Kidnapped
A Diary of My 373 days in Captivity
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- 129,00 kr
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- 129,00 kr
Publisher Description
"It all happened so fast that even now, a month later, I still have trouble believing it, and I have to tell myself over and over again: Leszli, you have been kidnapped."
On April 12, 1999, Leszli Kálli boarded a plane in Colombia to work on a kibbutz in Israel, but she never made it. The plane was hijacked by a leftist guerrilla group and forced to land on an abandoned runway in the jungle. Leszli, along with her father and the other passengers, were held hostage for 373 days. Her diary reveals her innermost thoughts, darkest fears, and visions of hope.
Leszli vividly presents this painful time in her life: trapped, held at gunpoint, and never knowing if she would live to see another day. Although never close before, the bond between her and her father grows as they provide one another with vital support. Alienated as the only woman in her group, she maintains her guard but finds comfort caring for animals, including a tarantula living beneath her bed. As the pages of her diary unfold, so, too, does the incredible story of one girl's fight for survival against overwhelming odds.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 1999, the plane carrying then 18-year-old Kalli and her father was hijacked by a leftist guerilla group and flown to a Colombian jungle, where the passengers were held captive for just over a year. Kalli kept a diary of her experience, reprinted here in a competent translation that retains Kalli's vivid intensity, even as she's explaining the fear and tedium of daily life as a hostage. At its best, Kalli's account offers a sharp examination of the relationships between guerillas and hostages: "my mind was unable to process the difference between an event that for some, was pure happiness, and for others, an exercise in pure humiliation." Unfortunately, the publishers have made an error in reproducing the diary on its own, giving Kalli's amateur effort sole responsibility for detailing the complex predicament. Without outside accounts of the situation-news reports, government records, etc.-to illuminate the big picture, delineate major players and cover the logistics, the narrative loses focus. For instance, the facility by which Kalli communicates with her family back home, and even receives clothing and food from them, is never explained, a perplexing omission. Kalli's diary contains powerful writing about a unique and compelling situation, but a well-edited excerpt, supported by outside reporting, would have made a stronger impact. Illustrations.
