Questioned by Europe 1, the ex-hostage Ingrid Betancourt reacted to the release of Sophie Pétronin.
She recalls a moment of rare intensity in front of the images of the reunion of the 75-year-old humanitarian with her son, and says she is impatient to meet this woman who spent almost four years in the hands of the jihadists.
INTERVIEW
The image will remain: that of a son who cuts through the crowd of photographers to hug a mother he has not seen for nearly four years.
Sophie Pétronin, the last French hostage in the world, was released on October 8 after her kidnapping on December 24, 2016 by a group of jihadists in Gao, Mali.
The day after her release, she arrived in France, where she was welcomed by Emmanuel Macron.
At the microphone of Europe 1, the ex-hostage Ingrid Betancourt confided to having followed this release very closely.
She is eager to meet, she says, Sophie Pétronin.
"I want to listen to her, to take her hands, to feel her, to kiss her," she explains.
"The experience I have of those moments is that we so want to be with our loved ones, to be in a cocoon. We are called upon from all sides, but I believe that you first need to be in the privacy of family life, ”notes the former Colombian presidential candidate in 2002, released after spending more than six years in the Amazon jungle.
"We need to recharge our batteries."
"This cry of a child who calls his mother"
# Mali- Arrival of hostages this evening in #Bamako aboard an air force plane.
pic.twitter.com/zW9alkPD5n
- Buubu Ardo Galo Maasina (@Ardo_Galo) October 8, 2020
Ingrid Betancourt also says she is particularly moved by the images of the reunion of the mother and the son on the tarmac at Bamako airport.
"The image of Sebastian making his way to the plane door when he sees his mother come out ... and screaming. I think we've all been upset in the same way. See this man, who is a tough guy, who's been through a lot, pushing that childish cry that calls for his mother… It's a beauty! I still shudder, ”she admits.