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Ko Se-hoon had hoped to return to school this fall semester, but instead he is taking another six months¡¯ leave. One of 21 Koreans taken hostage by Taliban militants in Afghanistan in July, Ko came back home on Sept. 2 after 42 days of detention, but the nightmares persist. Worst of all, he says, are the dirty looks he is getting. There was not a moment he felt free from condemnation for defying a government travel ban to the war-torn country with his group of evangelical Christians and causing trouble for the nation.
Ko decided not to dodge the criticism. He read all the negative messages on the Internet and met other victims regularly to talk about what he felt. After four months, the 27-year old now says, ¡°Few people recognize me now. I¡¯ve almost overcome the psychological trauma. But the incident will make me think about what I¡¯ve done for the rest of my life.¡±
Although most of the 21 victims have now returned to their normal lives, they still suffer the shock of their severe public condemnation. The victims were admitted to Sam Anyang General Hospital for 10 days upon their return from Afghanistan and had a week to recuperate at a sanatorium in Sokcho, Ganwong Province before going back to their families. Since then, they have been meeting every Tuesday to comfort each other. For the families of the Rev. Bae Hyung-kyu and Shim Sung-min, who were killed by their captors, the sorrow is permanent.
Kim Kyung-ja (37), the first person the Taliban released along with Kim Ji-na, told the Chosun Ilbo by phone, ¡°I am doing fine and still resting at home, thinking about what I¡¯m going to do.¡± She worked for an IT firm in Seoul before she went to Afghanistan but quit the job when she returned. Kim Ji-na is going to get married late this month. Lyu Kyeong-sik (55), the oldest victim, reportedly returned to a seminary to study in a graduate program. Im Hyun-joo (32), Park Hye-young (34) and Lee Ji-young (36), three women who served as guides in Afghanistan, are still working as volunteers at a church in Korea while trying to find a new job. Im was the first hostage to appear on CBS to tell the broadcaster that all the hostages were in bad health.
Kim Yun-young (35), whose husband posted a video clip reading a letter to her on the Internet during the ordeal, is living as an ordinary housewife. Song Byung-woo (33) who injured his sternum being hit by the Taliban, went back to his job with a consulting firm. Lee Jeong-ran, the 33-year-old nurse, is also working back at work in hospital.
One victim said, ¡°I always pulled a hat down over my eyes when I went out after coming back from Afghanistan. After a month, I went out without a hat and nobody recognized me, so I felt free to go out again.¡± But that does not mean they have completely overcome the trauma. Most of them did not want to talk to the press and some changed their phone numbers. Lee Sun-young (37), who runs a small interior business, said that she still gets threatening e-mails. ¡°I think it will take more time before I can talk about the incident freely,¡± she said. Lee Young-kyoung (22), the youngest victim, is looking for a job but, according to other hostages, is having a hard time putting the trauma behind her.
All the victims have kept in touch with each other and plan to form a group for their families. Some five families became born-again Christians after the ordeal. Bae¡¯s family still suffer. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about how I feel yet. I just don¡¯t want to think about it at all,¡± his widow Kim Hee-yeon said. Shim¡¯s family are doing no better. ¡°My wife still has trouble sleeping at night and pulling herself together,¡± Shim Jin-pyo, Shim¡¯s father and a council member in South Gyeongsang Province. ¡°The church is saying that it will build a monument or a memorial hall, but what¡¯s the use of it now? It won¡¯t bring my son back.¡±
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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