Terry Waite and John McCarthy on GMB

[ALovelyBitOfSquirrel]

Piers Morgan says , what these two went through might give some perspective for people saying they can't cope with lockdown. Two absolutely amazing men and a great interview with them. I remember it at the time. Didn't realize Johns Mum had died whilst he was being held hostage and he didn't find out for a year. He had not seen her for years. So bloody sad.

Totally agree squirrel.

Unfortunately I missed the interview earlier - hopefully can watch later on catchup - but many years ago I was staying in a hotel in a Dublin on business and who walked into the dining room at breakfast but Terry Waite. I was completely in awe being old enough to live through the years of their being held hostage. He was such a towering man with immense presence!

Oh I missed it what a shame. Didn't Terry Waite fall out with the other hostages? I need to read up in this it's a missing piece of knowledge for me.

Yes. I remember that too. Was one of them engaged to jill Morrell?

Yes Waite alienated people also was foolhardy. Cost us a lot of money in hostage fees. Odd bloke. McCarthy also a bit foolhardy but it was more a case of being unable to read the room/naivete.

I checked to see if the clip is on YouTube yet. It seems it isn’t but I found this from two weeks ago:

m.youtube.com/watch?v=lM9ciXrjP-4

Also on the subject of peace envoys and whether they are naive or foolhardy, I watched this on BBC Iplayer this evening.

I hadn’t thought of the similarity to Terry Waite until I saw this thread.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000b1gq

Yeah I dunno what parallels you're trying to draw there. Waite got murky with the US, made himself a target, was subsequently told to stop doing what he was doing, ignored that and got kidnapped. McCarthy was unemployed and thought that being in Beirut was comparable to being in NI and was woefully unequipped and unsupported.

Unemployed prior to taking on the writing gig, that is.

I just meant the aspect of volunteering to go bravely/naively into the unstable danger zone in order to try to negotiate or facilitate the release of hostages part. Not the minutiae or backstories.

Norman Kember also comes to mind.

Although, before you point it out, Mr Kember’s mission, aims, context and life story were also distinctly different

Getting mixed up in US doings in Beirut wasn't minutiae. He put a lot of people in danger including himself and McCarthy who unfortunately didn't get out in time.

Okay. I just thought somebody might be interested in the Iran documentary if they were interested in Terry Waite (not so much from the lockdown perspective, or the political perspective but more generally). This is the streamed TV board, so it didn’t seem inappropriate.

And anyway all of it has fuck all to do with coronavirus. Did you compromise your personal safety and the safety of your fellow expatriate citizens by utilising shady US actors implicated in corruption, torture and murder prior to de pfeffel's announcement a few weeks ago and then get chained to a radiator for years? No, me neither. Christ knows why they're wheeling this guy out again 30 years after the event, it's not as though there are many slow news days right now. He's got his gong already.

Did you know one of the people who were put in danger?

Sorry. Nosey question. Of course no need to answer, but if the Lebanon hostage crisis impacted you in any way, or your anger is because you or a loved one are military or diplomatic or similar, then I’m sorry for accidentally pushing your buttons

Ach, I'm just in a bad mood. Thanks though to you too.

I will say though, I have heard that there wasn't generally much in the way of central heating in Beirut basements in 1987.

Thanks @Santaclauswhosthat

I never thought to wonder about the radiators. I will put the whole affair on my reading/documentary to do list.

I have found the clip originally under discussion (not a great quality one for reasons that will become clear).

m.youtube.com/watch?v=1vIBXHrqiNs

(For those that want to see it, that is.)