the Wheeler Centre puts video on their site from all their talks I think. I bet this one will be there because Ingrid’s is such a big event.
From what you say I think you will find lots of things there that resonate with your values. http://wheelercentre.com/videos
You should ask the organizers of the Green Oration if they will make video available. It is a great idea! http://greenoration.com.au/?page_id=96
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Great to learn that the wonderful, strong, so human Ms Betancourt will speak in Australia. I so wish she could also speak in WA.Will her talks in the other Australian cities be webcast or somehow made available online for those who cannot attend?