“I was discovering that the most precious gift someone can give us is time, because what gives time its value is death.”
Ingrid Betancourt“After six years without seeing one, I love just seeing a smile - every smile I see gives me hope.”
Ingrid Betancourt“We can't continue with a justice of vengeance. Peace will require us to accept a certain degree of impunity it's inevitable. ”
Ingrid Betancourt“I have to forget in order to find peace in my soul and be able to forgive.”
Ingrid Betancourt“Forgiveness is a very personal and intimate thing. Forgiveness is not something that you can speak for others because it includes not only your desire and will, your reflection and intellect, but also your emotions.”
Ingrid Betancourt“The only thing I've settled in my mind is that I want to forgive, and forgiveness comes with forgetting.”
Ingrid Betancourt“As a Colombian, the only way I can relate to my country is through suffering. I hope that my children and my grandchildren will relate to the beautiful country in a way that it is positive and loving.”
Ingrid Betancourt“We're humans. Why always turn human attitude into political behaviours? I hate that.”
Ingrid Betancourt“I knew of no instruction manual for reaching a higher level of humanity and a greater wisdom. But I felt intuitively that laughter was the beginning of wisdom, as is was indispensable for survival.”
Ingrid Betancourt, Even Silence Has an End: My Six Years of Captivity in the Colombian Jungle“I already knew that I had the ability to free myself from hatred, and I viewed this as my most significant conquest.”
Ingrid Betancourt, Even Silence Has an End: My Six Years of Captivity in the Colombian Jungle