Have you ever wonder how it would feel to have someone dear to you kidnapped? In the novel Our Guerrillas Our Sidewalks, written by Herbert Braun, we come across a true-life kidnapping experience; that is based on Herbert Braun and his family. In the first chapter “Taking” we first get introduced to Tico (Herbert Braun), Cecilia (Tico’s wife), Jake Gambini (Ticos brother and law), Ulla (Jake's wife/Ticos sister), and Vicente (Jakes employee). Tico lives in Charlottesville, VA and was born in Colombia; his parents come from Germany. Tico is a college professor, he is very sophisticated and an intelligent man; as the book progresses we come to know Tico very well. Jake is a man that attracts attention without begging for it; he is also a problem …show more content…
solver; and a leader in whatever he is doing. He owns a very successful pipe inspection company in Colombia; he started it from the ground up; in which kind of explains his persevering attitude towards life. Furthermore as we begin the first chapter we think that Jake has been taking by the Marxist guerrillas in Colombia or the ELN. Tico first gets a call from Ulla, he is slightly scared and nervous; but knows he has to keep his composure when talking to his sister. Jake has been taking in Sabana de Torres where he his company has their largest work site. The first moments when Jake is kidnapped are startling and sensational; he is taken around 4:30 in the morning. When he is abducted he is already thinking about escape, wondering what he could do to get out of this situation. Tico knew what type of man Jake was, he knew there would be no way he would let them keep him, he would probably do something crazy to get away. Time passed for about two weeks or more, and still nothing from anybody. The current situation was on standby, and the only thing they could do was sit and contemplates about Jake. Tico was considering all the outcomes that could happen in this situation, he was nervous and anxious to get something done. Tico knew his sister needed his support; he would go and catch a flight to Houston to be with his sister. Ulla needed her brother, she too would ponder about her husband, and remember how good he was to her kids; and all the little things that made him the great person. Jake was also thinking why would anyone kidnap him, he would wonder about who could set him up and why? He was always a good boss to his Colombian workers, he employed hundreds of people, this made him think he resistant from being kidnapped. Once Tico Arrives in Houston he wonders if his sister really needs him there, and whether he should got to Bogota to handle this situation there.
Tico is historian so he starts to take notes of everything, for him it like an automatic sensation. Ulla wanted to get some experts to help, so she hired someone that was recommended by a friend. Jake’s first couple days where hard, he was angry with himself for putting himself in this situation and his family. Once he was under their capture he started to see that they were well organized, and well-armed with guns. He was extremely cautious with everything they gave him to eat and drink. The first camp they brought him to was small and cramped. Jake was later taken to a second camp that was much larger and cleaner. Tico kept wondering which organization took Jake, ELN, FARC, or the EPL. Ticos spent most of his time by the phone waiting for something to occur. As nothing has occurred Tico returns to Charlottesville on July …show more content…
11th. Jake was not afraid of deaf he told this to everyone, if it was up to him he would be against paying the ransom; he’d rather die.
Jake has been kidnapped for over 20 days now and the guerrilla group has already moved him to third camp. By this time Jake has already became friendly with some of the people at the camp. The guerrillas that had Jake did not want to hurt him they just wanted the money. The actually treated him very well and got him any accommodations in which he requested. Jake could request anything but he choose not to, he wanted to stay sharp, and did not want to develop that kind of bond with them. Tico could not take it anymore; he took a flight to Bogota in hope of hearing something. Ticos arrives in Bogota and goes to Jake’s office where he meets with Jake’s employees Vicente, Cesar and Jimmy. Once In Bogota he sees much of Bogota has changed for the good, and for the bad. He sees the wealth that Bogota has incurred and all the wealthy people, but he also see the narcos that have also rising since he last
went. ‘ On July 28th the Family gets the first call at the office, the guerrillas call asking for Vicente. Vicente was not in the office, and the caller chooses to call back later. Tico was going to leave Colombia that day, but after hearing the news he is staying in Colombia. The Negotiating has begun to get Jake back. The Guerrillas call back and give Vicente complicated instructions to where he will meet the guerillas. Vicente is the one that Jake has chosen to handle the negotiations. The plans are to meet the guerrillas in a remote part in Bucaramanga. But due to the fact that Vicente is a very nervous type of guy, Cesar and Norberto will go to do the talking; they were top trusteed employees of Jake. Cesar was going to be intermediate; he had no authorization within the deal. Cesar was chosen because he is a very dry type of person and serious. Cesar goes and does the talking he come back successful, and has some good news. He comes back and says Jake is willing to corporate and acknowledges Vicente to negotiate with the guerillas . After a few days they call again, and they request that Vicente go himself to negotiate further. Vicente wants to do it over