Freed journalist thanks family, supporters, government
Journalist Amanda Lindhout—the 28-year-old Alberta native who was held captive in Somalia for 15 months—says she’s “so proud to be a Canadian.” In the first public statement since she was released in November, Lindhout thanked her family, friends, and the many Canadians who contributed money to her ransom—the reported US$600,000 to US$1 million paid to her kidnappers. Lindhout says she was held in captivity in a dark, windowless room. She also says she was beaten numerous times and received very little food. Lindhout also acknowledged the work of the Canadian government—as well as some of the controversy surrounding Ottawa’s involvement in her case: “I know there’s great debate about the role government should or shouldn’t play in a situation such as mine, and I understand the Government of Canada is being criticized both for what they did and didn’t do to support my family. I accept they did what they could within the confines of Canadian policy and for that I am grateful.”