SEOUL, 18 August 2007 — Two female aid workers freed by Afghanistan’s Taleban returned home yesterday to South Korea, after learning for the first time that two fellow captives were killed during the nearly month-long ordeal.
Kim Gi-na and Kim Kyung-ja looked shocked and traumatized when they briefly appeared before TV cameras after landing at Incheon airport west of Seoul.
“I’m sorry for causing so much concern for the people,” Kim Kyung-ja, 37, said in mumbled remarks. “I hope all the remaining hostages return home at the earliest possible date.” Kim Gi-na, 32, added: “I only hope all the remaining people will be immediately freed.”
The pair were among a group of 23 South Korean aid workers, including 16 women, who were seized by the Taleban on July 19 while traveling by bus through insurgency-plagued southern Afghanistan.
The guerrillas shot dead two male hostages to press their demands for the release of Taleban prisoners, a demand rejected by the Kabul government.
The women, who were freed Monday, were told only when they started their journey home that the two men had been shot dead, a government official who accompanied them told Yonhap news agency.
“They learned of the two deaths only after they began heading for home on Aug. 16,” the unidentified official said. “They were shocked and traumatized at the news and were lost for words for a while. They wept for half an hour.”
The hostages had been separated into small groups and moved frequently to frustrate any rescue mission.
The women met their brothers on board the plane before heading into the terminal, YTN TV reported. After their brief remarks, they were seen walking hand-in-hand to an ambulance which took them to a military hospital for check-ups.
The women were released in what the insurgents called a “goodwill gesture” after the Taleban had begun negotiating directly with South Korean government representatives in Afghanistan. The pair underwent medical check-ups at a Korean military base at Bagram in Afghanistan before flying home.
Foreign media were barred from the terminal. Officials have said they want to limit the women’s exposure to the media for fear of jeopardizing the safety of those still in captivity. Negotiations for the release of the remaining 19 made no progress on Thursday and no talks were held yesterday.
The South Koreans were on an aid mission organized by Saem-Mul Presbyterian church at Bundang in suburban Seoul. Its leaders have apologized for organizing what critics called a reckless trip.
South Korea has since made unauthorized travel to Afghanistan an offense punishable by a jail term, and has urged other aid groups in the country to leave as soon as possible.
