Posted on 03/31/2006 7:02:25 PM PST by DieHard the Hunter
As survivors of Baghdad's murky, dangerous world go, Harmeet Sooden is strikingly contemplative and calm, even when talking about the way his 118 days as a captive ended.
British Army and Iraqi soldiers had just burst into the upmarket house in which he and two others from the Christian Peacemakers Team were being held.
"I had the sense, `This is strange'," he said. "I didn't feel, I wasn't jumping for joy, I didn't have tears of emotion. I felt this was contrived, but that we were free."
Speaking in Auckland at an hour-long press conference to all media yesterday, Mr Sooden, a New Zealand resident, fleshed out the details of his ordeal and that of his fellow captives Canadian James Loney, 41, Briton Norman Kember, 74, and American Tom Fox, 54.
Mr Fox was murdered and his body was found on March 10. The other three were not sure of his fate tilltill they were freed on March 23.
News of the murder left Mr Sooden in tears: "I mourn the loss of my friend Tom Fox who was a dedicated peace activist and a role model to me."
Mr Sooden, 33, made it clear that he found the experience of facing the media very hard – nor was he keen on way he was being lionised by activists.
"The image everyone has of me is not who I am, I am not a hero, I make mistakes."
On the day he was snatched by a group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade, he and the others had gone to a mosque to interview a prominent human rights cleric, he said. As they left, a vehicle pulled in front of them.
"Four armed men got out and quickly removed the driver and the translator, local Iraqis, and commandeered the vehicle and took us to the first safe house, which was about 15 minutes away. It was very surreal. I remember giving Jim a smile while we were driving around."
He tried to work out whether his captors were opportunist criminals, politically motivated or Muslim fundamentalists.
"My belief was that it was a Sunni group with a religious attachment that was politically motivated."
Asked if the kidnappers' beliefs might have been as strong as his, he replied: "Yes, but they were more violent."
For the first two weeks the four were kept bound and hooded and received only six biscuits and a little water each day. "We had no idea what was going on." They did not talk. "We weren't sure what was allowed and what wasn't. Initially, we didn't speak at all."
Mr Sooden said at first he believed he would quickly be freed "once they know who we are". Their kidnappers were different from those who were their jailers and Mr Sooden tried to get to know them. Their favoured man was a calm, large farmer.
"There were three guards that were in charge, our caretakers. They all had stories and we kept asking stories. For me, it was to confirm we weren't being misled and based on that.
"One of them had most of his family killed when (the United States) invaded in 2004. His house was bombed. Another, his house was destroyed in Fallujah.
"Another one was a farmer who had been humiliated several times by the US soldiers and he claimed to have killed some US soldiers as well. The farmer saw us as his crops, so he would look after us well. The youngest one, whose family was killed, was very volatile. He was the most difficult to deal with."
Mr Sooden spent a lot of time thinking.
"Running through my life, thinking about friends and what they might be doing, thinking about the future, resolving conflicts that I may have with people I might know."
On Christmas Eve, believing they might be freed, the hostages sang carols. Nothing happened.
"Christmas Day we were very low and emotional, disappointed that we weren't free."
In January, an armoured personnel carrier and Western soldiers near the house caused tension. "Our captors came in with grenades and we felt they had orders to destroy the captives if there was a raid. Execution wasn't our only fear. Raids, the escalating civil unrest, and also the belief that maybe the negotiations were breaking down, obviously that might lead us to our execution."
The hostages were upstairs and the captors downstairs when the armoured personnel carrier showed up. No one knocked on their front door and when it was over, the younger man came upstairs. Usually he had a cellphone in his hand, but this time it was a grenade.
"He was really just staring at us. I think they would have fought, but our belief was that we were there as commodities to be exchanged for something and if that agreement was broken, or didn't work out or a raid occurred, we would be destroyed."
After a period in the first house they were moved to another house 15 minutes away. The other three were hooded and handcuffed and put in the boot of the car. Mr Sooden was put in the back seat without a hood or cuffs.
"They told me to keep my head down upon departure and just before arrival. Obviously the doors were locked, I think, because of my appearance and the time of night. They said, `We trust you.' "
Early in March the captors said they were to move back to the first house, but it seemed a ruse to get the doomed Mr Fox out. Mr Sooden had a bad feeling.
"The night before, every one was celebrating. I remember having a bad feeling and the next day they choose Tom to go first. Basically I said, `I'll see you soon'. Those were the last words after a hug."
As time passed, the captives' treatment improved. They were given more time for exercise and more trips to the bathroom.
"I think I was treated the best. Other than lack of food at the beginning, I think we were treated with dignity. There was very little violence. I was slapped once at the beginning. Other than that, there was no violence."
The captors even gave Mr Sooden a cake for his birthday and a present – a broken bookstand end.
Asked if he liked his captors, Mr Sooden replied: "There were moments we would joke around, but always, not even at the back of my mind but at the forefront, it was for survival."
He knew they had played a role in the killing of Mr Fox, though he sees them still as victims.
"They wanted us to leave, they wanted it to end. They kept saying that while you're prisoners, we're prisoners too. "
Each night, the men were shackled for 12 hours as they slept. When freedom came, Mr Sooden was asleep.
"Jim woke me up. Norman was asleep. He said something is happening. There were more voices and they were very close and that was highly unusual. Then, suddenly, I heard an English accent saying, `Open the door' and we knew it was a raid."
In less than a minute they were being freed with bolt cutters.
The New Zealand Herald (Apr 1 2006) also reported these gems from the press conference:
"With regard to the soldiers taking risks [in the rescue], they have been taking permanent risk just by being in Iraq."
"I have never felt as if I should not have gone."
"I am a human being. Yes, I can be foolish, but in terms of helping other human beings I think that's natural."
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