Lori Berenson: Freed Peruvian Prisoner

What’s it like being labeled a terrorist?

I don’t consider myself a terrorist. I think saying someone is a criminal is enough. It’s not helpful to look for ways of qualifying our enemies in drastic terms instead of trying to figure out exactly what we’re faced with.

What’s your take—are the things you did good or bad?

There are things I could have done differently, but that’s part of my history, and I have to assume the consequences. I don’t regret what I’ve done, because I don’t think my intentions were bad. My intentions were positive, whatever that’s worth.

Do Peruvians have the wrong impression of you?

Oh, I think most of them don’t know me at all, because they think I’m associated with bombs and horrendous attacks. I’ve never killed anyone, never harmed anyone, never done anything to cause physical damage to anyone. And I’m sorry that I am seen as a person who would do that.

What will you tell your son about your past?

I don’t have anything to hide. I’m not ashamed of my past. I would tell him the truth of the things I’ve done in my life. They could have been bad, they could have been good, they could have been whatever. But that’s part of my history, and that’s to a certain extent a part of his history.