Boktips: Även tystnaden har ett slut

Even silence has an end is Ingrid Betancourt's account of her time in the hands of the FARC guerrillas. For six years, the French-Colombian politician was a prisoner in the Colombian jungle. This is a book that kept me hooked from the first page to the last.

Table of contents

Even silence has an end by Ingrid Betancourt

Holidays = reading time. The first book I picked up while travelling wasEven silence has an end of Ingrid Betancourt. Many people remember the release of the French-Colombian politician a few years ago. Here she describes her six years in the Colombian jungle at the mercy of the FARC guerrillas.

This is a book about suffering, yes, but it is more than that. This is also a story about how to develop as a human being, even under very scarce conditions.

Everyday life of FARC guerrillas

Ingrid is a skilful storyteller, and in the Even silence has an end she takes you on a journey through the daily life of the FARC guerrillas. You are fascinated by these girls and boys, often very young, who good-naturedly accept the meagre living conditions assigned to them.

These young people are prepared to work hard without complaining, to laugh and dance when the opportunity arises, and sometimes to show honest and human goodwill. But these are also young people who, often without question, can repeat mantras such as "Human rights are a bourgeois concept".

Hierarchical organisation

FARC is a hierarchical organisation where you have to "apply" for most things and where women have a subordinate role. Often it seems that they themselves stand for the very thing they are fighting against. You are very happy that you don't have to be there for real, but being there through the book provides experiences and insights well worth the time. I was completely hooked!