Read Online News of a Kidnapping by Gabriel García Márquez, Edith Grossman - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Gabriel García Márquez, Edith Grossman
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first one the prisoners saw, on the following Wednesday, was the program aired by Alexandra on her return from La Guajira.Jaime Gaviria, a psychiatrist, a colleague of Beatriz’s husband, and an old friend of the family, broadcast a series of instructions for maintaining one’s spirit in confined spaces.Maruja and Beatriz knew Dr. Gaviria, understood the purpose of the program, and took careful note of his instructions.
This was the first in an eight-program series produced by Alexandra and based on a long conversation with Dr. Gaviria on the psychology of hostages. Her primary consideration was to select topics that Maruja and Beatriz would find interesting and to conceal personal messagesthat only they would understand. Then Alexandra decided that each week she would have a guest who was prepared to answer preselected questions that would stimulate immediate associations in the captives. The surprise was that many viewers who knew nothing about her plan could at least tell that something else was hidden behind the apparent innocence of the questions.
Not far away—in the samecity—Francisco Santos lived in his captive’s room under conditions as miserable as Maruja’s and Beatriz’s, but not as harsh. One explanation is that in addition to the political usefulness of their abduction, there may also have been a desire for revenge as far as the women were concerned. And it is almost certain that their guards and Pacho’s belonged to two different crews. Though it may have beenonly for reasons of security, the crews acted on their own and did not communicate with each other. But even so, there were incomprehensible differences. Pacho’s guards were more informal, more autonomous and accommodating, and less concerned with hiding their identities. The worst difficulty for Pacho was having to sleep shackled to the bars of the bed with a metal chain that was wrapped to preventskin abrasions. The worst for Maruja and Beatriz was not even having a bed to be chained to.
From the very beginning of his captivity, Pacho was givennewspapers every day. In general, the press reports on his kidnapping were so inaccurate and fanciful they made his captors double over with laughter. His schedule had already been established when Maruja and Beatriz were abducted. He would stayawake all night and go to sleep at about eleven in the morning. He watched television, alone or with his guards, or chatted with them about the news of the day, soccer games in particular. He read until he got bored, yet still had enough nervous energy to play cards or chess. His bed was comfortable, and he slept well from the first night until he developed a painful rash and a burning in his eyes,which cleared up when the cotton blankets were washed and the room given a thorough cleaning. They never worried about anyone seeing the light from the outside because the windows were boarded over.
In October an unexpected hope presented itself: Pacho was ordered to send proof to his family that he was alive. He had to make a supreme effort to maintain his self-control. He asked for black coffeeand two packs of cigarettes, and began to compose a message straight from the heart, not changing a comma. He recorded it onto a minicassette, which couriers preferred over full-size tapes because they were easier to conceal. Pacho spoke as slowly as he could and tried to keep his voice calm and to adopt an attitude that would not reveal the dark shadows in his spirit. He concluded by readingaloud the headlines in that day’s
El Tiempo
as proof of the date on which he taped the message. He felt satisfied, above all with the first sentence: “Everyone who knows me knows how difficult this message is for me.” Yet when the heat of the moment had passed and he read it in published form, Pacho had the impression that with the last sentence he had put the noose around his own neck: He askedthe president to do everything he could to free the journalists. “But,” he warned,
This was the first in an eight-program series produced by Alexandra and based on a long conversation with Dr. Gaviria on the psychology of hostages. Her primary consideration was to select topics that Maruja and Beatriz would find interesting and to conceal personal messagesthat only they would understand. Then Alexandra decided that each week she would have a guest who was prepared to answer preselected questions that would stimulate immediate associations in the captives. The surprise was that many viewers who knew nothing about her plan could at least tell that something else was hidden behind the apparent innocence of the questions.
Not far away—in the samecity—Francisco Santos lived in his captive’s room under conditions as miserable as Maruja’s and Beatriz’s, but not as harsh. One explanation is that in addition to the political usefulness of their abduction, there may also have been a desire for revenge as far as the women were concerned. And it is almost certain that their guards and Pacho’s belonged to two different crews. Though it may have beenonly for reasons of security, the crews acted on their own and did not communicate with each other. But even so, there were incomprehensible differences. Pacho’s guards were more informal, more autonomous and accommodating, and less concerned with hiding their identities. The worst difficulty for Pacho was having to sleep shackled to the bars of the bed with a metal chain that was wrapped to preventskin abrasions. The worst for Maruja and Beatriz was not even having a bed to be chained to.
From the very beginning of his captivity, Pacho was givennewspapers every day. In general, the press reports on his kidnapping were so inaccurate and fanciful they made his captors double over with laughter. His schedule had already been established when Maruja and Beatriz were abducted. He would stayawake all night and go to sleep at about eleven in the morning. He watched television, alone or with his guards, or chatted with them about the news of the day, soccer games in particular. He read until he got bored, yet still had enough nervous energy to play cards or chess. His bed was comfortable, and he slept well from the first night until he developed a painful rash and a burning in his eyes,which cleared up when the cotton blankets were washed and the room given a thorough cleaning. They never worried about anyone seeing the light from the outside because the windows were boarded over.
In October an unexpected hope presented itself: Pacho was ordered to send proof to his family that he was alive. He had to make a supreme effort to maintain his self-control. He asked for black coffeeand two packs of cigarettes, and began to compose a message straight from the heart, not changing a comma. He recorded it onto a minicassette, which couriers preferred over full-size tapes because they were easier to conceal. Pacho spoke as slowly as he could and tried to keep his voice calm and to adopt an attitude that would not reveal the dark shadows in his spirit. He concluded by readingaloud the headlines in that day’s
El Tiempo
as proof of the date on which he taped the message. He felt satisfied, above all with the first sentence: “Everyone who knows me knows how difficult this message is for me.” Yet when the heat of the moment had passed and he read it in published form, Pacho had the impression that with the last sentence he had put the noose around his own neck: He askedthe president to do everything he could to free the journalists. “But,” he warned,
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