Having traversed through some of the world’s most perilous countries, Lindhout was working on a story in Mogadishu when she and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan were taken hostage in August, six years ago. They were not released until November 2009 after their families paid a whopping ransom of $600,000.
During the time she was kidnapped, Lindhout was subjected to physical and sexual abuse by her captors. She described her time as a captive as experiencing “almost constant abuse,” reported yourtango.com. “Writing it helped me to believe it. It staked some claim on the truth,” she said about the memoir.
But for the 33 year old, this period of subjugation is what she refers to as a “moment of awakening.” “Abdujllah was abusing me, he was hurting me, and I was protecting myself and had an almost out-of-body experience,” she said, the Daily Mail reported. “I found myself looking down on myself on the floor.” In a moment of sudden realisation, Lindhout understood that violence is the only force her perpetrators know. Instead of living the rest of her life denouncing the culprits, she chose to come to terms with them and their realities.
“It’s pretty clear my captors were products of war and certainly had been shaped by that,” she said. “Having that understanding helped me. They’re human beings with painful stories of their own. It doesn’t make them innocent by any means, but they’re products of a culture of violence.”
In the book, Lindhout reveals how she would turn to a place in her mind to survive the affliction. “There was a fine line between holding steady and dipping into despair,” she said. “It was my memory and my imagination. They helped me survive.”
After “competitive pursuit,” rights to the film have been picked up by Annapurna Pictures, the production company that has films such as American Hustle (2013), Her (2013) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012) to its credit. Actor Rooney Mara, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), will reportedly play Lindhout in the film.
Soon after she was released, Lindhout initiated the Global Enrichment Foundation, which affords higher education to Somali women. Shockingly, one of her captives sent a message to her on Facebook, praising her humanitarian efforts in Somalia. “The fact that they know about the work I’m doing now… that I have chosen compassion, that they could see that they didn’t break me — that’s the best justice I could have,” she said.
Compiled by Ayesha Shaikh.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 15th, 2014.
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Rooney Mara is one fine actor. She is beauty with brains and talent.