Danny Chan

Afghan insurgents have released three United Nations workers held hostage for 26 days, UN officials announced. Reports on Nov. 23 stated the hostages, Angelito Nayan, a Philippine diplomat; Annetta Flanigan, a British-Irish citizen; and Shquipe Hebibe of Kosovo were released overnight and were reportedly in good health. The former hostages were debriefed by Afghan intelligence then released.

A spokesperson for Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said her government refused to meet the kidnappers’ ransom demands.

“We appreciate the efforts of the UN as well as the Afghan government,” Silvestre Afable said, adding the Philippines refused to accept a prisoner-for-hostage deal. Mrs Macapagal-Arroyo attributed the Philippine national’s release to intercession from Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, where she prayed for Mr Nayan. She told reporters that as thanksgiving and to “honor her intercession so that Lito Nayan could be freed after our prayer … I will have a special day of prayer on Dec. 12 (the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe)”. The president also expressed concern for the safety of Roberto Tarongoy, a Philippine citizen held by Iraqi militants allegedly demanding a ransom payment.

One source stated the British Special Air Service was closing in on the kidnappers’ hideout after tracing a telephone call which they allowed a hostage to make. An American military spokesperson in Kabul said the “effective pursuit of the kidnappers ... led directly to the release” of the hostages but declined to offer further details.

Afghan authorities moreover said criminal gangs were behind the abductions. But a spokesperson for the Taliban-splinter group Jaish-al Muslimeen (Army of Muslims), Syed Khalid, said the organization had released the hostages against an “assurance that the release of our 24 people would begin today.”

The Afghan interior minister, Ali Ahmad Jalali, said the hostages were “abandoned in one location inside Kabul” around 6 a.m. on Nov. 23. The three were found in an abandoned car outside Kabul where they were later discovered by a UN vehicle. Talks were held with the kidnappers but Mr Jalali stressed the hostages’ release was unconditional.

“There is no deal with the kidnappers. They will be brought to justice,” he announced at a news conference. The incident marked the first time foreign workers were abducted in Kabul, although road engineers had earlier been seized then subsequently released outside the capital. The Taliban and its allies were previously thought incapable of orchestrating such a maneuver and observers speculate the move was calculated to embarrass Afghanistan’s newly elected president, Hamid Karzai. At a ceremony in which he presented carpet gifts to the former hostages, he thanked “the grace of God” for their safe return.

“This was something of which the people of Afghanistan were ashamed,” Mr Karzai said. An investigator who met with the three following their release was surprised at their overall physical condition.

“They looked very healthy. They were very well treated,” the source said. A UN spokesperson, Manoel de Almeida e Silva, told reporters on Nov. 25 that he heard the former hostages state they were fed “good” Afghan food in captivity.

The trio were taken hostage on Oct. 28 after gunmen ran their vehicle off a road. The kidnapping occurred as the final results from a peaceful election three weeks ago trickled in. The three UN workers were in the process of training locals to serve as election monitors and were due to return home in two weeks.

A sense of excitement was palpable in Mr Nayat’s neighborhood of Casimiro Townhomes in Barangay Daniel Fajardo in his home town of Las Pinas City. Family, friends and neighbors prepared for his homecoming as the town was bedecked with yellow ribbons, balloons and streamers to mark his return.

Mr Nayan, speaking to reporters for the first time since his return to the Philippines, said he was initially excited at the prospect of working in Afghanistan to help in elections for the war-torn country.

“I remember telling myself what a blessing to be part of such a landmark process even if I am just a tiny footnote,” the 34-year-old junior diplomat said. “Then the unthinkable happened.”

Mr Nayan said his ordeal were “extremely difficult days” that metamorphosed into an “incredible journey of faith and friendship.” He credited Ms Flanigan’s feisty character, Ms Hebibe’s quick wit and his incorrigible optimism. He further described their tribulation as a “surreal setup” because they were accorded Afghan hospitality.

“The kidnappers made sure that my friends and I were warm enough in freezing weather at night, fed us quite generously after Iftar (after 5 p.m. during Ramadan), even allowed us to listen to pop hits broadcast by a British station for British forces,” he said. After their release, Mr Nayan said he was astonished to learn that Afghan women had volunteered to replace them as hostages.

“This experience will not change or will it ever change Annetta, Shqipe and my hopes and aspirations for Afghanistan and its people–that democracy, peace and social justice will finally be the order of the day,” he said.

Nicole Daniel, president of the homeowners’ association, said Mr Nayan would be presented with a plaque of appreciation for his earlier contribution to their organization. The former hostage, who holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of the Philippines as well as a post-graduate degree in international relations from the International University of Japan, had worked on financing for the establishment of Casimiro.


Copyright ©2005 Danny Chan. About the author