logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2016
34m 45s

An Extraordinary Meeting Between Two For...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

In 2002, the French Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt became perhaps one of the best-known hostages in the world when she was kidnapped and held for over six years, deep in the Colombian jungle, by the Farc or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

Watching Ingrid's emotional release on TV in 2008, was a young Canadian journalist called Amanda Lindhout. A month later she herself was taken hostage at gun-point, on a work trip to Somalia. For the 460 days of Amanda's captivity, she thought about Ingrid nearly every day, inspired by the thought that she too could one day end her ordeal.

This is the first time they have spoken to each other.

(Photo: Amanda Lindhout (L). Credit: Steve Carty. (R) Ingrid Betancourt. Credit: Barker Evans)

Up next
Jul 7
Medics in remote communities
Two doctors from South Africa and Australia tell Ella Al-Shamahi about rewards of working in rural communities and the challenges of being hundreds of miles from the nearest large hospital.Dr Melanie Matthews runs a medical centre in Maningrida, about 500km east of Darwin. She’s ... Show More
26m 28s
Jun 30
Pastry queens
An Indian chef who opened a patisserie in Jaipur and a Syrian chef with two pastry shops in the heart of Paris tell Datshiane Navanayagam about adding new layers to French classics.After training at le Cordon Bleu school in Paris Tejasvi Chandela returned to her hometown of Jaipu ... Show More
26m 28s
Jun 23
Women in glass
Two women from Hungary and the UK talk to Datshiane Navanayagam about the intensity, skill and resilience required for modern glassmaking. Mira Davida is a Hungarian glass artist based in Stockholm, Sweden. She specialises in flameworking, a technique that uses a high-temperature ... Show More
26m 30s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2022
2. A priest, a drug lord, and a journalist
At the end of the 1980s, Colombia had become one of the epicenters of drug trafficking in the world. But a change of government in 1990 opened the possibility for peace and the Colombian government began telephone negotiations with Pablo Escobar for his surrender and an end to th ... Show More
18m 40s
Mar 2025
Argentina's Death Flights
In 1976, a military coup led to an authoritarian regime in Argentina. The military and its new leader, Lieutenant General Jorge Rafaél Videla, then launched a campaign to eradicate political dissidents. Thousands of Argentine citizens were kidnapped, illegally detained, tortured, ... Show More
50m 40s
May 9
The mystery of the nameless girl found dead in a Spanish border town
On a summer morning in 1990, the body of a young woman appeared in a small town close to the frontier. For those who saw her, finding her identity became an obsession that would last 30 years By Giles Tremlett. Read by Luis Soto. Help support our independent journalism at theguar ... Show More
38m 52s
Nov 2024
Florence Rey et Audry Maupin : fusillade et baiser d’adieu (4/4)
C'est l’histoire tragique d’un jeune couple qui a défrayé la chronique dans les années 90 : Florence Rey et Audry Maupin. L’histoire de deux étudiants amoureux qui se transforment le temps d’une soirée invraisemblable en Bonnie & Clyde parisiens… Fusillade et baiser d’adieu“Vols ... Show More
11m 25s
Aug 2024
The story behind a landmark prisoner swap
Today, we hear about the secret negotiations that led to an extraordinary prisoner swap on Thursday. Among the freed: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, other Americans, Russian dissidents – and a convicted assassin.  Read more: On Thursday, the biggest exchange of pr ... Show More
31m 32s
Sep 2024
From Kidnapping to Empowering Youth with Hanin Al Qoreishy
Today, we share the incredible journey of Hanin Al Qoreishy, whose life story unfolds like a tapestry of courage and determination.  Born into a politically and religiously influential family in Iraq, Baghdad, Hanin's early years were shattered by conflict and personal tragedy, i ... Show More
1s
Jul 2024
Talking Dateline: The Ranch
Josh Mankiewicz and Keith Morrison discuss Keith’s episode, “The Ranch,” about the harrowing 2007 kidnapping of Eduardo Valseca in the small city in Mexico where he lived with his wife, Jayne, and their three young children. As Jayne worked to meet the ransom demands for her husb ... Show More
19m 15s
May 22
Murdered live on TikTok - Mexico’s femicide crisis
The world was shocked when a gunman shot and killed Mexican influencer Valeria Marquez while she livestreamed herself at a beauty salon. President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government says it will investigate the murder as a possible case of femicide. Will it mark a turning point for a ... Show More
22m 27s