Tales Of War

HELL PUT ON FOREST

I was happy, clothes did not fit in the joy and excitement. I thought, "the inclination of my left foot to the right is not going to accept me." When we did strip sweat, trembled, but doing my best to control my nerves in my mind was the desire to be accepted, to join the ranks of the Army. Look at my companions, some remained undaunted, some nervous and scared to death because I knew I could not deny my income. The doctor, a thin man, rather emaciated, with glazed eyes slowly moved closer, to gestures, signs and the assistant noted, when my turn came, examined me from head to toe, carefully watch my muscle structure, my thick, powerful arms, my chest broad, strengthened my back and foot muscles. He was constitutionally a tall, stocky, of athletic build. After making some gestures and forehead wrinkling, he approached the young nurse who followed him and said something to him, not if my constitution regarding default or my left foot, the truth of the matter was that I approved and joyfully enter the Army.

My brother was a professional soldier. I admired him and looked with wonder and with "envy" the photos where she appeared with a contingent of soldiers carrying their powerful and beautiful AK-47 rifles. One of your best photos with the painted face, his cap sideways, his camouflage suit and where the rifle beautiful Lucia had hung above my bed, was my "guardian angel". In my nochero kept many photos of him in the mount out of the different battalions and stays in the barracks where he had served and a well-organized album of his long military career. Arrive home happy and told my mother what had happened, she felt sad because my father had served in Korea and had died there, never able to recover the body of this and instead the government had delivered a plaque which read: "For services rendered, the hero of the country died in combat in Korea ....". My mother is going to wake up praying that my brother Gustavo nothing will happen, and they spent months without news of him. He worried the idea of ​​my entering the army and dreamed that one foot problem was an obstacle, but that day, when I gave him the news, his countenance change, was livid, crossed himself and without saying a word went to the kitchen.

The hear sobbing and I felt very sad and painful for her, but deep down I was happy. The days flew by, but with an anxiety that would not let me sleep. On Monday at eight o'clock I got this in the Battalion. I wanted to say goodbye to my mother, because she used to get up at five in the morning and that day did not, therefore, not disturb it again, I left without saying anything. After rigorous controls, training, training that lasted two months, we embarked on a Hercules aircraft majestic Colombian Air Force. Everyone was happy, but with the nerves, we were told we were going to reinforce a contingent of men who sought to "Mono Jojoy", we were prepared because the fighting was violent and there were many casualties on both sides. We learned that fighting had lasted for more than eight days. I had befriended a young man of scarce eighteen years, who lived in the same neighborhood. He was sweating and nail biting my thumb with anxiety, so talk to you and told him to "relax, we'd be in the rear behind the more experienced men, men who knew the ground, men a great track record and proven in combat. "

My words apparently took effect and was calm and gave me a big smile. We talked of nonsense in the hope of scaring the nerves. When we were ordered to get ready, I look in his eyes and saw fear death. That gave me chills eyes and a cold sweat ran down my back and I felt my skin prickle. When it was my turn to jump my heart was pounding and the adrenaline flowed, was an unprecedented moment, inexplicable. Down there was heavy fighting raged for the first time was to go into combat, so I launch into space. Cold air, vertigo, speed and green steppe that opened at my feet like a green savannah, made my breath stirred, after a few minutes pull the cord, the parachute opened. When landfall hear the explosions, felt the rigors of war. The men who fought running from one place to another. To seek shelter and barricade my career I came across the lifeless body of a professional soldier. I had a shot in the chest and another in the abdomen, was shattered and lay staring at the sky as a longing to reach the stars.

That scene gave me chills. I was the pointer, the man in charge of going in front of my platoon. When everyone regrouped received the order to attack with everything and go ahead. The casualties were many. I started shooting like a madman in front. The truth about my inexperience in direct combat did not know where we were shooting, although the fire came from the whole forest, from all directions.

