[300.1] HATE MAIL AND MORE - KEMBER'S ORDEAL

Ekklesia have covered this morning's BBC interview with Norman Kember in the following four detailed stories (the latest of which was posted very shortly after broadcast at 9.45am):
Hate mail came after false media charges, says Norman Kember 15/04/06
Kember affirms gratitude for Iraq kidnap freeing 15/04/06
Kember still evaluating Christian peacemaker's role in Iraq 15/04/06
Kember notes irony of non-violent release by soldiers 15/04/06

Some key points: Kember acknowledges as a "mistake" going to an isolated mosque in Baghdad, from which the abduction took place - but testifies to the record of Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq; he refutes false allegations of ingratitude and says that they led to "piles of hate mail"; it is revealed that Jim Loney sought to talk a young captor out of becoming a suicide bomber; Kember talks of tour of Baghdad before kidnapping; the interview focusses on his trauma and that of the family.

Other media coverage: Kember weeps over 'unreal' kidnapping (Telegraph, UK); Kember weeps as he tells of rescue (Daily Mail and global newswires); Former Iraq hostage Norman Kember says he considered suicide (Mainichi Daily News, Japan); Kember's emotional account (ITV.com); Kember speaks about Iraq ordeal (BBC News, UK); Kember refusing to star in own drama (Times Online, UK - Apr 2, 2006).

Listen to the Norman Kember interview on the BBC webcast 'listen again' service.

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