How 4 indigenous brothers rescued in the Colombian jungle survived, according to new Netflix documentary

The testimony of her older sister, Lesly Mucutuy, who was 14 at the time of the accident, is highlighted in a documentary that reconstructs the rescue in the Colombian Amazon.

“When I woke up, there was a lot of blood (…) I heard my little brothers crying.”

Thus begins the powerful testimony of Lesly Mucutuy, the eldest of four minor siblings rescued in June 2023 after spending 40 days missing in the Colombian Amazon, according to a new Netflix documentary.

The lost children reconstructs the search and rescue operation carried out by indigenous volunteers and military forces after the plane on which the brothers were traveling with their mother and two other adults crashed in the middle of the Amazon jungle.

Only Lesly, Soleiny, Tien and Cristin – then aged 14, 9, 4 and 1 respectively – survived the accident.

The Colombian Institute of Family Assistance (ICBF), the body responsible for the care of the minors, reported on the anniversary of the rescue that the brothers were enjoying “the life that boys and girls should have at that age” once recovered and having received medical and psychological assistance.

The new Netflix production, in collaboration with Caracol Televisión and directed by the British director Orlando von Einsiedel, collects a series of testimonies, such as those of the volunteers who participated in the rescue, of a teacher of the children and of their aunt, in addition to that provided from Lesly. to the authorities.

Lesly portrays the tenacity with which, as an older sister, she experienced the trauma of spending 40 days struggling to survive.

It is also one of the few known statements by minors about the experience.

“I knew I had to protect them”

One of the strongest fragments is when Lesly admits, according to the reconstruction of the statement made to the authorities, that there was a moment when she decided to abandon her brothers.

“I left, but after 20 minutes I regretted it and I knew I had to come back. I knew I had to protect them. Cristin and Tien almost died,” Lesly said.

The eldest of the brothers took on the responsibility of caring for them and guiding them through the dangers of the jungle.

Located between Caquetá and Guaviare, the jungle where the children roamed is hostile, dense and inhabited by voracious creatures such as jaguars and snakes.

In this threatening environment, Lesly, who had a leg wound and was “crawling on her knees”, provided her brothers with food and protection.

“My mother taught me a lot about the fruits I could eat in the jungle, for example Milpesos. I made a fishing rod. We caught some fish. We eat it raw. It tasted horrible,” he said.

According to the teenager’s testimony, when she woke up after the accident, her “mother was making sounds, then she stopped making them,” indicating that she had witnessed her last breath.

“There was a lot of blood,” he said.

That’s when he took his brothers to get food, walking away from the plane.

“What worried me most was that little Cristin was still alive.”

Lesly admitted she couldn’t sleep, but tried to get her siblings to sleep at night.

The minor describes moments in which she heard the rescue teams being called but was unable to locate them.

“We tried to follow the voice calling us, but it disappeared.”

The children were found with signs of malnutrition.

Tien and Cristin, the youngest, just four and one year old respectively, experienced delicate moments.

“Tien was so weak he couldn’t stand it,” Lesly said.

The eldest of the siblings said that “when she saw the man”, referring to one of the rescuers, “she collapsed”.

And somehow she also felt relieved.

“I no longer needed to keep my little brothers alive. We were safe,” he summed up.

Indigenous wisdom and national unity

In addition to being a story of rescue, Von Einsiedel’s documentary is also a story of unity, collaboration and overcoming differences in the name of a great challenge.

The film shows the initial mistrust that indigenous volunteers and the military maintained during the search, called Operation Hope in Colombia.

“I was drawn to this particular tale because it was clear that within it lay many glimpses of incredible resilience and human strength, not only in the children’s struggle to survive alone in the jungle, but also in the way indigenous rescuers and “The army managed to overcome their differences and fears to unite on a dangerous and epic mission to save children,” the director said in a statement sent by Netflix to BBC News Mundo, the BBC’s Spanish-language news service.

Colombian media continues to use the terms “miracle” and “heroism” to refer to the children’s survival during 40 days in the jungle.

But the fact is that this incident also highlighted centuries of indigenous heritage and wisdom in Colombia that contributed to a happy ending.

Shortly after the children were found, BBC News Mundo interviewed Alex Rufino, a Ticuna native who specializes in jungle care.

In the conversation, Rufino said that the epic language used by the media and institutions in Colombia reveals a lack of knowledge of the indigenous world.

More than lost, he said, “the children were in their environment, under the care of the jungle and the wisdom of years of indigenous contact with nature.”

Netflix’s new documentary explores this notion in a country with a centuries-old history of excluding indigenous people and a lack of understanding of the wisdom and worldview of indigenous peoples.

Media phenomenon

The children’s story held Colombia and the rest of the world in suspense for weeks.

Almost a year and a half after the rescue, various literary and documentary productions have reconstructed this event, which continues to arouse worldwide interest.

Amazon’s Prime Video platform released the documentary Operation Hope: children missing in the Amazonin which actors and family members recreate the events.

Prior to this, General Rafael Reyes Prieto’s War College had published a book, also titled Operation Hopenarrated by the commanders of the Military Forces “who united in a desperate fight against time and the wildest nature to find the children alive”.

Colombian investigative journalist Daniel Coronell also published a book titled Los children of the Amazon: 40 days lost in the jungle (“Children of the Amazon: 40 days lost in the jungle”, in free translation), in which, through a series of interviews, he explains how the rescue that many considered impossible was carried out.

On the occasion of the anniversary of the rescue, BBC News Mundo asked the ICBF for interviews with the minors and their legal representatives, but these could not be carried out.

Source: Terra

Rose

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.