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Aust worker held hostage 'terrified'
Posted by Tiglath (Guest) davidchibo@hotmail.com - Thursday, April 15 2004, 22:49:49 (EDT)
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Aust worker held hostage 'terrified'
April 16, 2004


An Australian aid worker taken hostage in the Iraqi flashpoint town of Fallujah said her capture was terrifying, and she claimed she had been placed in great danger because of "inflammatory" comments by Prime Minister John Howard.

Donna Mulhearn, from Maitland in NSW, was captured by local Mujahadeen fighters as she and three other foreign aid workers tried to leave the embattled town on Wednesday afternoon. They had been distributing humanitarian aid to civilians.

As they were leaving, the workers' car became caught in crossfire between the militia and US forces.

Ms Mulhearn said she tried to show her Australian passport at a US checkpoint, in a bid for safe passage.

But the four were captured by the militia, who were armed with a dozen guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

In an email sent from Iraq, Ms Mulhearn said she was held for 24 hours and released unharmed.

The capture of the four workers followed that of three Japanese hostages and four Italian security guards.

Ms Mulhearn said that, while undertaking the humanitarian work before she was captured, she and her three colleagues were shot at four times by US soldiers while trying to take an ambulance full of medical aid to a clinic.

After her capture, she was questioned by the Mujahadeen fighters, who she said were particularly interested in Australia's involvement in the war in Iraq.

"We were interrogated and our belongings were searched, but we were treated very well, especially when they heard about the work we were doing," Ms Mulhearn said.

But she claimed "inflammatory" comments by Mr Howard, which were given wide airplay on Iraqi and Arab television in the preceding days, had placed her in danger.

"I realised quickly that my prime minister, John Howard, had placed me in great danger by making inflammatory comments about the war just a few days ago," she said.

"I was questioned about Australia's involvement in the war, about the current role of Australian soldiers and the views of Australians at home. They asked why Australia wants to hurt Iraqi people.

"I felt a great deal of shame about how blindly my government follows the lead of the US in terms of foreign policy."

Ms Mulhearn, 34, said the situation in Fallujah was reaching the point of an humanitarian crisis.

Many families were stuck there with few supplies because US soldiers would not allow them to leave, she said.

"Even during a so-called ceasefire, Fallujah was under siege with bombing, missiles and mortar attacks," she said.

"But the worst form of attack was the US snipers hiding on rooftops who kill hundreds of civilians as they tried to move about the city."

On Sydney radio today, Ms Mulhearn described the ordeal as terrifying.

"We didn't know what was going to happen (and) uncertainty is a terrifying thing," she told radio 2UE.

"We didn't know whether our driver would take care of it and (whether) they (the militia) would realise who we were and what we were doing.

"Those few moments when they surrounded the car and then took us to the first house (for interrogation) were the most frightening of all."

She said she was unharmed, and her captors had promised her they would not hurt her.

"When they saw that we were frightened and that we really (were) doing our best to explain ourselves and what we were doing in Fallujah, they said to us 'Look, don't worry too much. We are Muslims and we can't hurt you. We are not violent and we won't hurt you and we won't touch you'."

Ms Mulhearn said she felt very lucky and grateful, saying the leader of her captors had a "kind face".

"The group that picked us up were definitely more rational and more stable and (more) willing to listen than some other groups," she said.

"I've been watching with interest the news of other hostages taken and I could see that maybe some of the other militia and soldiers who took foreigners were maybe very angry, maybe very violent and maybe not as mature.

"They searched our belongings, they heard our stories and when they realised we were telling the truth they actually treated us with much respect."

- AAP



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