This [the Stockholm Syndrome] was particularly well illustrated in the dramatic and poignant case of Gerard Vaders. Vaders was a journalist who was one of many hostages taken captive aboard a train bound from Groningen to Amsterdam in December of 1975 by seven members of the Free South Moluccan Youth Movement. The terrorists killed the train engineer and executed two hostages in the course of the twelve day siege. The Moluccans had announced that they would carry out regular executions, but clearly they did not have the heart for it. Nevertheless, at one point Vaders himself was marked for execution; the only thing that prevented the Moluccans from carrying it out was Vaders’ “last testimonial”. He had received permission to give a message for his family to one of the other hostages; in the course of this talk, he freely discussed his weaknesses, his failures, his family difficulties. The Moluccans evidently felt empathy for him, perceiving him as a human being rather than a pawn, and decided not to kill him. The tragic aftermath was that they then quickly executed another man in his stead."
Stay Safe.......Y