Colombian Hostage Reunited With Son

Rojas meets child rebels took from her
By Colleen Barry,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 14, 2008 4:50 AM CST
Colombian Hostage Reunited With Son
This photo released by the Family Welfare Institute, Colombia's child welfare agency, shows Clara Rojas, the hostage released by leftist rebels, with her son at a foster home in Bogota, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008. Clara Rojas, who had been kidnapped by rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia...   (Associated Press)

A Colombian woman held captive for nearly six years by rebels was reunited yesterday with the son she had as a hostage. Clara Rojas' baby, Emmanuel, fathered by one of the rebels, was taken from her when he was just eight months old, suffering from a broken arm and a parasitic disease. Now 3, he has  been living in a foster home for the last two years.

Rojas said the rebels moved her to an isolated camp to give birth and she had a dangerous Caesarian section performed by one of the guerilla fighters. "I prayed for the peace of mind to be able to get through the birth," she said. Rojas was kidnapped in 2002 while campaigning for then-presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who remains a prisoner of the FARC rebels. (More Colombia stories.)

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