Freed aid worker tells of mock executions
An Irish aid worker held captive for almost four months in war-torn Sudan revealed today that her abductors staged mock assassinations by shooting around her.
Sharon Commins, who will arrive back in Dublin in a Irish Government jet tonight, said she was scared, anxious and stressed throughout her 107-day ordeal.
The 32-year-old and her Ugandan colleague Hilda Kawuki – snatched from their Goal compound in Darfur by an armed gang in July – were released in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Ms Commins said both women lived in constant fear of being shot but kept each other strong during their captivity.
“You could die in there of sadness, you could just die if you didn’t lift your sprits,” she said.
“It was just incredibly sad every morning. Such a heavy burden to continue.
“We definitely needed each other and we prayed together and tried to keep each other strong.”
Ms Commins said the women were petrified the night three armed men burst into their compound, held guns to their heads and ordered them into the back of a van.
Up to 18 armed men then held them captive and intimidated them.
“There were mock assassinations on a few occasions so it was extremely scary and we were always anxious and stressed and upset until the minute we got out,” said Ms Commins.
“We’d be told to kneel on our knees and they would shoot around us.
“Obviously, the first time that happened we thought we were actually going to be shot and each time we think, OK, I hope it’s a mock, but you do never know.
“It was an extremely dangerous situation to be in.”
Ms Commins told RTE radio said they lived in difficult conditions and were held on four different mountain ranges where they were exposed to all the elements.
They sheltered from the sun under two blankets, which they also used at night to cover them.
They were given two meals a day, had very little water and could wash themselves only every two weeks.
The aid worker said they still feared the armed gang, who wanted a ransom, despite being encouraged that there were being kept alive.
“The flip side of that coin is that they were getting increasingly frustrated that they were paying money to feed us and they were getting more frustrated by the day,” she said, from the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
“We were still happy to be alive but extremely fearful. We were never confident that we would be kept alive. The fear of being shot was a constant threat.”
Ms Commins said they initially did not believe they were being released as they had been given false hope so many times before.
“The moment I knew I was free was when I got into a familiar car and there was no gun and people said ’Welcome home. You girls did well’,” she said.
“The road we were on was still dangerous and we were still not out of harm’s way until we got to the safe house and then there was a moment of joy. Then we talked to our families.
“It took a few minutes to sink in. It took us a while to get our heads around.”
Ms Commins, who thanked the public for all the support given to her and her family in Clontarf, said she is relieved to be coming home and spending time with her family and friends.
“I’m definitely not going to work until well after Christmas,” she said.
Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs said it did not pay a ransom to end the captivity – understood to be one of the longest-running of any foreign aid staff in the region.
A Government jet with medical personnel and Air Corps staff on board is in Khartoum to bring Miss Commins home later tonight.
