Ingrid Betancourt Quotes

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Ingrid Betancourt

Profession : Politician

Birth : December 25, 1961

In a kidnapping, you leave behind a lot of your baggage, like arrogance and stubbornness.

Ingrid Betancourt

France is my home; you are my family. I am carrying all of you in my heart.

Ingrid Betancourt

I owe everything to France.

Ingrid Betancourt

I have shed many tears of pain and indignation.

Ingrid Betancourt

We have to be aware of our fragilities as human beings - when we see cruelty, to understand that in certain conditions, we could be cruel, too.

Ingrid Betancourt

You don't master your fear. You're not able to say, 'I'm not going to be scared.' But what you can do is say, 'OK, I'm very very scared, but I have to do this and this and this.'

Ingrid Betancourt

I want to tell President Sarkozy - and through him, all the French people - that they were our support, our light.

Ingrid Betancourt

The voice of the Holy Father was like a light.

Ingrid Betancourt

I want to serve my country, but not necessarily in the political arena.

Ingrid Betancourt

I was in chains all the time, 24 hours a day, for three years. I tried to wear those chains with dignity, even if I felt that it was unbearable.

Ingrid Betancourt

You need tremendous spirituality to stop yourself falling into the abyss.

Ingrid Betancourt

I know that I have to give testimony about all the things I lived, but I need time.

Ingrid Betancourt

I was forbidden to talk to my fellow hostages.

Ingrid Betancourt

I had this belief that I couldn't just accept to be treated as an object. It was a problem of dignity.

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

When you lose your freedom, you are alone with your emotions and reactions... you can see, for example, the bad reactions you have in front of others or the way you could be dismissive or harsh.

Ingrid Betancourt

I am not irresponsible.

Ingrid Betancourt

In the jungle, every day is like the other. So you need to have a special discipline to make things different and to keep in your memory the dates and the days. And I think that's something that's very important when you are held hostage.

Ingrid Betancourt

I think that the worst thing is realizing that mankind - that - that human beings can be so horrible to other human beings.

Ingrid Betancourt

You are a free woman, and then you become a prisoner, and you receive all kinds of orders. Sit here, stand there. That's it. You just, you don't have the possibility of even moving to take your bag without asking for permission.

Ingrid Betancourt