the phone but they insist he must come. The meeting goes good and there is a set price of five million dollars. The price they set is absurd, and everyone worries that it is an extremely high price. Thus the negotiating begins once again and Cesar goes and meets with the guerillas. Cesar meets with them and tries to counter offer their original offer, but the guerillas are not budging. The negotiations are still flowing, but they are coming across many obstacles on both sides. On the guerillas side they want Cesar to do all the negotiating, because they fear Vicente is coinciding with the military. On Jake's side there having trouble getting a secret code to proceed with the negotiations. For over two weeks there is no call from the guerrillas they went silent, due to the fact that Jake’s family was not agreeing to ransom prize. Jake started to be terrorized by the group, because his family was not complying. They started to involve Ulla and told him they went to his house and knew everything about him. At a point they started to pressure Jake; to see how much money he really had. They tried to break him by involving the people he loved, but he did not budge. Jake has been kidnapped for over 3 months now. He started to get discouraged, depressed and no care for his life. Jake would go on hunger strike on not eat anything. The only thing he was living on was cigarettes and coffee. The guerrillas started to take notice, and tried to make him eat. They knew they had to hurry up the process, and would have to lower their asking price down. Finally the guerillas had come down to a reasonable price, in which Jake’s family could come up to agreement with. Tico himself would do the last negotiating terms. Jake also got news that he would be leaving soon, mentally he did not let the news get to him’ he was mentally prepared to stay there longer. The process was in effect to get Jake back. The family just wanted some last reassurances to make sure Jake was still alive. They wanted a picture and tape recording. Once they received this information, that’s when the family found out Jake was starving himself; they knew they had to do this quick. Tico was giving some exact instructions in how to drop off the money. They came into an arrangement in which how everything was going to take place, and Cesar was the one going to make the exchange. It was a complicated process going from one airplane to the other; it was pure jungle. Once Cesar got to a specific camp he was told to go to the woods with a young man, and that's where the money exchange took place. It was all set, the money was in their hands but it was still not over, they still needed Jake. Next the guerrillas tell Cesar they have to go back to Sabana, this did not make any sense to Cesar. Jake had been taking away from the camp and started to walk for hours with one of the guerillas leaders Ricardo. They told him he would be free, but Jake still had some doubt in his mind. Then finally Cesar puts his hand on Jake, and lastly Jake see someone he knows. Everything has come to an end and Jake knows he will be going home. When Cesar gets the chance he calls Tico to him everything is ok and he has Jake. Tico is disbelief he is anxious; he wants to tell Ulla, but waits until they land in Bogota. Once Jake arrives he is very weak and skinny but he is thrilled to be back. He does not even want to go too a doctor, he is full of joy; just happy to free! Finally Jake was back and reunited with Ulla and his family. The Nightmare was over and they could go back to living life.
Martinez’s story is not so much one that pieces together the events of the crash, nor the lives of the three youths, but it is an immigrant’s tale, discovered through the crossings of the various Chavez family members and profiles of Cheranos in Mexico.
The book “For cause and comrades” written by James M McPherson is not one of your typical civil war books. This book is completely different than what everyone would expect, McPherson tries to explain the why of the war behind the scenes of it. He goes into great detail onto how dissects the initial reason of both sides North and South by concentrating not on battlefield tactics and leaders but what emotional and great experiences the men had to face in the battle field.
Demos, John. The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America. New York: Vintage, 1994. Print.
Giovanna is a very determined and fearless woman who stopped at nothing to get what she wanted. When she sent the money to the kidnappers for what was promised to be the last payment, she included a letter saying, “This is it. Here’s my final payment. I want my daughter returned immediately. If you delay, next is your coglioni. They’ll start to itch, blister, and fall off” (351). Giovanna has been through and seen terrible events, such as having her husband venture off across the world and be crushed by a giant ball of metal, but nothing has changed her life more than having her daughter stolen from her. Every day from the moment she woke up to the moment she had to sleep was filled with her wandering the city ravenously searching her environment for any clues on the disappearance of her daughter. She even went out of her way to go to chinatown and pickup herbs that she created into
Slick showed Rios the “hotspots” where life shapes these youth environments. The structure, as well as the constraints, that shape these young boys life in the neighborhood, slick points out a corner where one of his best friends got shot by a drive-by shooting. The lifestyle of these young boys is tragic.
Kertzer, David I.. The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara. 1st Vintage Books Ed ed. New York: Vintage, 1998. Print.
