Posted on 04/15/2006 6:39:19 AM PDT by oxcart
A Briton who was held hostage in Iraq for almost four months said he considered suicide because he thought it might help his fellow captives.
"I thought it might help the Canadians, if they got rid of the Brit," said Norman Kember, who was abducted along with two Canadians and an American, Tom Fox. Fox was later killed.
Britain participated in the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, but Canada did not.
"I got very depressed at one stage. ... When you're really depressed you think of suicide but there aren't any means of doing it," Kember, 74, told British Broadcasting Corp. radio in an interview broadcast Saturday.
Kember, Fox and Canadians James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, were abducted in Baghdad on Nov. 26. All had traveled to Iraq with the pacifist group Christian Peacemaker Teams.
Kember, Loney and Sooden were freed without violence by U.S., British and Canadian forces on March 23. After their release the three learned that Fox, 54, had been killed by the hostage takers weeks earlier.
Kember broke down in tears at times as he recounted his ordeal to the BBC.
He said the captives sat for 12 hours a day in a dim room with curtained windows. He said they thought of escape but were deterred by the heavily armed guards.
"Where we were you could hear all the life of Baghdad, all the sounds of Baghdad outside, and that was another world," Kember said.
After Kember's release, the chief of the British army criticized him for apparently failing to thank his rescuers, who included troops from Britain's elite special forces unit, the Special Air Service.
Kember insisted he was grateful.
"I continue to thank them for what they did," he said. "They were brave. I disagree with their profession — but it's ironic. You go as a peace activist and you are rescued by the SAS."
"They were brave. I disagree with their profession — but it's ironic. You go as a peace activist and you are rescued by the SAS."
They helped to liberate 25 million, you helped enable a murdering dictator. You sleep soundly under the blanket of freedom their profession provides you. A peace activist is nothing more than self-loving coward.
NICE! Thanks
You liked that one did ya! :)
Yeah, I had a guy in a bible class handing out Tom Foxx quotes. Its good to see that these guys took their "suffering servant" ideals to heart. I think they only went over there because they believe these terrorists are nobel savages that have been oppressed by the power structures of America. They really don;t think that these people are evil.
I remember how the British Army abused Jehovahs Witnesses by throwing them into a cold cell. They stripped them and then put in army uniforms to force them to wear the uniform.
All that time, most of the lads (me included) did not know about how the likes of Kember fiddled it. Another dodge- eventually the army twigged, was to join the bloomin' Communist Party. The membership card was then put on the bed for inspection. Bye bye Sergeant Major. LOL.
A lot of "Communists" then began to appear, that probably could not even spell Communist. They then had to do their time.
I feel like a good laugh today. Kember- just damn!.
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