Rag Doll, Clay Duck: Souvenirs Of Colombia Kidnap Victims

Cali, Colombia, July 9 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Jul, 2021 ) :Kidnapped by FARC guerillas in 2007 and held in the Colombian jungle for nearly four years, police Major Guillermo Solorzano found comfort, and company, in a doll he fashioned from rags and baptized Rodolfito.

Now Rodolfito is part of a virtual exhibit of seemingly mundane objects that brought solace to hostages and their loved ones during the long years of separation.

The display is an initiative of Colombia's Truth Commission investigating the most heinous of crimes committed during the decades-long armed struggle conflict which more than 37,000 people were abducted.

Most were held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which was Latin America's most powerful insurgency until reaching a peace deal with the government in 2016. The FARC has since transformed into a political movement with the same acronym but a different name.

Here is the story of three items among the vast collection of clothing, jewellery, newspaper clippings, photos and other personal effects.

"It was a figure, a doll that I made there and that made me feel alive, as if I had company," Solorzano tells AFP describing his soldier doll Rodolfito.

The crude rag creation is made out of military fatigues, with arms and legs ending in stubs, and facial features, pockets and other details drawn on.

Rodolfito, who even has a hat, gave him something to "socialize" with, said Solorzano.

"It allowed me to get out of that trance, that deep depression that I was in." Solorzano was captured in southwestern Colombia on June 4, 2007. He was among a group held by the FARC to swap with guerillas held prisoner in Colombia and the United States.

After nearly four years in captivity the police major was finally handed over to a humanitarian commission.

Former FARC commanders have admitted to kidnapping and asked for forgiveness before Colombia's Special Jurisdiction of Peace (JEP), set up to try the worst crimes committed during the conflict.

The tribunal is set to issue its first sentences by early 2022.

Under the peace deal, ex-rebels or soldiers who appear before the JEP would receive alternative sentences to prison time if they confess their crimes, compensate victims and swear off violence.