(Bogotá) The Colombian government on Monday awarded one of the highest decorations in the country to the soldiers and indigenous people who took part in the operation which made it possible to find in early June the four indigenous children lost for 40 days in the Amazon jungle.
President Gustavo Petro presented at the presidential palace the medals of the Order of Boyacá – the second highest honor for the military and the first for civilians – to the soldiers and natives who took part in the research, but also to Wilson’s mother , the sniffer dog still missing in the jungle.
Mr. Petro commended the joint work of the armed forces and the indigenous communities who found the children on June 9, after the plane crash that occurred on June 1er May which claimed the lives of their mother, a relative and the pilot.
“More than the medals, which are symbolic, […] the big prize, the big reward, is called: life,” he assured, highlighting the technical skills of the military and the knowledge of the jungle by the natives.
The small plane in which the children were traveling crashed in a remote area of the department of Caquetá, in the south of the country. But Lesly (13), Soleiny (9), Tien Noriel (5) and Cristin (1) survived the impact and then the jungle, guided by the “ancestral” knowledge of the indigenous people, said Ms. Petro, who hailed the miraculous outcome as a victory for his government.
The research was carried out by the military both by land and air, as well as using satellites. The natives, meanwhile, claimed to have connected to “Mother Earth” to guide their research.
I am grateful for “the enormous work you have done together”, added Mr. Petro, acknowledging in particular General Pedro Sanchez at the head of the rescue operation.
The latter considered during the ceremony “unlikely” that Wilson, who had, it seems, been in contact with the children before they were found, would be found. However, he assured that the efforts to find him were not over. The dog’s mother, Drugia, was awarded in his honor.
The children, found very weak and emaciated, are still in the military hospital in Bogota.