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Diary tells of Dutch woman's life as Colombian guerrilla
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| LatinLover |
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- The army stumbled on the handwritten diary during a raid on a guerrilla camp. It lay near the embers of a communal kitchen where fleeing rebels left their breakfast untouched.
"I'm tired, tired of the FARC, tired of the people, tired of communal living. Tired of never having anything for myself," wrote the author, a 29-year-old Dutch woman.
Colombia's government couldn't have hoped for better propaganda against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. It leaked excerpts from the diary found last June to the media, even making available an English translation of the Dutch entries.
The first known person from outside Latin America to join the region's largest rebel army wasn't just disillusioned. Like most FARC foot soldiers, Tanja Nijmeijer apparently wasn't permitted to leave.
"This would be worth it if I knew I was fighting for something. But I don't really believe that anymore," she wrote on November 24, 2006, according to the excerpts released by the government.
What exactly impelled Nijmeijer, a child of Europe's bourgeoisie, to take a journey from peace activist to guerrilla fighter remains largely a mystery -- even to people who knew her well before she joined the FARC in early 2003.
More than a dozen friends, former colleagues and fellow peace activists interviewed by The Associated Press described a young woman deeply disturbed by social inequalities and guilt-ridden over her privileged life. Nijmeijer's family refused to discuss her plight, saying doing so could endanger her life.
Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos, meanwhile, was happy to use the case to counter "guerrilla chic" in Europe, where the FARC -- classified a terrorist group by both the United States and the European Union -- has a small but determined group of supporters who run pro-rebel Web sites.
In the diary, Nijmeijer abhors the strict discipline imposed by FARC's male commanders -- no smoking, no phone calls, no romantic relationships without their consent. She says the rank and file are hungry and bored, and describes FARC leaders as both materialistic and corrupt.
"How will it be when we take power? The wives of the commanders in Ferrari Testa Rossas with breast implants eating caviar?" she writes.
Santos told AP that the Nijmeijer case should help rid foreign leftists of the notion that the FARC is heroic.
"In certain circles in Europe, there still exists the romantic image of the guerrillas as Robin Hood, or Che Guevara, fighting the bad guys for the benefit of the poor," he said. "Nijmeijer fell into this trap."
Nijmeijer wrote her thesis on the FARC at the University of Groningen in her homeland, then traveled to Colombia in 2000 on a work-exchange program.
She taught English to well-heeled children at a private school in the western city of Pereira, winning praise from fellow teachers for professionalism and a gentle classroom demeanor.
She also volunteered almost daily in a poor shantytown near Pereira.
"Colombia was the turning point," said a college friend from Holland who worked with Nijmeijer in Colombia. "She was so shocked by the gap between the rich and poor and was determined to do something about it."
What prompted Nijmeijer to join the FARC remains unclear.
"In February 2003 she sent an e-mail saying she was going to the jungle to teach indigenous people and couldn't be reached by phone or e-mail. I had my doubts, but no firm evidence she ran off to join the rebels," said the friend from Holland, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid causing problems with Nijmeijer's family by violating their wish for privacy.
Nijmeijer's parents, in a brief statement to Dutch media, said a faxed letter arrived in 2003 that "made it clear" their daughter had joined the FARC. They said the mother visited her daughter in a jungle camp but couldn't woo her back home: "Tanja's mind was not to be changed."
"By joining the FARC, she has gone extremely far in her idealism," the parents said. "The family has the strong impression that she has been influenced badly by certain contacts."
Dutch diplomats in Bogota would not discuss the case, citing the family's desire for privacy.
Snapshots of Nijmeijer's family vacationing in Turkey -- without her -- were stored in a laptop found by soldiers during the June 18 raid that yielded her diary.
Also on the computer, shown to AP by military intelligence officers, is a photo of Nijmeijer holding what appears to be a rifle. Other files contain instructions on how to build bomb detonators with cell phones.
Nijmeijer has not been heard from since the diaries were found, which would not be unusual given the FARC's status as a clandestine rebel army. Former FARC members say they believe that whatever privileges Nijmeijer had, such as e-mail, have certainly now been rescinded.
Felipe Salazar, who quit the rebels last year, said Nijmeijer likely was punished for indirectly aiding the enemy -- forced to build trenches or demoted to cooking duty -- but not killed. He said Nijmeijer's only hope of being reunited with her family probably would be to embark on a risky escape.
But FARC spokesman Raul Reyes disputed that view during a recent interview with the Dutch network TV Nova, although he gave no details about Nijmeijer's location or health.
He said Nijmeijer was more than welcome to go on holiday with her family. "If she needs a month, then fine."
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| George Smiley |
| Wow did you write all that yourself?! |
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| LatinLover |
Ok... What If I have nothing to say? :rolleyes: |
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| Krypton |
| quote: | Originally posted by LatinLover
Ok... What If I have nothing to say? :rolleyes: |
Then don't post. If I wanted to read the news, I'de go to CNN...:rolleyes: :rolleyes:
I think your too scared of being flamed again, so you don't post anymore debased opinions. Every thread in which Opus totally slammed your crackpot minority "far right" views, you scurried away like a dog that just got whipped never to reply again. This thread will probably be no different..:haha: |
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| LatinLover |
| quote: | Originally posted by Krypton
Then don't post. If I wanted to read the news, I'de go to CNN...:rolleyes: :rolleyes:
I think your too scared of being flamed again, so you don't post anymore debased opinions. Every thread in which Opus totally slammed your crackpot minority "far right" views, you scurried away like a dog that just got whipped never to reply again. This thread will probably be no different..:haha: |
:haha: :haha: Opus slammed me? :haha: Buddy I dont know if you recall right but I have said many times, just go back to other threads, that I wont debate people that dont deserve the honor. Do you actually think I try hard around here? :rolleyes: Do you actually think I take time to reply to people? :stongue:
If Opus wants or anyone here want to debate me they know what they have to do. |
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| Krypton |
| quote: | Originally posted by LatinLover
:haha: :haha: Opus slammed me? :haha: Buddy I dont know if you recall right but I have said many times, just go back to other threads, that I wont debate people that dont deserve the honor. Do you actually think I try hard around here? :rolleyes: Do you actually think I take time to reply to people? :stongue:
If Opus wants or anyone here want to debate me they know what they have to do. |
...:rolleyes:
Opus used facts, WITH sources, even linked, to support his arguments. You have refused to use the same supporting evidence. You don't debate people because you can't. You really have to be dumb to respond a coherent and supported argument with "You don't deserve the honor." As if you are the standard for honor...:haha: Maybe I'de give two s about your opinion if you SUPPORTED them with evidence. You and Chrles are practically the ONLY two who refuse to do that. So will the pattern continue? You post stupid unsupported bull, we flame the out you, you scurry to start yet more dumbass threads? Or can we have an intelligent conversation where our both sides of an issue have some supporting evidence.
:stongue:
Wait, you're going to say "I'm too intelligent to post evidence and debate you people!" :clown:
Right? |
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| Magnetonium |
Well, that lady expected a paradise style livin' with guerillas ... any resistance movements are hard to live under. After 3 years and counting, she is losing faith. And its not that difficult to see that Colombian resistance is very shady. Their ranks were long ago infiltrated by the greedy and radical fighters who have lost their morals and true causes for fighting. They fail to win the support of the public, as they fail to even treat their own fighters with proper respect. |
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