It is not easy to follow this advice when one is subject to pressure from the media and for a period one becomes a major source of attraction. My advice to anyone who faces such an experience is to make one statement for all the media and then retire for a while. Many journalists have an appreciation for the pressures that are put on someone who is returning home after undergoing a major ordeal, but not all.
When I came home I was given good advice to first make a statement to the press before meeting my family. It was said that if I met my wife and children first, then, given the emotions of the situation, it might be difficult to stand and deliver a statement. I agreed and drafted out some words to be given to the press on arrival. It hurt me deeply when some time later a journalist wrote: “What do you make of a man like Terry Waite who meets the press first before meeting his family?” I can’t say I have a very thick skin but at that time I was especially sensitive. Over the years I have learnt to deal with this sort of thing but I am acutely aware how vulnerable one is at such a moment.
Without a doubt the past years have been acutely difficult for the Zaghari-Ratcliffe family. From obscurity they have been thrown into the public arena and they have faced this ordeal with great courage and determination. It has been a time of considerable suffering for all of them. Suffering is never easy to bear but it is my firm conviction that it need not destroy. It will always be painful but within the experience there are often the seeds of new opportunities. In my own case I would never have been able to give up a salaried occupation and give my time to the founding of Hostage International and other charities without having known what it is to reach the depths of despair. Having always had sympathy for those who suffer, captivity enabled me to have empathy. Sympathy is to feel sorry for others. Empathy is to know and to feel what it really is like for them.
Over the past six years I have kept in close touch with Nazanin and have had occasional meetings with the wife of Anoosheh. We have passed through times when it seemed that all hope was lost but with the efforts of Richard and thousands of supporters, hope was kept alive.
We can all rejoice that there is some good news from Iran today. Over the past 40 years I have got to know many Iranians, many of whom are gentle and intelligent people. We can only hope that the return of Nazanin to her family will herald the beginning of improved relationships with that great country. Welcome home Nazanin and Anoosheh. We share the joy of your family at your return.
