Mission Haiti and The Loss of a Friend
02/01/2010 06:18 AM EDT
Diálogo Staff
To be selected to participate in peace missions abroad is considered a distinction among Latin American military personnel. For the majority, it is not the salary in American dollars that attracts them, but the possibility of raising the profile of their countries abroad, as well as participating in humanitarian and peacemaking actions. Deaths are rare in these situations. With the earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12, this has changed. Brazil, which has led the peace mission in Haiti for almost six years, had more than 1,200 military personnel in the country at the time of the tragedy. Eighteen of them did not survive.
To discuss what it means for a member of the military to lose a friend – Colonel Emilio Carlos Torres Santos, married, 2 daughters – who dedicated his life to saving the lives of others, Diálogo magazine talked to Lieutenant Col. Fernando de Galvão e Albuquerque Montenegro, the head of the Education Department of the Center for Jungle Warfare Instruction (CIGS – Centro de Instrução de Guerra na Selva), responsible for managing the process of training Brazil’s jungle warriors and international students from various military units from all over the world.
Diálogo – How many years have you and Colonel Emilio been friends, and how did you meet each other?
Colonel Montenegro – He was in my class starting at the Colégio Militar in Rio de Janeiro, in 1977, but our friendship strengthened when we both went to the Military Academy of Agulhas Negras (AMAN – Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras). Colonel Emilio belonged to the infantry like me and also like me, was an athlete (water polo team). In other words, it was a friendship of over thirty years, and he was a person whom I admired enormously.
Diálogo – How did you learn of his death?
Colonel Montenegro – I am based in Manaus, in Amazonas state, but I was on vacation in Rio de Janeiro and met other comrades at the Army School of Physical Education, some of whom were getting ready to go to Haiti. They were the ones to break the news to me. It was a shock.
Diálogo – Obviously, the loss of a close friend is very painful. Is there any comfort in knowing he died while performing such a noble function?
Colonel Montenegro – It is undoubtedly comforting. We participated together in the Special Forces Battalion for a long time and performed various high-risk activities, from actions along the border against the Colombian FARC, to parachuting, free fall from high altitudes, where the use of oxygen tanks is required during the jump, and also diving in zero-visibility areas. We are prepared to face the risk and the presence of death, but we deal with it professionally and focus on what we need to do and not on what can happen. Colonel Emilio had embedded in him this sense of constant danger, and of how to deal with it. However, we never expected to lose someone so close and so used to dealing with danger, as in my case. I never think about dying when I am performing any kind of activity.
Diálogo – What are you going to miss the most about your companionship with Colonel Emilio?
Colonel Montenegro – The feeling of loss is very intense, because I knew him very well. He was a very serious and qualified professional. He was an idealist. He believed strongly in what he did. He had an above-average dedication to the military career. He was so experienced that he was designated commander (2007/2008) of the 26th Battalion of Parachute Infantry, one of the most important ready-response units in our Army. It was his second time participating in the Brazilian mission in Haiti, this time as the MINUSTAH Commander’s right-hand man.
Diálogo – Do you have any information about the moment of his death?
Colonel Montenegro – He was conducting an important MINUSTAH meeting, since the general commanding the mission was not present, inside the UN compound. When he felt the first tremors, he ran with the others, looking for a way out. He was found near the building’s exit, so that it was a matter of seconds that he didn’t make it. Another comrade, Lieutenant Col. Alexandre Santos, was near him, under the debris, with his legs caught, but he survived after a rescue that took over four hours.
Diálogo – Did the tragedy change anything with regard to the military personnel who have already departed or will depart for Haiti?
Colonel Montenegro – Naturally the families – and even the military personnel themselves – started to be more concerned about the mission, which will most likely generate other kinds of worries for those going there, not only regarding preparation, but also how to behave in Haiti, in the kind of setup being used there. There must be a change in psychological preparation as well. On the other hand, the earthquake increased the desire, which was already quite present among Brazilian military personnel, to participate in these kinds of missions. It is important to emphasize that, at least in Brazil, these missions abroad are voluntary, and the participants have a lot of enthusiasm. For us the important thing is not only to help, but also to continually enhance Brazil’s reputation and that of its Armed Forces abroad, as we are doing now in Haiti, in Ivory Coast, in East Timor, and as we did in Bosnia.
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