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In September 2010, the Columbian government wanted to let hostages held by FARC know that help was on the way.
A counteroffensive designed to attack FARC strongholds deep in the jungle, and rescue prisoners, both civilian and military, who'd been held there for, in a few cases, even more than a decade. They wanted to let the hostages know that this was coming -- but not let the FARC guards know the same thing
They did have a couple possible channels to get information in, the most plausible of which was radio. FARC camps had radios, and they listened to news, entertainment, and plenty of other things. There were even specific radio shows in which families of hostages could send short messages letting them know that they were still thinking of them and that they loved them. The Colombian government knew that they could send a message over the radio that the hostages would hear -- but that the FARC guards would also hear. How could you send a message that the hostages -- or, at least, some of the hostages -- could understand, but that the FARC guards wouldn't?
The following catchy song was played throughout FARC controlled areas.
The lyrics can be very clearly read as designed to give hope to hostages:
But ... that's not all of it. If you listen to it, can you tell what the other part is? Lemme ROT-13 it for you, so you can have the fun of trying to figure it out if you want to.
(If you don't know what ROT-13 is -- copy the weird-looking stuff and paste it into the text box at http://www.rot13.com/, then push the button, and it will decode it. Or encode it -- ROT-13 works both ways.)
Gur fbzrjung veerthyne flagu orng va gur zhfvpny cneg nsgre rnpu pubehf -- gur cneg qverpgyl nsgre "Yvfgra gb guvf zrffntr, oebgure" -- vf Zbefr pbqr sbe "19 YVORENGBF FVTHRA HFGRQRF NAVZB". "19 crbcyr erfphrq. Lbh'er arkg. Qba'g ybfr ubcr".
Zbefr pbqr jnf cneg bs genvavat sbe n ybg bs zvyvgnel naq cbyvpr. Ohg SNEP eroryf, jub trarenyyl unq yvggyr gb ab sbezny rqhpngvba, jbhyqa'g unir nal punapr gb pngpu vg. Gur zvyvgnel cevfbaref jub abgvprq vg cnffrq nybat gur snpg gb gur bgure cevfbaref jub qvqa'g xabj Zbefr.
Brilliant, no?
A counteroffensive designed to attack FARC strongholds deep in the jungle, and rescue prisoners, both civilian and military, who'd been held there for, in a few cases, even more than a decade. They wanted to let the hostages know that this was coming -- but not let the FARC guards know the same thing
They did have a couple possible channels to get information in, the most plausible of which was radio. FARC camps had radios, and they listened to news, entertainment, and plenty of other things. There were even specific radio shows in which families of hostages could send short messages letting them know that they were still thinking of them and that they loved them. The Colombian government knew that they could send a message over the radio that the hostages would hear -- but that the FARC guards would also hear. How could you send a message that the hostages -- or, at least, some of the hostages -- could understand, but that the FARC guards wouldn't?
The following catchy song was played throughout FARC controlled areas.
The lyrics can be very clearly read as designed to give hope to hostages:
[VERSE 1]
In the middle of the night
Thinking about what I love the most
I feel the need to sing
What my heart has to give
I talk about those I love
About how much I miss them
I talk about pride and strength
Which beat inside my heart
[CHORUS]
A new dawn singing this message From my heart
Although I'm tied up and alone I feel as if I'm by your side
Listen to this message brother
[VERSE 2]
I want to keep on fighting
For my friends, my family, my children
We will soon see each other again
I'm sure better days are coming
[CHORUS x 2]
But ... that's not all of it. If you listen to it, can you tell what the other part is? Lemme ROT-13 it for you, so you can have the fun of trying to figure it out if you want to.
(If you don't know what ROT-13 is -- copy the weird-looking stuff and paste it into the text box at http://www.rot13.com/, then push the button, and it will decode it. Or encode it -- ROT-13 works both ways.)
Gur fbzrjung veerthyne flagu orng va gur zhfvpny cneg nsgre rnpu pubehf -- gur cneg qverpgyl nsgre "Yvfgra gb guvf zrffntr, oebgure" -- vf Zbefr pbqr sbe "19 YVORENGBF FVTHRA HFGRQRF NAVZB". "19 crbcyr erfphrq. Lbh'er arkg. Qba'g ybfr ubcr".
Zbefr pbqr jnf cneg bs genvavat sbe n ybg bs zvyvgnel naq cbyvpr. Ohg SNEP eroryf, jub trarenyyl unq yvggyr gb ab sbezny rqhpngvba, jbhyqa'g unir nal punapr gb pngpu vg. Gur zvyvgnel cevfbaref jub abgvprq vg cnffrq nybat gur snpg gb gur bgure cevfbaref jub qvqa'g xabj Zbefr.
Brilliant, no?