Kidnapped at Gunpoint: 81 Days in Captivity

25:30Like your whole body is, just kind of collapses on itself It's almost like you're an animal And that leaves a very long-term impression which does not really dwindle over time. He can feel the cold metal against his skin, the pressure of the blade.

25:52After the longest few seconds of Jonathan's life, his captor withdraws the knife and releases him, then casually takes a seat at the table. I tremble for the rest of the day. You feel cold, you're exhausted, and it's a bit like when you took a very cold shower and you can't warm up after that. It's a bit like that. That man, he was an older guy, I remember. After that, he was always super nice to me. Didn't want to have anything to do with him, but he would come up to me, he's like, yeah, it's okay, you know, it's just a game. He's son of a bitch, like, okay. But yeah, that was tough. While the kidnappers learn more about Jonathan, eventually giving up on the idea that he's secretly a CIA spy, he is learning more about them, too.

26:39including where exactly they fit in the pantheon of rebel groups currently fighting the Assad regime. Fortunately for him, these guys are not religious extremists, not jihadists. Their interest in him is purely financial. There are different degrees. You know, you have ISIS, al-Nusra, and then it goes down the ladder to opportunistic criminal gangs who are operating in Syria. These guys, I would say, were pretty regular guys. they were Muslims, but a historical context in which they found themselves in to force them to make a decision. You join, you don't, you flee to Turkey, whatever you decide to do.

27:18So yes, I was very lucky for that. The threat of death still hangs heavy in the air. But the more time Jonathan spends with his captors, the more it seems they don't want any real harm to come to him, if they can help it. And so, with his life in the rebels' hands, might as well try to get on with them. But it's more than that. He begins to genuinely like them as well. I did befriend most of them. It was a conscious decision for them to see me more as a human being rather than just merchandise, which you are. This is pretty much what you are. You're worth money. But even if his captors value him more alive than dead, there are other extreme external dangers to contend with.

28:08The war outside grows increasingly heavy Strapped to the bed most of the days Jonathan is a sitting duck In the darkness beneath his blindfold He can feel the ground vibrate And hear bone-shattering explosions Tearing through the hard earth just outside The safe house begins suffering serious damage From government shelling when I was handcuffed and blindfolded and there was heavy shelling that was bad because I was couldn't see and the windows were breaking or trembling and then it was like this the explosions and everything and the machine gun fire and stuff like that you're just sitting there you have no idea what the hell's going on so that was tough I knew I was going to get killed like that not by them but by government forces just bombing the hell out of us so at the end they were dealing with losing a battle and they had to take care of me.

29:05And I think for them, that was a logistical nightmare. A logistical nightmare, a liability, a burden. In the eyes of his captors, Jonathan might suddenly be more trouble than he's worth. So far, there has been no specific talk of a ransom. It's not clear they even know how to go about negotiating one. And if that is the case, there's one very dangerous potential alternative. The gang might decide to sell him to another group instead. One less invested in keeping their merchandise alive and well, and more interested in making a spectacle of him. There were other groups that were trying to buy me, and they were much more hardcore Islamists, and that would have been a different story altogether.

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31:07One night, after three weeks in captivity, Jonathan is sleeping uncomfortably in his creaky bed. For once, all is still and silent, save for the odd light whistle of wind. Suddenly in the blackness, there is a shuffle of feet. Jonathan is shaken awake and told to put on some clothes. Groggy, he pulls himself up and gets himself together as quickly as he can. As soon as he's ready, one of his captors roughly grabs him by the bicep and drags him to an SUV parked outside the safehouse. There is a somber look on his jailer's face. He barely looks at Jonathan as he's bundled into the back seat. The engine rumbles into life and they're away.

31:55As they speed through the night, Jonathan has no idea if he'll ever return. I thought I was being executed. I didn't know. They don't tell you. You fall into this black hole and the anxiety level is very intense because you don't know.

32:14The wheels spin across the dirt-laden ground as Jonathan is taken to who knows where. He can barely breathe. But then, after a short drive, the SUV pulls up outside the gates of a large villa. Jonathan is pulled out of the car and escorted inside. Compared to the dingy, abandoned safe house, this new home is a palace. The second house were basically nice villas that were emptied out because of the fighting. And suddenly you realize he's being relocated. With the old safe house under constant bombardment, the rebels have decided to move Jonathan to a safer position, just up the road from their own HQ.

