Emmanuel’s story has all the elements of a best-seller fiction novel. But it’s not. The story of this young Colombian, believed to be the youngest hostage ever held by an armed guerrilla group and the only one born in captivity, is actually a tragic account of a real-life drama that could have gone terribly wrong.
Back in June 2005 when a peasant brought a sick little boy to a rural medical clinic deep in the jungle of Colombia with fever, anemia, severe malnutrition, a serious skin disease and a broken arm, no one could have imagined the traumatic experience he had already been through.
Emmanuel -- alias “Juan David” -- was born in the middle of a fierce battle between leftist rebels and armed forces, according to one version published by a Colombian journalist. His mother: Clara Rojas, a former vice-
presidential candidate who was kidnapped in 2002 by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by the acronym in Spanish as the FARC. His father: an unidentified rebel.
His existence could have gone unnoticed if it wasn’t for the bizarre episode this past December in which three hostages were to be released by the FARC in a humanitarian mission brokered by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. An international commission of observers from seven countries would witness the release; among them was film director Oliver Stone. The hostages were former Congresswoman Consuelo Gonzalez, Clara Rojas and her young son, Emmanuel.
The deadline for the release of the hostages, scheduled for Dec. 30, came and went. Chavez accused Colombian authorities of sabotaging the release by not respecting a cease-fire. But the real bomb exploded when Colombian President Alvaro Uribe announced that the child who was to be released by the rebels was actually not in their possession, but rather in a foster home in Bogotá.
Under pressure from the rebels to return the boy they had handed over to him two and a half years ago for medical attention, the peasant who had taken the sick child to that rural clinic decided to contact authorities and confess the dramatic turn of events. The stunning revelation kept millions of people at bay, waiting to see if DNA tests confirmed that the little boy in foster care was in fact Emmanuel.
The positive results were a slap in the face to President Chavez, who had invested valuable political capital in the release of the hostages, and a blow to the credibility of the FARC, which claimed to be acting in good faith.
A few weeks later, Clara Rojas and Consuelo Gonzalez were released in a somewhat less-ceremonial event than was anticipated, and Rojas was reunited with the son she had not seen in more than two years.
So, Hugo Chavez thinks that because the FARC was kind enough to hand over Emmanuel’s mother and the congresswoman, it should no longer be considered a terrorist group, but rather an “insurgent force with a political cause.” Not so fast, said President Alvaro Uribe -- first it must stop acting like a terrorist group. And what does the FARC do in response? It kidnaps a group of tourists.
It is believed that the FARC is holding more than 700 hostages. The women released from captivity were just two of dozens of high-profile captives held by the FARC and other armed rebel groups. Among them: police officers, soldiers, businessmen and politicians. The most prominent is presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who was kidnapped together with Rojas, and three Americans who worked for the Department of Defense.
Even more tragic is the abduction of the most innocent and vulnerable members of society. In the past 12 years, more than 2,500 children were kidnapped in that country. According to Colombian authorities, in 2007 alone there were 74 children between the ages of 2 and 12 who were being held captive, 17 of them by the FARC. If no ransom money is turned over, some of those kids end up being incorporated into the rebel forces.
The reunion between Rojas and Emmanuel was an emotional moment and a happy ending to a dramatic story. But it’s a bittersweet reminder that there are many more happy endings waiting to happen. There are no heroes in this story, but rather victims who are caught in the middle of a dirty war with no end in sight.

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(Maria Elena Salinas is the author of “I AM MY FATHER’S DAUGHTER: LIVING A LIFE WITHOUT SECRETS.” Reach her at www
.mariaesalinas.com)
© 2008 by Maria Elena Salinas