Military strikes hit within miles of detained Waco women in Afghanistan
By JASON EMBRY Waco Tribune-Herald staff writerFriday October 19, 2001
From http://www.wacotrib.com/auto/feed/news/2001/10/19/1003466971.21267.8561.2695.html
Antioch pastor Jimmy Siebert talks about church members detained in
Afghanistan. (Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald)
U.S. military strikes have landed a couple of miles from two Waco women detained in Kabul, Afghanistan, on charges of preaching Christianity, the women's pastor said Thursday.
Antioch Community Church Pastor Jimmy Seibert said Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer remained strong in their faith when their lawyer, Atef Ali Khan, saw them Sunday. Khan has submitted arguments and is waiting to see how Taliban justices will respond. The two Americans and six other aid workers were charged with spreading Christianity in the sternly Islamic nation.
Seibert said the lawyer reported that the detainees' walls had been shaken by the U.S. attacks. When asked about the loss of electricity and other utilities, Seibert said such shortages are part of daily life in Afghanistan, bombings or not.
"Because they've been fairly isolated the whole time, it's really difficult to know when and what is going on, other than what you hear with your ears," Seibert said. "I think other than that, their conditions are pretty much the same."
He said the main charge against Curry and Mercer is that they showed the widely distributed "Jesus" video, spoken in a local language, in the home of an Afghan family on Aug. 3. Seibert said the women did show the video, but he could not say whether they knew it was something that would have them arrested.
"The (Afghan) family itself, out of relationship with these ladies, had dialogued about who Jesus was and had asked if they had anything that they could show them more about about Jesus, and so that was the actual event that happened," Seibert said.
The penalty the women face is unclear, with reports ranging from expulsion to death. Seibert said he could not speculate on what penalty might be handed down because the final decision rests with Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar.
"What I'm getting from the attorney is that what they were accused of, even if found 100 percent guilty, would not render the strictest judgment," Seibert said.
He said Khan is now in Pakistan but plans to travel back to Kabul this weekend to meet with the detainees and, if a judgment has not yet been given, the Taliban justices.
Khan met Wednesday with Danny Mulkey, an associate pastor at Antioch who is staying in Pakistan to support the detainees. Seibert said Khan has said he believes the Taliban see the detainees' trials as a separate issue from the ongoing military conflict between the United States and Afghanistan.
Baylor University graduates Curry, 29, and Mercer, 24, went to Afghanistan with Shelter Now, a German-based aid agency. They are detained in a room with three Germans and one Australian, all women. A German man and an Australian man have also been detained.
Seibert said Curry and Mercer's parents, who are staying in Pakistan, met with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell during his trip there this week.
"Their visit with Secretary of State Powell was merely a goodwill affirmation time where the secretary of state went out of his way to make sure that the families knew and we knew that they were doing everything possible to work in the process of seeing the girls released," he said. "That was an encouragement, but again it wasn't anything related to military actions of any type."
British journalist Yvonne Ridley, recently jailed in Afghanistan for entering illegally, spent some time with the aid workers during her detainment. A journal of her time in Kabul was published in the Sunday Express , a British newspaper.
Ridley wrote that a shower in the women's prison consists of a bucket of cold water which can be heated. She also said a "delicate, gravity-defying balancing act" is needed to use their toilet.
Recalling her first meeting with the six women aid workers, Ridley wrote, "I have not seen a woman for many days and they are all strong, intelligent and witty. I am humbled by their strength and inner peace."
But other reports have said Mercer has become sick with anxiety during her detainment. Seibert said the latest word he has on Mercer is that she is doing "quite well."
"I think that she's had some emotional ups and downs, but the best I can say is it hasn't been near as extensive as has been communicated from other parties," he said. "The reality is she's had some tough days, but she has more than always come out of it and more than let the others strengthen her and help her out."
Seibert said a recent letter from Curry was also encouraging.
"She said, 'you know, it's been the hardest time I've ever experienced in my life, but I know that God is doing a great work in me,'" he recalled. "'He's refining me like gold even in the toughest circumstances, and for that, I'm thankful.'"
Jason Embry can be reached at jembry@wacotrib.com or at 757-5743.
© 2001 Cox Newspapers, Inc.
Link to original provided. Cached for fair use for education and discussion.