His audience can see, from his initial introduction to language, to his cultural education, to his superiors’ reaction to his literacy, that Baca’s willingness to speak out, to write poetry, and to communicate are inherent acts of resistance and revolution, no matter how inconsequential they may seem at face value. As his memoir is a depiction of a real life, whether liberation is or is not achieved is up for debate (if liberation is achievable at all), but, through the use of language, Baca establishes the beginning of his resistance to many of the vicious cycles which marginalization can perpetuate, a form of resistance that will hopefully continue on to aid the generations that may follow in his footsteps. Through language, Baca finds his self-worth and is able to acknowledge the systematic injustices that have plagued and destroyed facets of himself, as well as most of his family. Though language does not provide the opportunity to entirely reconstruct what has been lost, it can act as a safeguard against the possibility of even more devastation. Thus, the existence of A Place to Stand is a form of resistance in itself. Just like other texts by incarcerated figures, such as Wall Tappings and Mother California, Jimmy Santiago Baca’s memoir is a staunch reminder that incarcerated men and women desperately and unequivocally believe they need to be
Neglect and the lack of care from society is affecting the life of Theresa Flores. As young girls they are being forgotten by their community and society as human beings who need to be cared for as they grow and heal from the traumatic events in their life. The stories of Theresa and Rachel prove events of human trafficking have taken place in the United States during the 1980’s-2000’s and are currently occurring. In The Slave Across the Street by Theresa Flores, Theresa informs the reader of her experiences with neglect and the effects these experiences have on her. As Theresa begins to show signs of physical abuse, the adults in her schools and community are taking no notice in fear the results would affect themselves. Theresa says, “By doing nothings, turning a blind eye, they
Adapting to life after being held hostage or kidnapped can be just as difficult as abruptly leaving it. According to the American
Failing to find a positive opportunity for work, Maria’s next job is seemingly much worse in multiple ways. Maria gets offered enough money to hold her over for a long time in Colombia, by becoming a international narcotrafficker, even though it still “yields ve...
In Pamplona the group meets a nineteen year old uprising bullfighter named Pedro Romero, who Brett eventually falls in love with. One evening, while strolling through the park, Brett feels the urge to be reassured of Jake’s affection for her. When he tells her yes, she proceeds by saying how she 's "a goner. [She 's] mad about the Romero boy. [She is] in love with him [she] think[s]"(187). He protected Romero from the American representative who had an interest in him. Yet when it comes to Brett he threw all his morals away knowing she could screw up his career. Once he introduces the two and gets them acquainted he leaves to find the others in the group. Cohn questions heavily where Brett is Jake gets angry and “will not tell [them] a damn thing,” (194). Despite knowing that her cheating on Mike is against his morals. He loves her and only wants her to be happy, even if lying to his friends. When the group finally splits Brett and Romero Head towards Madrid and days later Jake heads to San Sebastian, he gets a telegram from Brett asking him to meet her in Madrid. Despite his plans, he goes to find a shaking and lonely Brett. She had forced Romero leave because “it was rather a knock his being ashamed of [her]. He was ashamed of [her] for a while then” (246). She was not as feminine as other women making men taunt Romero. Jake did not care about any of that, he just cared about her. He only wanted to love her and make her happy. He left his vacation to rescue a woman who only uses him. For Jake, to be in love with such a rotten woman is detrimental to his
“Dammed if I ever did know”, an answer from a Confederate soldier in the book Sartoris (2). The question of why they fought or better yet What They Fought For. James McPherson wrote What They Fought For: 1861-1865 in memory of civil war soldiers making an audience see the real answer of what they fought for.
Olib begins the short story describing Jake’s personal qualities and characteristics. The narrator continues to tell the reader about his internal conflict. Jake constantly strives for high-end items in his dreams.As he drove in the midst of the traffic jam he started imaginingb “Exotic colognes, plush, dark nightclubs, maitais and daiquiris, necklaced ladies in satingowns, misty and sexy like in a tequila ad.” The setting of the story is based in the foggy morning of LA streets’ traffic jam. Jake is driving in his old Buick and Mariana is cruising in front of Him in her Toyota. All in all, the reader was presented with many descriptions of Jake’s personality.
Two weeks later, Fito and Yurico were found cold and hungry on the tracks in Irapuato. Affected by this they put an end to their journey to the north. They were placed in a shelter by Mexican Immigration to get deported. Out of the four kids, Kevin is only one who makes it to the United States. Detained in Huston, he feels he is trapped, “cornered and locked up.” He only gets to do only so many things, misses his mother and regrets everything that lead to him to coming to the United States. Eventually, Kevin is deported back to Honduras and meets his beloved mother. Even though, his mother is happy to see him, she admits that it would have been better for him if he could have founded a family in United States. His step father also thinks that Kevin is a problem and shouldn’t live with them. Nine months later Kevin and Fito made another attempt to reach the United States. Fito was caught and transferred back to Honduras and Kevin was caught at the United States border, then transferred to a shelter in Washington
A businessman, and a business woman sit across from each other in negotiations. The man proposes four thousand pesos, and the woman says she can't afford that much. She counter-offers twenty-five hundred pesos. The man agrees and leaves. This was a weekly payment for the protection of the woman's local business against the Juarez Cartel."