Gustavo Moncayo
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Gustavo Guillermo Moncayo Rincón, popularly known as "El caminante por la paz", (born on November 29, 1952 in Santiago, Putumayo[1]) is a Colombian teacher who decided to undertake a walk of 1,186 km from his hometown Sandoná, in the department of Nariño in the south of Colombia to the capital city Bogotá, seeking to promote an agreement for the release of his son Pablo Emilio who has been a prisoner of the guerrilla group FARC since 1997.[2] His walk has been compared to the one done by the fictional character "Forrest Gump" in the Forrest Gump film.[3]
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[edit] Walk from Sandoná to Bogotá
On June 17, 2007, which is Father's Day in Colombia, Moncayo began walking from Sandoná,[4] accompanied by his daughter along the Pan-American Highway, stopping in every town he found on his path to have a rest and to collect signatures for a petition to President Álvaro Uribe to conduct a prisoner exchange.[5]
A few days after, his body started to show signs of fatigue; his and his daughter's feet had to be treated for blisters resulting from the enormous effort.[6]
As he approached the city of Popayán, his walk started to be covered by the media and his name became increasingly known by Colombian public opinion.[6]
When he arrived in the city of Cali, he was received by Governor Angelino Garzon who offered him a place to stay. Days after, when he arrived in Pereira he was received by the mayor of the city who decorated him a “citizen of honour”. He crossed the highest pass of the Andes before arriving in the city of Ibague.[7]
On Wednesday August 1, 2007 Moncayo walked the last stretch to the historic downtown of the capital city and when he arrived in the Plaza de Bolívar he was cheered by thousands of people.[8]
[edit] Uribe meets Moncayo
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The arrival of Gustavo Moncayo at the Plaza de Bolívar led to a public exchange of views between him and President Uribe, who placed the blame and responsibility for the long captivity of the prisoners on the FARC guerrilla group.[citation needed]
After the speeches Moncayo expressed:
| “ | Sadly, our children, our beloved ones, continue there in the jungle (...) and us, we are in the middle of this political game between the government and the FARC | „ |
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—-Gustavo Moncayo, August 3, 2007, [9] |
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He also criticized Uribe for making empty offers to the guerrilla in exchange for the captives.[citation needed]
[edit] Criticism
According to the Washington Post, Fernando Londoño, a former Interior Minister, criticized Moncayo in an opinion column for El Tiempo, the country's main daily. He accused Moncayo's son Pablo Emilio of being an "incompetent soldier" and wrote that his father was spreading "Marxist venom through Colombia's veins".[10]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ (Spanish) FECODE: Perfil del caminante por la paz FECODE Accessed 25 August 2007.
- ^ (Spanish) El País: Entregan pruebas de supervivencia de militares secuestrados El País Accessed 25 August 2007.
- ^ NPR News: Father's Journey to Find Captive Son Gains Support NPR Accessed 25 August 2007.
- ^ (Spanish) El Diario del Sur: La del profesor Moncayo, Una locura de travesía El Diario del Sur Accessed 25 August 2007.
- ^ (Spanish) El Espectador: Alcaldía de Bogotá avala decisión del profesor Moncayo El Espectador Accessed 25 August 2007.
- ^ a b (Spanish) Caracol Radio: Padre del soldado Moncayo reinicia su peregrinación pese al agotamiento físico Caracol Radio Accessed 25 August 2007.
- ^ (Spanish) CM&: 46 días de travesía CM& Accessed 25 August 2007.
- ^ (Spanish) BBC: Caminante por la paz llega a Bogotá BBC Accessed 25 August 2007.
- ^ (Spanish) BBC: Cuestionan oferta de Uribe BBC Accessed 25 August 2007.
- ^ After a Long Trek Across Colombia, Hostage Advocate Not Ready to Rest, The Washington Post, August 23, 2007
