American Aid Worker Describes Her 93 Days of Hell At The Hands of Somali Bandits and the Dramatic Navy SEAL Rescue Mission

An American aid worker who was kidnapped by Somali bandits and held hostage in the desert for 93 days has spoken for the first time about her terrifying ordeal and the dramatic Navy SEAL rescue mission that brought her home. Jessica Buchanan was 32-years-old when she was in Somalia teaching children how to avoid landmines with fellow care worker Poul Thisted. Their car was hijacked by Somali bandits with AK 47’s. One of them was a ten-year-old boy who was draped in ammunition. She was sure she was going to be raped and killed. She told CBS’ 60 Minutes: ‘I figured they were going to rape me and then kill me. And I just keep thinking, “This can’t be the end of my life. I am only 32 years old. I haven’t had any children yet.”   ‘I see a small child in the back of the Land Cruiser with an AK-47, draped in ammunition, and I think the irony of why I came to Africa in the first place, and here I have a child involved in my kidnapping, it’s just unbelievable.’ They were taken to the desert where she was informed that they were not going to kill her, but in fact were holding her ransom for $45million.  For the next 93 days, she and Thisted slept outside, sometimes in the cold and pouring rain. They were given only one small can of tuna and a piece of bread to live off every day.  They were in the hands of men and boys chewing khat – which has the same effect as amphetamines. Jessica explained: ‘They were so hyped up on speed. It was like drinking pot after pot of coffee. And then, the crash would come. And then, it brought a lot of belligerence, and a lot of anger. And a lot of temper.’ After three months in the desert, Jessica developed a urinary tract infection and was in extreme pain. In the final call to the hostage negotiator she said she believed she was going to die. It was this call that set in motion a chain of events which would ultimately lead to her rescue. Just when she began to lose hope, she had no idea what was being planned by the U.S. government and never in a million years thought that the President would know her name and where she was. On the night she was rescued, when she heard the gunfire, she thought it was a rival Islamic faction come to kidnap her and probably kill her.  She explains to 60 Minutes’ Scott Pelley what happened: ‘I hear my name. But it’s not a Somali accent, it’s an American accent. And I can’t compute. Like I can’t understand that somebody with an American accent knows my name And they say, “Jessica we’re with the American military. We’re here to take you home, and you’re safe.”  ‘I pull the blanket down from my face and all I see is black. Black masks, black sky and all I can say over and over is, “You’re American? You’re Americans? I don’t understand, you’re American.”  ‘And then they identify themselves, and that they knew I was very sick. And they have medicine and they have water, they have food. And they’ve come to take me home.’ At one point, while they were waiting for the helicopters to come, the SEALS think they hear something and ask her to lie down.  Then they gently lie on top of her to shield her from any attack – ready to take a bullet for her, something Jessica says she cannot comprehend. When the helicopters come and she gets inside, Jessica said she only starts to breathe once they get off the ground. And then one of the SEALS hands her a folded over American flag. She describes the moment: ‘I just started to cry. At that point in time I have never in my life been so proud and so very happy to be an American.’

Source: The Dailymail