health condition of the hostages a surprise

Lisa Zee says on Jul 6, 2008, 20:11:

I was wondering the same thing.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

SUERTE GRINGO says on Jul 6, 2008, 20:15:

Former hostage Luis Perez stated that conditions in the jungle were not too bad. I would imagine all the fresh fruit does a body good over greasy deep fried chicken every day. All that walking doesn't hurt either. The Farc members aren't dropping dead from any infectious diseases out there in the jungle, unless you want to call Uribe a parasite.

“If you're gonna eat your crackers in bed, you're gonna have to sleep with crumbs."

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lisa Zee says on Jul 6, 2008, 20:22:

LOL, I am sorry to laugh but it sound funny, terrible!. I would not survive 3 days!, I dislike hummed sticky weather, mosquitoes, bugs, sleeping in hummocks, floor, latrines, pooping in a hole , ground, not bathing, or bathing In a river with clothes on, how about when it is that time of the month?! and CHAINED?!!!! I`LL TAKE BACK, I would last 2 days!

But maybe the FARC runs a hotel better than the Hiatt or Hilton, and Ingrid is just lying!?

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Desideria (Moderator) says on Jul 6, 2008, 20:28:

I don't think it was Ingrid herself who was reporting on her health from the FARC jungle concentratation camp. So, if the stories of her unhealth were untrue she's hardly the one to put the blame on.

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lisa Zee says on Jul 6, 2008, 20:33:

Es un chiste Desi, you know I love ingrid.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Desideria (Moderator) says on Jul 6, 2008, 20:39:

I know, Lisa, my comment was meant dor everybody who may have doubts about her state of health.

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jul 6, 2008, 22:29:

Cities are not exactly the healthiest environments to live in...

Hoy se nota en la floresta un ambiente de alegría. ¡Y el rumor de ranchería es mas dulce y sabe a fiesta!

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Catfish35 says on Jul 6, 2008, 22:47:

I say I must agree that for being chained to a tree and having all the trials and tribulations of jungle captivity they did look a little snappy. That Stansell (gringo) guy actually looks better than before he was caught...Maybe I should head back over to Angostura and stash a few hundred Euros in my Tommy Bahama shirt pocket and hang a cheap camera from my neck to see if I can lose this beer belly and brush up on my spanish in the jungle a few years. God knows its gotta be better than sitting her in the USA watching three restaurants you have worked and owned go down the toilet with everything else here...in the economy!

"So many guns, and so few brains". sam spade

0 funny, 0 helpful.

latingirl says on Jul 7, 2008, 00:52:

so they where really chained up to trees for the most part of thier captivity??

0 funny, 0 helpful.

miamimike says on Jul 7, 2008, 02:12:

LGirl--not sure of what paper you were reading but the Hostages certainly didn't escape disease free from years in Captivity. The Miami Herald reports this yesterday:

"JUNGLE WARFARE

But fighting the FARC on cattle-ranching land close to the town is another matter than fighting them deep inside the triple-canopy rain forest that covers most of the province.

''Any combat gets decided in the first five minutes,'' said Colombian Army Maj. Ricardo Lozano, head of an anti-guerrilla battalion. ``You can't see more than 30 meters. You can't pursue them. You can't go more than 3-6 kilometers a day in those conditions. When it's raining you are often walking knee-deep in water. The trees are huge, there is no light.''

And FARC's 1st Front, which operates in the area and was the guerrilla unit responsible for guarding the hostages, are experts in mines and IEDs, the major said. The guerrillas claim to have about 70 fronts, but some of them are really small or defunct. In Guaviare, four main fronts operate -- the 1st, the 7th, the 27th and the 44th.

The jungle terrain here is brutal. After 5 p.m., the jungle air is thick with clouds of mosquitoes, and Lozano's skin is covered in bites. He estimates that in a four-month tour of duty, 15 out of every 100 of his troops will be hit by leishmaniasis, a skin-eating disease transmitted by flies.

Leishmaniasis is an even bigger problem for the guerrillas and their hostages.

The army heavily restricts the supply of the treatment drug glucantime so that the guerrillas can not easily get hold of it. Two of the three Americans freed Wednesday are suffering from the disease, according to U.S. Ambassador to Colombia William Brownfield."

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Mononoke28 says on Jul 7, 2008, 08:54:

From what the hostages said, they received medical attention from time to time. Not very high tech of course, but they needed these people in stable physical condition so they could walk from one camp to the next. It makes sense to me.

