How books helped me bond with my captors

Growing up in rural Colombia, Professor María Antonia Garcés was obsessed by books and reading, and later on this passion would help her get through a really difficult chapter. In 1982 María Antonia was taken hostage by leftist guerrillas, who were looking for a ransom from her wealthy family. She was put in a tiny cell somewhere in the city of Cali for seven months, and needed a way to keep her sanity. María Antonia fell back on her love of reading, and soon books would become more than just a way to pass the time, they bonded her with her captors. The relationships she made this way, would help save her life.

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Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Harry Graham and Edgar Maddicott

(Photo: Professor María Antonia Garcés. Credit: Professor María Antonia Garcés)