| OCR Text |
Show TheSalt Lake Tribune NATION/WORLD Sunday, June 20, 1999 Al3 _Crime and Abductions Drive Desperate Residents From Colombia BY FRANK BAJAK THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CALI, Colombia — Even Freddy Velez’s 5-year- ‘ old daughter, Laura,is acutely aware:It’s not safe to v go almost anywhere anymore. “Wheneverwegoout now, she asks meif there are * guerrillas there,” the 38-year-old university admin~‘istrator and journalistsays. Liketens of thousands ofother Colombians fed up with mounting violence, rebel kidnappings, political chaos and economic recession, Velez is trying to get , his family out of the country. ! A desperate exodusis in full swing. The govern- » mentis issuing passports at an unprecedentedrate. » Colombiansare applying in record numbers for U.S. ; and Canadianvisas. Moneyisfleeing offshore. “Tf this continues,it'll be a disasterforthecity, for the whole country,” laments Colombia Medina, head of Cali’s overwhelmed passport office, where people line up before dawn to apply for the travel documents. Passport applications have nearly doubled to morethan 800 a day since October. In no major Colombian city is the insecurity worse than in this metropolis of 2 million. Cali is flanked by rugged mountains, sugar-cane plantations — andleftist rebels, whose ransom kidnappings are becomingincreasingly audacious. Guerrillas grabbed about 160 people at a Sunday Mass two weeks ago in the exclusive Ciudad Jardin district and trucked them into nearby mountains. Mostwerereleased the sameday, and 33 were freed on Tuesdaynight, butthe rebelsstill hold at least 20. The same insurgency, the National Liberation town in a spacious three-story colonial house. But they almost never go out anymore. Their car wasstolen while it was parked at their front door. Pombofeels claustrophobic, “like a mol- lusk enclosed in the house,” and Monsalve, 36, no Army, also holds 24 people seized in the mid-April hijacking of a domesticflight, an abduction of devastating psychological impact. longer ventures to the playground with their 2-year. old daughter, Maria. Too many friends and acquaintances have been robbed, murdered, raped. So the family is heading to New York City next monthto see if they can build life there. “Weall feel cornered,” says Florencia Buenaven- tura, a 46-year-old artist and clinical psychologist. “I don’t know who can helpus.” Certainly not the government. Police andsoldiers almost never cometo Ciudad Jardin, even after the “T've gotlots of friends who'veleft,” says Pombo. kidnapping, residents say. Buenaventurais sending her two daughtersto college in the United States and Canada. Cali’s deteriorating security isn't just the work of “Everyone is going and they'll do whatever it takes — even wash dishes — no matter how demeaning. At least you're not running therisk of getting killed. Despite the heat, Velez and his wife, Zulay, routinely roll up the windowsof their car when stopped rebels. at intersectionsto avoid being robbed. And Velez has Unemploymentis officially above 20 percent. Drug-mafia violence and street crime are rampant. Diego Pombo, a 44-year-old artist, and his photographer-actress wife, Beatriz Monsalve, live down- begun carrying a map marked with dangerous places to avoid. “T really feel like a hostage myself,” he says Church’s Bells Ring True After 123 Years BY MARK DAVIS THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Just what Dad needs. PHILADELPHIA — From a stone tower, the notes rolled over the city this week, tumbling to A state-of-the-art advice delivery system. earth in a cascade that reminded passers-by of those moments that nothing but bells can properly commemorate — the beginning of acentury, perhaps, or the end of a war. Andnow,at St. Mark’s Church, the bells commemorate them- selves, and the resumption of a Sabbathtradition that had been dormantfor more than a century. Forthefirst time in 123 years, the church on LocustStreettolled its bells the way they were meant to be rung — process known asa change ringing. Instead of chiming back andforth, the bells were put throughthefull range of motion, loop-de-looping in complete circles. Thebells, cast by the sameBrit- ish firm that cast the Liberty Bell, were put back into service after experts spent nearly a year re- placing a worn frame and bell mounts with steel fittings. They also moved the bells into larger quarters inside the tower. The difference — changing, as opposed to chiming — waslike a chorus comparedto one voice. “It's beautiful,” said the Rev. Richard Alton, beaming skyward as thefirst notes burstinto the sky moments after he concluded Mass last weekendat the church. “The bells were meantto be played like But the bells were not always so popular. In 1876, the churchinstalled four bells to commemorate the : nation’s centennialandfirst rang them for Sunday services that June — at 6:30 a.m. Blasted from their beds, neighbors quickly complained to the city. In early This Father’s Day, give Dad an Ericsson LX788 phone and get a $30 rebate, plus up to $100 in accessory rebates. 