Ruben van Assouw had a dream vacation. His father's travel blog offers a poignant look at the 9-year-old's journey with his family, witnessing the spectacular natural wonders of South Africa's Mac Mac Falls, a vista called "God's Window," and a tableau of rhinos, impalas and other wild animals.
The holiday ended in an incomprehensible disaster. The crash of Afriqiyah Airlines Flight 711, which slammed into the ground upon landing in Tripoli, Libya, left Ruben the sole survivor.
His father's diary of the Dutch family's once-in-a-lifetime safari gives a glimpse into the family's last days — some mundane, some inspiring — as they celebrated an important anniversary.
The trip began on a rough note. Ruben was sick on the plane to South Africa, and on the first day of the safari he "puked the car full," Patrick van Assouw wrote on his blog. But the family soon made their way through some of the most spectacular nature areas in the world. Their route took them through parts of South Africa, across the border into Swaziland, and finally into the mountainous nation of Lesotho before they turned back for their return home.
The family from the small city of Tilburg, Patrick, 40, wife Trudy, 41, and 11-year-old son Enzo were among the 103 dead in Wednesday's crash. Rescue workers found Ruben, unconscious but breathing, still strapped to his seat at the far end of a field of debris.
An aunt and uncle went to Ruben's bedside Thursday after doctors operated to repair his shattered legs. It was unclear when he would go home — or when he would be told he would go home without his parents and older brother.
The safari was a celebration of his parents' 12 1/2-year wedding anniversary — a major milestone in Dutch tradition.
Patrick set up a blog about the vacation, and his hometown newspaper, Brabants Dagblad, posted a link to the web address Thursday.
"The boys have been counting the days and minutes and can't wait. Just three more nights' sleep, boys!," Patrick wrote in an entry dated April 23.
Although most of the Dutch victims booked package trips through tour operators, the Van Assouws bought their plane tickets directly from Afriqiyah, flying from Brussels, Belgium through Libya and on to Johannesburg, South Africa.
The father didn't attempt to update the weblog during the trip: the bulk of the entries were posted in the early morning of May 10, just a day before the family boarded the ill-fated return flight.
"Finally we're back in the inhabited world: we have Internet," he wrote. "Here's the whole diary posted with some photos too."
One shows two boys — apparently Ruben and Enzo — posing in front of waterfalls. Others show wildlife and sunsets.
Patrick posted about cheap meals and panoramic views, but the highlight of the trip was Kruger National Park.
"It is exiting, after all, to drive around here — just like that — with the idea that there are all kinds of wild animals to meet," he wrote.
"We ran into a very large number of impalas, which we nicknamed deers. Enzo's second find was the elephant. Also saw buffalo, gnu, fox, zebra, more deer, ostrich, a lot of birds, turtle, giraffe, apes, boar, more deer."
The following day the family encountered two rhinos, and later in the trip they saw a hippo.
Patrick gave the place of honor on his blog to a flat tire in a desolate spot near Sani Pass, which connects South Africa and Lesotho, possibly thinking it would be the worst misfortune the family would suffer on the trip.
"We had to unpack half the car to find the stuff, but we did it," he wrote.
Earlier the same day, the family stood on a remote bluff overlooking a stunning panorama of Lesotho. It was the final day of the safari, May 9.
"Beautiful Mother's Day gift," Patrick wrote. Don't cry, smile
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Thursday, May 13, 2010
Chavez critic freed pending trial for remarks
An outspoken opponent of President Hugo Chavez was released from custody Thursday, but a lawyer said Oswaldo Alvarez Paz still faces criminal charges for remarks on a TV talk show.
Attorney Omar Estacio said a judge ordered the state intelligence service to free his client while he awaits trial on charges of spreading false information and publicly inciting crime.
"He's going to be with his family, his children, his wife," Estacio said.
Alvarez Paz, a former presidential candidate and state governor, was arrested March 28 for saying in a television appearance several weeks earlier that Venezuela has turned into a haven for drug traffickers. He also backed allegations by a Spanish judge that Chavez's government has cooperated with the Basque separatist group ETA and Colombian rebels.
Chavez has dismissed those accusations.
As he left the intelligence agency's headquarters surrounded by relatives and friends, Alvarez Paz called the charges against him politically motivated and vowed not curb his criticism of Chavez.
