20/10/2009

Kidnapped GOAL Worker Returned To Family

GOAL worker Sharon Commins has be greeted by her family after arriving home shortly before midnight last night.

Ms Commins landed in Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel after being released from 107 days in captivity in Darfur along with her Ugandan colleague Hilda Kawuki.

The 33-year-old Dublin woman was working for international humanitarian agency GOAL during the time of her kidnapping.

A spokesman for the agency has since issued a statement expressing it's "heartfelt" thanks to the Irish Government, the Sudanese authorities and our colleagues in GOAL, "who all worked tirelessly to secure our release".

A spokesman said: "We would also like to thank everyone in Ireland and in Uganda who offered so much support to our families – we know our families appreciated that very much.

"It was of course, a difficult time - but we found strength in each other and in our friendship

"We now can hardly wait to get home and spend time with our loved ones."

Ms Commins spent some time with her family in a private part of the aerodrome before attending a news conference where she spoke about her ordeal.

She said: 'Up until now all of it was just a dream. I dreamt so often when I was on top of a mountain of getting back to Ireland.

“We are naturally thrilled to be released after such a long period in captivity”.

“We know it must have been a traumatic period for our families especially and for our friends”.

Ms Commins, from Clontarf, Dublin and her colleague Hilda Kawuki (42), from Uganda, were abducted by an armed gang in early July and finally freed in the early hours of Sunday morning.

While being held captive the two women were guarded by up to 18 armed men and moved to several locations in the mountains where they slept outside and were subjected to mock executions, with their lives under constant threat.

The Sudanese Government, who were instrumental in the women's release are said to be pursuing criminal charges against the kidnappers.

(DW/BMcC)

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