1877, the Court of CommonPleas issued an injunction against any ‘ more ofSt. Mark’s early-morning calls to worship. In 1878, the church added four ‘ more bells, then moved all eight higher in the tower, hoping that wouldlessen their sound. But the church made a fundamentalerror, said Peter Trotman, | a bell specialist from Melbourne, | England, who helped design and tall the new framework. ‘They moved them up too Now Dad can be there to give you advice any time you need it. Get him an Ericsson LX788 Digital multi-network phone and an AT&T Wireless calling plan, with great rates and lots of included minutes. So he can distribute those pearls of wisdom anytime — ATaT Wireless Services day or night. Won't all your brothers and sisters be thrilled? high,” he said. “The bells did not have enough room to perform as they should.” EX Rested The tapered tower was too narrow, the frameinsufficient. The INCLUDES 1000 OFF-PEAK MINUTES bells could only swing back and forth — chiming, not changing. Some parishioners knew the bells were capable of more. Au- 1500 TOTAL MINUTES drey Evans, a church member 2400 TOTAL MINUTES who measured her early years in York, England, by the peals of changing bells, began urging St. | Mark's officials to restore the bells in the early 1980s. “But there was never enough +» money,” said Evans, 74, who im‘ migrated 30 years ago. “There : was always something else to do.” All Digital Plans work with thelightweight Ericsson LX788 Digital multi-network phone and may include Digital PCSfeatureslike AT&T VoiceMail, ATaT Caller ID and Text Messaging. «The church in the late 1980s commissioned a studyof the bells, ; which concluded that their fit! tings and wooden frame wereinsufficient and could damage the + bells. They needed to be replaced with steel. Then, in 1996, a wheel ! that turned oneof thebells shat ‘ tered. Two years later, two other + bells’ fittings became so aged that ; they could not be rung, leaving ! only five bells operable. The + church began raising moneyto re + store its legacy in the tower. In October, the church silenced | 800-IMAGINE* www.att.com/wireless/ PHONES BY ERICSSON CeCe LUCuL all the bells, giving specialists time to design new fittings and 437 Fin St. Bldg 430 801 779-0481 move the bells lower in the tower + where would have more ! room to toll. British experts de + signed new attachments and ! shipped them to Philadelphia | For the last four weeks, they West Valley City, 4643 § 4000 W 801 982-0572 ' toiled in the tower, reassembiing the structure, in a project that cost about $100,000 The work came together as ro- tating teams of eight, trained to ring changing bells, began pulling on ropes dangling from a ceiling in the tower. Gears turned Wheels spun Kighty feet below, passers-by paused. Parishioners applauded And the bells of St. Mark's made a joyous noise, again. Mkes Other Participating Dealers At ‘Acton (ink, Acvartage Weekes, Ai Fore Worcs. Aattey Home Store Boat Broters Aadbo Shack, Car Care Speciatints Crcut Fr Meyers. Wortess, yrn’s AudeVideo, Mebocaf, Microllet. Oitice Depot, Orserve Wiretess, Powerhouse Cestulr, Prestige Wenless. AC Wiley, Supt: Totally Wireless. United Comouty Serve EER TUN ©1772 8" S179? Eicon Phobia Phones. inc. Ericsson LX780 phones ore erademartsof Ecason Corporation andor fs aftates. Appicable to featured ATET Wires cafing pane: Remar rut spprove ~ senval Comiract for some plan. acttration fee of $25 and » Digital mute (ul innstes and rounded up to the next full minute lnchaded minutes cannot be carried over 10 any other month Coverage available in mont areas. Digital PCS features nor available in all areas Te wr in anneAB oe Cos Rate Sheet oF Calling Plan brochure Offer may not be combined with ny other promovonal offers Ovher charges, wurcharges and taxes may apply Other reserictions may apply Roaming and tong diutance charges apply depending upon origynition and destnation of each call Of peak hows are Trim wo Tam weekdeps wed ot Peak hours are all other times. Additional minutes range from 20 cents to 24 cents per mine, as determined by the calling plan Reseur Cite Ove robes por Westen O80 perchaies bum s cepresencatren by T/DIPY Mant acrieate on 4 qualiied calling plan Ovher terms and condivont apply Youd where prohibited |
