Imminent release of boy born in captivity seen as Christmas Miracle

For Colombians the hours of December 27, 2007 could prove a Christmas Miracle come true. Among the three high-profile hostages held by Colombian rebels promised to be set free today is three-year-old Emmanuel. Born in captivity, Emmanuel is the son of Clara Rojas, an aide to former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt.

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“Everyone here is watching for the news on television and the Internet,” Bogotá Free Planet publisher Ernesto Pardo told Canada Free Press (CFP) this morning. “This little boy holds many hearts hostage.” There have been many false starts about the release of rebel-held hostages leading up to this dramatic event, but the latest news seems to be based on real substance and the work of people in seven different countries. “Colombian rebels pledged to hand over three hostages to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, including an aide to former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and the aide’s young son, a statement released yesterday said. (The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 19, 2007). Colombian President Alvaro Uribe sent a Christmas message to rebel-held hostages on Christmas Eve as the world waited for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to make good on its recent promise to release the three captives. “And I want to send a Christmas greeting to the hostages in the hope that they are released soon. And to the Colombians who run the risk of kidnapping—that they know that our government continues firmly in the fight against kidnapping so that what we have reduced so much doesn’t become active again. And this Christmas Day, I send a greeting to the families of the 750 hostages of the FARC, those who have disappeared in the last 10 years,” he said. The Colombian President expressed special wishes for Emmanuel. “I hope that this release brings the child Emmanuel, conceived in the womb of his kidnapped mother: Emmanuel who was born as a hostage, Emmanuel who continued as a hostage. The condition of Emmanuel has been worse than the conditions of children of slaves because in some moment of humanity, the children of slaves were born free. Emmanuel, the child of a kidnapped compatriot, was born kidnapped and remains kidnapped,” he said. Hopes of the public were further fanned with the Nov. 30 release of newly obtained videos of rebel-held hostages, among them three U.S. defense contractors and Betancourt—the first images in years providing evidence the captives may be alive. The videotapes, played at a news conference without sound, showed an extremely gaunt Ingrid Betancourt, a dual French national seized while campaigning for president in 2002, apparently chained and in front of a jungle backdrop. In the image, Betancourt has long hair and stares blankly at the ground. No images of her have been seen since 2003. Colombians, who have waited for the release of Emmanuel ever since word of his birth were leaked, celebrated the Birth of the original Emmanuel on December 25. In this largely Roman Catholic country, the coincidence of a release that would come about the same time as the Feast of the Innocents, is well noted. “The Massacre of the Innocents is an episode of infanticide by Herod the Great, attested to in the Gospel of Matthew 2:16-18. (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). “Matthew, who tells the story in connection with the birth of Jesus in Nazareth, relates that King Herod ordered the execution of all young male children in the Village of Bethlehem, so as to avoid the loss of his throne to a newborn “King of the Jews” whose birth had been announced to him by the Magi.” Meanwhile, free people everywhere await the news that an innocent little boy named Emmanuel will be set free today.