Diana

0 funny, 0 helpful.

morphus says on Jul 7, 2008, 09:01:

Yeah...fresh air, walking, a little food and some antibiotics...what more did they need?

0 funny, 0 helpful.

morphus says on Jul 7, 2008, 09:05:

I'm sure that Betancourt did'nt like squatting down to make doo doo and wiping with leaves. That was probably the most traumatic of all for her snooty ass...LOL

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Sam Salmon says on Jul 7, 2008, 09:21:

Betancourt has said that after the release of the video that showed her looking quite poorly she was given multivitamins and calcium supplements.

To me the hostages don't look all that great-underneath the darkened skin one can see strain and anguish-these people's lives have been torn apart.

A limited diet might have kept excess weight off Yes and walking is good exercise but that doesn't mean they don't have physical problems, the 'clean bill of health' means little.

The happiness on the faces will pass but viral infections last sometimes for years, the psychological scars will never heal.

' a la orden!'

0 funny, 0 helpful.

adrimm says on Jul 7, 2008, 18:27:

I'm with suerte.. It's a camp - akin to a small village - in the jungle.

With respect to wild animals: I think it is perfectly reasonable that they (Farc) knew the area well enough to watch out for dangerous wildlife.

With respect to nutrition & medicines: I really don't believe that they were as cut off as some might think they were - Ingrid mentioned "yet another delegation coming", between that and the "proof of life" that periodically emerged I think it is safe to say that Farc had supplies coming in for themselves and the hostages - keep in mind they needed these hostages alive.

Also the jungle is so incredibly rich I have no doubt that much of their food (fish, fruits, starches) could have come from the jungle and been far healthier than the processed crap we call nutrition.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lisa Zee says on Jul 7, 2008, 19:35:

"I'm sure that Betancourt did'nt like squatting down to make doo doo and wiping with leaves. That was probably the most traumatic of all for her snooty ass...LOL"

How would you like, if it was you, wiping with leaves for 6 years, 4 months??????????????????????????

0 funny, 0 helpful.

morphus says on Jul 8, 2008, 04:15:

It would'nt be the worse thing. Actually, squatting down is more healthy than sitting on a shit box. I'm just guessing anyway. Maybe FARC supplies toilet paper.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

dwmte7 says on Jul 8, 2008, 05:50:

morph...i hope it aint' that 'sandpaper' they use in rural colombia....ouch.

dwmte

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Mononoke28 says on Jul 8, 2008, 09:14:

You're right morphus. That's why they still have those squatting stalls in India and Morocco, because it's healthier. I'm not saying I'm all for that but my friends from Morocco and India say that it's better for you. =P

Diana

0 funny, 0 helpful.

morphus says on Jul 8, 2008, 09:17:

It prevents back up. They also squat down when giving birth.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Mr. Hollywood says on Jul 8, 2008, 09:28:

It's not the leaves that are the problem, it's the stinging ants on the leaves that make wiping such a pain.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

dwmte7 says on Jul 8, 2008, 13:18:

mononoke....lived and worked in the middle east and north and central africa for years and years and am far too familiar with the 'stoop and squat' format of dumping. it works great, helps you bear down and eliminate. just don't want to shit on your shoe.

dwmte

0 funny, 0 helpful.

dwmte7 says on Jul 8, 2008, 13:23:

capn jack...re your observation about the ants. a short story.

i had a home and store in palm springs ca for a number of years and on the way in to town by the aerial tramway, there are some hot springs. a friend of mine had gone up there to drink some beer, get high and just hang out. he was sitting up on the bluffs and sees to gals swimming in the nude below. he's not noticed. then, out of the brush by the girls, comes this freak who tries to rape one of them....

well, my buddy, jumps down the rocks trounces the dude and near kills him and finally runs him off.

to thank him, one of the gals offers a little nookie. they get in position, he atop her, and begins to go inside her, when....a giant desert ant bites him right on the tip of his dick. he said it was the most painful thing he ever experienced in his life. within minutes it was swollen like a hard ball.

talk about anti climax... yeah, gotta watch out for the ants.

dwmte

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Mononoke28 says on Jul 8, 2008, 13:47:

dwmte7,

They also told me about the pitcher and/or hoses each stall has to clean the crap out of the hole. PUKE! =X

Diana

0 funny, 0 helpful.