32:58The handsome, sprawling villas here even have pools. But while the decor might be a little more salubrious, there's no escaping the fact that there's a war on. For a start, every room is stacked with weapons, from 9mm pistols to AK-47s, even RPG launchers. As he gawps at the extensive armory, a wild thought presents itself. If Jonathan grabbed one of these guns now, he could probably take out his jailers in one fell swoop. But the idea quickly dissipates, as he's taken to a bedroom and swiftly restrained again. They've given him a longer leash than before, but it's still attached to the bars on the bedroom window.

33:48He's still alive, but freedom appears no nearer.

33:54The rebels, at any rate, don't appear to view Jonathan as a threat. As the days go by, he is afforded more small luxuries. They even let him swim in one of the pools. It's the closest Jonathan has felt to his old life, since he came to Syria a month earlier. I was doing laps on my back and I remember looking at the blue sky and for a brief second I felt free, just that moment. The rebels, meanwhile, are impressed with Jonathan's form in the water. He's been an avid swimmer since childhood, qualifying for the Junior Olympics at high school and later joining a competitive water polo team. One day, the local warlord approaches him with a surprising request.

34:41He asks Jonathan to teach him how to swim. His name is Esad, not to be confused with Esad, the Syrian dictator. A heavyset, hairy fellow, he is in charge of around a thousand rebels in the area. And in a pair of bright orange and red shorts, he cuts quite a figure on the poolside. The warlord showed up in Hawaiian swim trunks and said, you can't make this up. And I had to teach him how to swim. while all the soldiers and the officers were around the pool laughing because he went from being the local warlord to being someone that was holding in my arms just trying to have him float instead of sink right to the bottom.

35:26Soon, the warlord's swimming lessons have become a regular part of Jonathan's routine. And Esad begins spending time at the villa where Jonathan is staying too, joining the men charged with guarding the Westerner in their regular prayer sessions. A somewhat lapsed Catholic, Jonathan has been getting back in touch with his own beliefs recently. So when his captors invite him to join them in prayer, he agrees. Though while the men around him praise Allah, Jonathan focuses on his own faith. I was reciting Christian Catholic prayers after when I was a kid, and that was a bit of a rebellion, because that was quite blasphemous to do something like this.

36:09for them. And so there was a bit of a resistance. Surely for me, it didn't mean anything else to anyone else. It's dusk. Jonathan is praying alone on a balcony overlooking the valley towards Lebanon, five kilometers away. He sits on a white plastic garden chair, waiting for the sun to set. It's become a daily ritual, a key part of his new routine. When the sun hits the peak of a particular mountain, he always begins reciting the Lord's Prayer. He murmurs, Our Father, who art in heaven. But this time his devotion is interrupted by a visit from two of his young jailers. they have something to tell him something that's hard to believe Rabia and Mew came up on the balcony I was in and told me oh you're free you're free told me I was going to be released I didn't believe it but they kind of rushed me and I grabbed whatever I had which is not much and they put me in a car and they drove me away it was very quick I just remember turning around I was in the back seat of this SUV kind of car and I remember Mej, Rabia and Noob just waving at me goodbye like I was leaving as summer came.

37:34It's a surreal sight as Jonathan looks out of the car's back window, his youthful Syrian captors bidding him a fond farewell. By this point, he knows not to count his chickens before they're hatched. The idea that he's really on his way home to New York seems distinctly far-fetched. They bump along desert roads. Rocks and rubble fly upwards, dislodged by the wheels of the car. In time, they arrive in the city of Yabrut, not far from where Jonathan was kidnapped two months earlier. The SUV pulls up outside an apartment block. Two of the men traveling with him go inside. Jonathan is left to wait in the vehicle.

38:20Ten minutes pass. Twenty. An hour. Eventually they return and tell him to follow them inside They bring him to a living room A group of men are sat around in the midst of an animated conversation Jonathan has no idea what they're saying But it's clear some kind of negotiation is taking place And it doesn't take him long to realize That he is the merchandise being haggled over Even more worrying, the men bartering over him right now are dressed in the characteristic black uniforms of the Shabia, a shadowy militia known to be fiercely loyal to the Assad regime. Unlike the rebels, these guys are neatly dressed and clean-shaven.