"Here we are, willing to continue fighting for the principles and values that we've always believed in: a person's total freedom to express opinions," he said. "I'm the victim of an injustice."
Alvarez Paz, 67, held up a T-shirt that read: "Expressing an opinion is not a crime," then climbed into a black sedan that sped off.
One of the politician's sons said that under the terms of his release, Alvarez Paz is barred from leaving Venezuela or speaking publicly about the case and could be taken into custody again if he violates those rules.
"This is only the beginning to a process that we must confront," Juan Carlos Alvarez told the television channel Globovision.
The case against of Alvarez Paz has drawn strong condemnation from opposition leaders and human rights activists who say the case shows freedoms are being eroded by Chavez's socialist government. The New York-based Human Rights Watch called the case a setback for freedom of expression in Venezuela.
Hundreds of supporters of Alvarez Paz staged a street demonstration to celebrate his release on a main avenue in Maracaibo, the capital of the politician's home state.
Alvarez Paz said he has not ruled out running in September congressional elections. The opposition aspires to win majority control of the National Assembly, dominated by Chavez allies since major opposition parties boycotted the last congressional elections in 2005. If elected, Alvarez Paz would be granted the customary immunity from prosecution afforded to lawmakers unless impeached.
"We will evaluate it now, but it's not among my priorities," he said.
Alvarez Paz isn't the only Chavez opponent facing prosecution for making remarks that authorities deemed misleading and offensive to Chavez.
Last month, prosecutors brought criminal charges against Guillermo Zuloaga, the majority shareholder of Globovision, Venezuela's lone anti-Chavez television channel, alleging he made false and offensive remarks about Chavez at a meeting of the Inter American Press Association.
Zuloaga claims the government is using the charges to pressure him into curbing the TV station's anti-Chavez editorial line. He has promised not to tone down Globovision's criticism of the government.To see a world in a grain of sand
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Attorney Omar Estacio said a judge ordered the state intelligence service to free his client while he awaits trial on charges of spreading false information and publicly inciting crime.
"He's going to be with his family, his children, his wife," Estacio said.
Alvarez Paz, a former presidential candidate and state governor, was arrested March 28 for saying in a television appearance several weeks earlier that Venezuela has turned into a haven for drug traffickers. He also backed allegations by a Spanish judge that Chavez's government has cooperated with the Basque separatist group ETA and Colombian rebels.
Chavez has dismissed those accusations.
As he left the intelligence agency's headquarters surrounded by relatives and friends, Alvarez Paz called the charges against him politically motivated and vowed not curb his criticism of Chavez.
"Here we are, willing to continue fighting for the principles and values that we've always believed in: a person's total freedom to express opinions," he said. "I'm the victim of an injustice."
Alvarez Paz, 67, held up a T-shirt that read: "Expressing an opinion is not a crime," then climbed into a black sedan that sped off.
One of the politician's sons said that under the terms of his release, Alvarez Paz is barred from leaving Venezuela or speaking publicly about the case and could be taken into custody again if he violates those rules.
"This is only the beginning to a process that we must confront," Juan Carlos Alvarez told the television channel Globovision.
The case against of Alvarez Paz has drawn strong condemnation from opposition leaders and human rights activists who say the case shows freedoms are being eroded by Chavez's socialist government. The New York-based Human Rights Watch called the case a setback for freedom of expression in Venezuela.
Hundreds of supporters of Alvarez Paz staged a street demonstration to celebrate his release on a main avenue in Maracaibo, the capital of the politician's home state.
Alvarez Paz said he has not ruled out running in September congressional elections. The opposition aspires to win majority control of the National Assembly, dominated by Chavez allies since major opposition parties boycotted the last congressional elections in 2005. If elected, Alvarez Paz would be granted the customary immunity from prosecution afforded to lawmakers unless impeached.
"We will evaluate it now, but it's not among my priorities," he said.
Alvarez Paz isn't the only Chavez opponent facing prosecution for making remarks that authorities deemed misleading and offensive to Chavez.
Last month, prosecutors brought criminal charges against Guillermo Zuloaga, the majority shareholder of Globovision, Venezuela's lone anti-Chavez television channel, alleging he made false and offensive remarks about Chavez at a meeting of the Inter American Press Association.
Zuloaga claims the government is using the charges to pressure him into curbing the TV station's anti-Chavez editorial line. He has promised not to tone down Globovision's criticism of the government.To see a world in a grain of sand
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