Jill Carroll was a captive in Iraq for 82 days. Like many Americans I watched and prayed for her release. Now she is home with her twin sister, Katie, and her family in Boston. Jill is a free lance writer for the Christian Science Monitor. The newspaper reported that the newspaper gave no money to the terrorist that captured her to obtain her release. Her family was a main source of energy for her release. Also, there were many in Iraq who encouraged the terrorist to release her. I decided that she would be released eventually but the release was a long time coming. Jill was treated kindly by her captures. She had a small room and a private bath. She had no contact with the outside except I believe she said she had access to a newspaper once during her stay. She was required to appear in a video with menacing gunmen standing over her. In Jill's favor was her understanding of the Iraqi people and the situation in that country. Understanding with applied wisdom brings hope. That probably sustained her. There was no reason to believe that she would be spared as her interpreter was murdered shortly after capture. The amazing thing about Jill is her composure. Maybe she will fall apart for a day or two when she is home and have unfavorable reflections later but I doubt it. She is an amazing woman of composure, intellect, and courage. So is her twin sister, Katie, who tried so hard to obtain her release. Her parents are such people too, having a dignity that everyone should admire. Following are some excerpts from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Carroll: "Jill C. Carroll (b. 1977 in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is an American freelance journalist who was kidnapped in Baghdad on January 7, 2006 by members of the Iraqi insurgency. Carroll was released by her captors unharmed on March 30, 2006.[1] "Carroll graduated from Huron High School in Ann Arbor in 1995. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a bachelor's degree in Journalism in 1999 "Carroll was reporting in Iraq for the Christian Science Monitor. She has also worked as a commentator for news networks such as MSNBC. She has been in Iraq since October 2003. Before covering the Middle East, Carroll was a reporter in Washington, D.C., for the Wall Street Journal and States News Service. "On January 7, Carroll, along with an interpreter and driver, traveled to the Adel district of Baghdad to interview Adnan al-Dulaimi, a Sunni politician and leader of the Iraqi People's Conference. After discovering that al-Dulaimi was not at his office, they left and soon after were ambushed by masked gunmen. The driver managed to escape, but Carroll was kidnapped and her interpreter, Allan Enwiyah, 32, was shot dead and his body abandoned nearby by the kidnappers during the abduction. Carroll's driver, quoted in a story posted on the Monitor's website, said gunmen jumped in front of the car, pulled him from it, and drove off with their two captives all within 15 seconds." I tried to find an article or two with Jill's byline. I found lots of articles about her but none by her. That is unfortunate. Welcome home, Jill! The End |
