"I wasn't afraid of death"

CHAINED to a wall and in darkness for 1,763 days, the fact that Terry Waite never lost hope is testament to his tremendous strength of character.

Spending the first four years in total solitary confinement, he was allowed no books or news from the outside world for much of his imprisonment.

Initially beaten and subjected to mock executions, he had to wear a blindfold in the presence of his captors at all times.

If anyone has endured the bleakest depths of fear, isolation and loneliness, it must surely be him.

Waite rose to prominence in the early 1980s after successfully securing the release of several hostages from Iran and Libya, while serving as a special envoy to the Archbishop of Canterbury.

It was while negotiating for the release of further hostages in war-torn Beirut, that Waite himself was taken captive in January 1987 by Islamic fundamentalists.

Seemingly vanishing off the face of the Earth, his family did not know if he was alive or dead.

Yet Waite managed to stay strong by reminding himself that there were people much worse off than he was.

Now 18 years after his release in November 1991 – which made headlines across the world – he is still using his experiences to help other people.

“We can all lament our situations but no matter how difficult it is, you can always says there are people worse off than myself,” he says.

“When I was eventually given books, I remember reading again about slavery a couple of hundred years ago where people were brought up in chains and died in chains. I thought what are you complaining about? You have only had a few years in chains.”

Totally isolated and alone until the last few months of his captivity, the now 69- year-old learnt to cope with extreme loneliness, by developing what he calls “a strong inner life”.

He made three personal resolutions: no regrets, no self-pity and no over-sentimentality.

Pushing thoughts of his family to the back of his mind, the father-offour had to stay positive.

“If you constantly think about them you can become incredibly depressed,” he says. “You imagine the worst, which often isn’t happening.You have to have a fairly strong control of your imagination: what you think and how you think. It’s not easy but it’s possible.”

Instead the peace envoy concentrated on keeping his mind alive.

He wrote various books in his head (including his autobiography Taken on Trust, which later became an international best seller), set himself mental arithmetic challenges and held a prayer service every morning.

An Anglican, Waite says that at no time during his captivity was his faith tested.

“I have never believed that if you have Christian belief it should be viewed as an insurance policy,” he explains. “It doesn’t guard you in any way against the normal, or abnormal, ups and downs of life. But what faith can do is to enable you to face what comes with a certain degree of dignity or resilience.”

With his fate lying in the hands of his kidnappers, death remained an ever- present prospect.

“I wasn’t afraid of death as such because it’s a natural process that we are all going to face,” says Waite. “Only yesterday my wife and myself were putting the finishing touches to our will.

“But I had the fear that a lot of people share. I thought if I die and the bullet goes through my head, will it hurt? It was a question of the means of dying rather than death itself. I didn’t want to die, especially in circumstances like that with my family and friends not knowing.”

Upon his release, Waite decided to devote his life to humanitarian efforts across the world.

His job at Lambeth Palace had been held for him, but he decided instead to earn his living from writing and lecturing, and give the other half of his time to good causes.

Now heavily involved with numerous charities, he is especially passionate about the plight of the homeless.

During his own time in captivity, Waite had seen a clear parallel between his sense of powerlessness as a prisoner and those feelings experienced by people who have lost their homes and their rights.

“I kept hope alive but it wasn’t always easy,” says Waite who lives near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. “That gives me that appreciation for people in life who face some terrible circumstances.”

Fittingly he is President of Emmaus UK, a charity which offers homeless people a home, work and the chance to rebuild their lives in a supportive environment.

There are currently 17 Emmaus communities around the UK and several more in development – including one in Winchester.

Work is nearing completion on the Green Roof Project, a new £3m Emmaus community to be based at Bar End.

His forthcoming lecture in the city will refer to his personal experiences of survival in solitude. And crucially how a negative experience like Waite’s can be turned into something creative.

While the political landscape may have changed a lot in the last 20 years, the situation in the Middle East remains bleak.

Today Waite says he is realistic about the current situation.

“There’s a long, long way to go in the Middle East and what needs to be done first of all is the tremendously difficult task of building trust between the two main communities there,” he says. “A lot of that lies with the coming generation.”

■Terry Waite will deliver the lecture Survival in Extreme Situations at the University of Winchester on March 3. It is a free event but tickets must be booked in advance. For more information, phone Trish Kernan on 01962 827 578.