39:08One of them even sports a pair of Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses. But their reputation for brutality precedes them. The Shabia are known for their sadistic methods of torture. And compared to the ragtag band of outlaws Jonathan's been staying with the past couple of months, these are the professionals. There was like 20 of them, all heavily armed, all dressed in black, like military uniforms. And I knew these were government guys and I thought I was being sold to the government. And then I started freaking out. The deal is done and Jonathan is handed over. But his new captors don't behave in the way their brutal reputation suggests they might.

39:50Sitting in the back of another SUV, Jonathan is handed a black cap and uniform, just like theirs, to help him blend in Then he receives some polite but firm instructions When we get to a checkpoint, keep your mouth shut He does as he's told

40:17Sure enough, soon they're breezing through checkpoint after checkpoint Heading out of rebel territory and closer to the heart of the regime Before long, they're approaching the Syrian capital, Damascus It's okay, the guy in the Ray-Bans tells him You're safe now Then he adds, not entirely convincingly You're with the good guys He hands Jonathan his mobile phone There's a message on the screen from a wealthy local Who claims to have paid his$450 ,000 ransom You're free, it reads You're a very lucky man Jonathan texts back awkwardly Thank you Still not entirely sure he can trust what he's being told The SUV wends through the streets of the city.

41:10As they approach a wealthy neighborhood, Jonathan spots a large shopping mall up ahead. They pull into the car park, and the guy in the sunglasses goes inside. He emerges half an hour later, wheeling a heavy case behind him. He has bought supplies for Jonathan, clean clothes, toothpaste. Perhaps they really are here to help him. Not long after, they arrive at the plush house of Jonathan's mysterious benefactor I met the guy who paid my ransom And the Lebanese politicians were convinced him to do so The full ins and outs of Jonathan's release are unclear In times of war, things often are But it seems his benefactor, a man named Mr.

41:57Aboud is a local oligarch who has paid these black-clad militia men to deliver the ransom money and then deliver Jonathan safely to him. He is acting for himself in this matter, not the government, though his precise motives aren't entirely obvious. Perhaps he and the Lebanese politician who convinced him to act hoped to gain international favor. Jonathan's kidnapping is a high-profile one after all, and helping out in this matter may prove beneficial down the line. Who knows? Whatever the case, Jonathan can finally breathe a little easier. My level of anxiety decreased quite a bit once I got into this house because, first of all, as I entered the massive living room, there was CNN on this massive big screen TV.

42:48So that alone, for some reason, you know, it's something familiar, right? So it brings down the anxiety. and then there was a banquet of incredible food and dishes. Amazing. And obviously I hadn't eaten well in months. But Jonathan's ordeal isn't over quite yet. He still has to get back across the border into Lebanon. Fortunately, his new friends have a plan for that as well. Aboud personally drives him to the Lebanese border. When they get there, he pops open the boot of his car and tells Jonathan to get inside.

43:29Abood will have to pay off the guards on the Lebanese side. Jonathan just has to stay quiet and hope it all works out. I was ready to go. And there was no anxiety in it. It was just, I was ready for the plan and whatever I needed to do, I would do it. So I was very much on board. I didn't hesitate. It really felt like this was the real thing and that finally I was going to be free. So this was a complete switch in my psyche. For the next 15 minutes, Jonathan waits in the darkness of the trunk, listening to the sound of border guards questioning his driver in Arabic. Eventually, they're on their way again.

44:09A few miles down the road, they pull over and the lid springs open. In the early morning light, Jonathan clambers out, stretches his aching limbs, and breathes in the fresh, cool air of a Lebanese dawn. While his benefactor turns around and heads back to Syria, Jonathan is placed into another vehicle by two of the wealthy man's associates, armed goons, who, despite their friendly demeanor and sharp suits, look like they know how to handle themselves. It's an hour's drive to downtown Beirut. The men lead Jonathan up to a penthouse apartment, a stone throw from the beach. From the balcony, he can see the sun glinting on the eastern Mediterranean.

44:57But there'll be no swimming today. The guards tell him to stay put while their friends square things with the Lebanese authorities on his behalf. In the meantime, they'll be keeping an eye on him.

45:11They do at least give Jonathan a mobile phone so he can let his parents know that he's alive. His father almost collapses from the shock. For the past two months, he has been working with Jonathan's contacts in Lebanon, trying to get him released and having to make horrible decisions in the process. Because things almost got very bad. As Jonathan once feared, an extremist Islamist group were indeed planning on buying him. And his father was prepping some drastic plans before that happened. What I found out through my father is that there was a plan to attack the village where I was being held and kill my captors and free them, bring me back to Lebanon.