The screams, the explosions of mortars, the smell of gunpowder, the flashes out from between the trees, crossed rifle shots whistling, the wounded and the dead, shattered trees, planes crossing the area, helicopters UH-60 gunships and UH-1H that unloaded his arsenal against the men of the FARC, who dreamed made the "war" of sleep and woke up we met with the most horrible hell. The forest was on fire, on fire, explosions and screams coming from all sides. Hell dressed in death, blood, pain, tragedy, looks of terror. A shout me out of my thoughts when a sergeant with the face painted with branches in his body crawled up to me and said: "Cabron fucking kill you let us, for they sent you here, shoot, shoot." Those words broke the trance in which I found and attacked without mercy against the guerrillas who were covered in the jungle. We started into the forest, in the thick jungle that could see the sunlight. For a moment I was alone when I found myself looking back with his eyes filled with terror away and my friend followed me like an automaton.

An explosion shook the ground pulling me down. I was scared, not realizing I had wet his pants, as my friend. That explosion had rocked the floor as if it were an earthquake. A warm wind flooded all around. When I opened my eyes I saw my friend completely destroyed. I could not hold and cry of fear and dread. My reaction was to get up and shoot without mercy. I ran forward, where were the guerrillas of the FARC. If at that moment someone tries to grab me, but forcefully, desperately I let go and gave him the butt of the rifle in the chest with the blow I gave him fell in the bushes, and anxiously listening for my name name, such was my desperation that I continued shooting and deeper and deeper into the jungle, in the inferno of screaming, shadows, the smell of gunpowder, explosions that made the earth rumble, which made the floor vibrate as if the earth you were bleeding, felt like a wounded lion roared, like a dying beast convulsed, shuddered at its epicenter. I found three guerrillas who were camouflaged and download them several trafagazos.

I could see their faces in fear, the blood flowing like a spring from the head of one of them when you shred the brain with the rafagazo. I kept shooting and low gave several men running in the middle of the jungle, until I realized that screams could be heard far away, like explosions, just at that moment to react and I realized the mistake he had made: I was away from headquarters, the place where my friends were fighting, I decided to go back, I try to mimic among the trees, but he was in unfamiliar surroundings, full of fear, frightened, desperate, in short, an inexperienced man. Walk slowly always pointing forward. Observe some men and I thought it was from my colleagues, when one saw me cry, "Chulo" and I shot instinctively react and download another trafagazo who gave himself to two in the chest. I ran desperately and at that moment I felt I was flying through the air. A new explosion shook the forest. When I awoke I was tied up and guarded by several guerrillas. In that moment I realized my sad reality: It was one of many that the guerrillas had kidnapped and thought exchange with the government, the so-called "prisoners of war." From that moment swelled the long list of FARC hostages .

A shiver ran through me. The sight of men caged change before my eyes violently, I was now on his feet with chains around my neck and my hands, caged like a rabid dog was discharged several of his men. Now my life hung by a thread, was at the mercy of what the central state of the FARC decided to do with us. My mind was paralyzed like my body. My dreams were truncated at the first day of combat. I remembered my friend and the many who had arrived at those places and they were already dead, knowing the fate of the hostages want to be dead. Today I am six years locked up, gagged, delirious, talking at night alone, watching shadows, my colleagues who have risen inexplicably. My colleagues have isolated me, quietly say I'm crazy. I've spent nights and days clinging to the fence, because I know my friends, those who died in combat with me are hatching a plan to get me out of here and get my freedom soon.

