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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Wife of Fox journalist: Captives are friends of Palestinians |
| 2006-08-25 |
| The wife of one of the Fox News journalists kidnapped in Gaza City last week issued an emotional plea to the kidnappers Thursday, saying her husband, Olaf Wiig, and Steve Centanni merely wanted to tell the Palestinians' story. The full text of Anita McNaught's statement, which came the day after a video of the pair aired on Palestinian television, is as follows: "It was a source of great relief and comfort to me, and to Olaf and Steve's family and friends to see that our men are being well looked after by you, and we trust that you will continue to care for them until their release. (Watch the captive journalists ask for help -- 1:33) "Over 10 days, you have come to know these men. So you must know that they are merely innocent journalists who have no ability to bring about the kind of changes you ask for. "Olaf, my husband, and Steve, his colleague, are not powerful men. They have only one strength here in Gaza and that is to take the voices of the Palestinian people to the outside world. They can only do this if they are free. "Olaf and Steve have always worked for the interests of the Palestinian people. They came here to support you by telling your stories. I do not question that you who are holding them have suffered greatly -- as everyone in Gaza, in the Palestinian territories is suffering -- but these two men are not responsible for the injustices you speak of, and should not be punished for them. "I would like to send a message to my husband Olaf and to Steve. Olaf -- you are right: We are doing everything we can -- I am doing everything I can here in Gaza -- to secure your release. Stay strong, and know that the Palestinian people around me have been very kind. You both know how much you are loved. "To the kidnappers, I say: You also have families and wives. People should not be kept from their families. In the name of the Muslim values and traditions you so strongly uphold, these two men are your guests. We all desire a peaceful resolution of this matter -- for us and for you. We want our men to come home safe." |
| Posted by:Oztralian |
| #10 Gentlemen, please cut the lady some slack. Her husband is being held hostage by a bunch of homicidal, sexually infantile shitwits with guns. If someone I loved was being held in similar circumstances, yeah, I'd probably say whatever they wanted to keep my loved ones alive. That doesn't mean I would believe a word of it. And yes, saw it happen with domestic barricade situations. One parent holds the kid at gunpoint...the other might make a taped statement saying "It's ok, we still all love you, we want to help you, blah blah blah...". Once the kid is released and the suspect is in custody, they turn tiger. She may be doing the same thing for all we know. It's easy to make tough statements about the situation if you aren't personally involved with it. She is. If they kill her husband and Mr Centanni, we'll all pretty much forget about it next month. She never will. My heart goes out to her, and I hope Mr Centanni and Mr Wiig are released soon, and safely, to their loved ones. |
| Posted by: Swamp Blondie 2006-08-25 18:26 |
| #9 Captives are friends of Palestinians --- and are recipients of Palestinian gratitude. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-08-25 18:11 |
| #8 "#7 *My* family would be under strict orders to go on every talk show in an attitude of defiance, to heap curses upon my captors and under no condition may they beg, grovel, plead, or cry." I generally agree though in this case, Steve and Olaf would be returned to their respective families ... one piece at a time. |
| Posted by: Lancasters Over Dresden 2006-08-25 14:02 |
| #7 *My* family would be under strict orders to go on every talk show in an attitude of defiance, to heap curses upon my captors and under no condition may they beg, grovel, plead, or cry. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-08-25 09:36 |
| #6 Olaf and Steve have always worked for the interests of the Palestinian people. Could I recall that their employer is Fox News NOT the Palestinian people and that Fox News viewers expect the TRUTH not Palestinian propaganda? |
| Posted by: JFM 2006-08-25 08:33 |
| #5 She'll say anything right now. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-08-25 08:18 |
| #4 They came here to support you by telling your Any sympathy I had for them just dissapeared. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2006-08-25 07:57 |
| #3 "Olaf and Steve have always worked for the interests of the Palestinian people." As if that ever mattered. |
| Posted by: Mike 2006-08-25 07:22 |
| #2 Dunno. "Olaf and Steve have always worked for the interests of the Palestinian people." There was a joke going on when I was a teenager. People assumed that China would go on conquest at some point and we would write, after it's all done, in our CVs: "I loved rice since I was a toddler". I have a sort of an agreement with my wife that in the case either of us would end up being held as a hostage by jihadis, we would ask for bombing the place if its location would be known (embedded chip may be usefull in that regard). Of course, chances of us being held hostages are pretty slim, but one never knows, them jihadis are infesting all over, bare Antarctica and Greenland. |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2006-08-25 01:05 |
| #1 Unfortunately, the boys are with al Qaeda, and they don't give a damn about humanity. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2006-08-25 00:39 |