This book is about a kidnapping that happens in Colombia. George Lozano is the first Colombian I've met since reading this book. Although recovering from a surgery, he is a lively, happy man. I expect the interview to go the same. I fail miserably. I know the interview is on the rocks when I ask him about any unhappy memories. He looks up at me with glassy eyes, as if to say, "Don't you know?"
I do now. On April7th, 1948 the Liberal Party Leader Gaitan was assassinated. The murder sparked Bogotazo- a tide of violence in the Bogota streets. The Revolutionaries had control over all the radio stations, calling people to strike. Violence spread out into the countryside, rivers of red ran freely. Lozano was in the military, picking the dead off the street. "Horrible, horrible, " he says, looking down. "They almost killed me."
He made changes in his father's factory, mechanical changes that made things run better. "But the Revolution changed everything. We were constantly paying for it." He moved from city to city to escape, and ended up coming to America in 1948. "They let me in, like that." He snaps his fingers and smiles for the first time. I feel a surge of pride for my country. So now we're getting to the picture. This is my good friend Kelly, me, and my boyfriend John visiting Ellis Island. We got some insight into the problems the immigrants faced, and how they came here seeking refuge and relief. And we got to go back across on the comfortable ferry back to our comfortable hotel room and later out for a nice big steak. And our biggest worry was, would it rain that night?
Dare-Talk to the person around you with the foreign accent. Try to learn something about why they came here and where they came from. It will broaden your horizons and make you appreciate America.
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