Gutierrez Gildardo Original IsazaJulio 16, 2009

OPEN VEINS

The news was not encouraging. The media that could reach the place brings many casualties in the ranks of both the guerrillas and the army. Some media also speculated that the fighting had lasted for more than fifteen days, the paramilitaries were involved in the Magdalena Medio. The dead were many, there was no way to bury the thick of the fighting. The injured were taken in fairly poor and transported to the centers eventually adapted for emergency. The helicopters came and went without stopping down the wounded and in some, if not in many cases, in black bags to those who resisted and died is not being pulled out of the jungle. At that moment, no matter if it was a guerrilla soldier or para-military. Oscar the day running from one place to another. He was drenched in blood. There was an amputee, was sutured, removed bullets, cut intestines, severed completely mangled members, had closed his eyes more than a soldier or guerrilla in the operating table had left their last breath of life. Tired, exhausted, physically and spiritually killed so many dead, then horror, then bestiality, wondered what was the war, if it came before through the narrow interests of a political class, a few interests that never were inherent who truly gave his life for these "causes" always causes outside, distant, distant from the usufruct which they are not ever.

A war where the dead had nothing to do with the conflict, if conflict brought them nothing, nothing suited them and snatched always the most precious thing: Life. How many mothers weeping for her children, all his own, the only treasure that God had given them to plant a seed of love in their bellies, and in return received a medal, a badge which could not, and served them to replace to be lost or to buy food and living. How many mothers do not spend it wandering from one place to another, receive slights, insults, rudeness, ridicule trying to get a help, a fee, a help. Oscar felt like throwing up, not by blood, not the legs that had amputee, the wounds sutured by the tragedy, no, he felt like vomiting to see so much cruelty and brutality in man, so much desire to exterminate the same race under the pretext that shared neither justified.

Shift was ending when he descended from the heavens, under the protection of a coppery afternoon, one of the last helicopters. With your hands on the waist let out a sigh of pain and loudly exclaimed: "The last warriors of the shadows, you will not see the light of a new day ..." The stretcher-bearers dropped two bodies, were two young men: A beautiful little girl of twelve years and a boy of thirteen. Oscar was surprised to see two children, who looked distressed withered eyes on all sides. He was also surprised to come holding hands and as much as I try to separate them was not possible. Oscar approached the girl and said gently, "I need to check them, see the wounds, making a diagnosis and procedure, but in these conditions could not perform." The girl with eyes filled with tears, replied in a whisper: "He is my brother and if we die, we die together ..." Oscar said nothing, did move the youth to the table. The review and find in particular that the two had each a pistol shot in the belly. Intrigued I asked the girl what had happened and as if a lily bleeding, expelling its tragedies exclaimed: "We had been forced to join the ranks of the guerrillas or else kill our parents.

We had no more than a month and just the guerrillas were training us, when the fighting began. My brother and I decided to take advantage of the bombing of the opportunity to escape, but we were surprised by the escape attempt. We were tied with chains to a tree for six days, then we packed a flak caves, and yesterday the front commander gave the order to give us a shot in the stomach to the two deserters and traitors to the revolutionary cause "The military We found the bushes ... " Oscar looked at the child's libido and lost in the blue eyes was about to leave for eternity. He gave the order and asked the girl who collaborate to operate it and after it. At that moment the doctor on duty income and proceeded to operate on the baby. The hours went by, Oscar was distressed, could not understand how such things happen, those atrocities. After four hours of fighting death and stabilize the child is dry the sweat from his brow with bloody sleeves and nostalgic sigh. Approached the lower sleeping by anesthesia and retired to the showers.

While bathing the blood was running down the floor and spat angrily and then cry in silence. I take a dry towel and got dressed. When the moon rose like a silver completely ironic gesture in all its glory shone, thought of his wife and their two sons, and midway between the trees to the military tent where they went to sleep. The next morning, having slept well without thinking about the two teenagers went to check on her. He could not help the tears to see them holding hands and completely wilted, with a strange smile on his lips. Approached the physician who nod and wonder what had happened, he replied: "At about three o'clock, the girl woke up and called me and told me he was dying, he knew his brother also was dying, that would allow him to be wax die together "I was not able to oppose the plea and ran the stretchers were taken from the hands and three minutes longer exist.

Gutierrez Gildardo Original IsazaJulio 17, 2009