46:00About 150 soldiers, mercenaries paid for on the border, and they were ready to go. Fortunately, I was released a day or two before the assault was launched. Right now, Jonathan may be out of harm's way, but he is still under lock and key, guarded by burly men carrying guns. And there's no knowing when, or even if, they'll get around to actually sending him back home. But not long after speaking to his father, he receives a call from the French ambassador to Lebanon. Are you able to leave, he asks. Can you make an escape?

47:05The feeling of freedom that I had there was so intense that no one was was going to stop me. And I rushed to the Four Seasons, and the police officers were already there. They grabbed me, and they put me back on their car, and they drove to the French Embassy.

47:25Get your tickets now for the Dog Stars. It's no surprise how fast civilization can disappear. Go! Out there, just kill or be killed. Jacob Elordi. There are people out there. They need our help. Josh Brolin. Shoot first and inquire afterwards. Margaret Qualley. Ow! Okay, tough buddy. And Guy Pearce. Arm up! The Dog Stars, directed by Ridley Scott. In theaters August 28th. Get tickets now. Rated R. Under 17, not admitted without parents. At SockDoc, we know being a healthy adult is like living in a video game. Every day has side quests, taxes, laundry, birthdays, and just when you're leveling up, you have to book a doctor.

48:06The insurance portal crashes, they put you on hold, your doctor doesn't take your plan. Game over. We see you, so we made booking a doctor easy. Download SockDoc. Search by specialty, insurance, and availability. Book instantly. No cheat codes required. Find a doctor you love with SockDoc. After 81 days as a hostage, the French embassy is a balm to both body and soul. Housed in a hundred-year-old Ottoman palace It's a far cry from the shell-damaged safe houses Jonathan's been living in for the past two months He spends his days doing laps in the embassy pool Surrounded by palm trees And his evenings dining with a French ambassador and his wife But despite the luxurious environs Jonathan finds it hard to relax The first night I spoke at the embassy when I woke up I have this insane panic at that because I opened my eyes and I didn't know where I was.

49:07My brain, for some reason, could not put a little together. And I'm looking around the room and I still don't know where I am. It took about 20 minutes. It was a very weird 20 minutes, but I panicked completely and I had no idea where I was. Jonathan will have to stay at the embassy for a while until his legal problems are ironed out. Many people want to speak to him, including the FBI. For the second time in two months, he has to fend off accusations that he is secretly a foreign agent.

49:58After five days as a guest of the French ambassador, Jonathan's legal problems are all sorted. He is free to catch a plane back to Paris. And from there, to his home in New York. Finally, his ordeal is really over. I consider myself a very resilient individual, so I'm often able to bounce back very quickly. Now obviously you never come back the same. Some kidnappings are worse than others. Mine was brutal because of the fighting. Some of the torturing, it was only three months, right? Some of these other guys in Raqqa, they got captured for a week and a half, two years. So I was lucky in that sense.

50:38Back in New York, Jonathan begins working with an organization that helps the families of kidnapped Americans in Syria and other war zones around the world. Through this work, he even meets President Obama. He also meets Diane Foley, whose son James, a US journalist, was kidnapped in Syria the previous year. After being held for over two years, Foley is murdered by Islamic State. In August 2014, they release a video of his execution in the Syrian desert, titled, A Message to America. It is a case of, there but for the grace of God go I.

51:26Despite the ever-present dangers, and despite his kidnapping, Jonathan continues his photography work today. Not taking a backward step, he's gone on to cover the war in Ukraine. Though his experiences in Syria have left an indelible mark. It stays with you. Every time I hear firecrackers or even thunder, or even a subway coming, it just kicks me right back in. I just remember these moments, and there are many of them, of going through shelling. And that always gets to me. There's no way around it. I think I will always have that. Soldiers have that. It's normal. So there are consequences of these kinds of experiences.

52:07Looking back, Jonathan says he attributes his survival in Syria to one thing above all else, luck.

52:46me. In the next episode, we meet Mick Dolman, a seafarer from Melbourne, Australia. In October 1973, Mick boards the Blythe Star, a merchant vessel docked in Tasmania. It's due to sail from the port of Hobart to the northwest of the island. the journey scheduled to take two days. But Mick will end up at sea for far longer than that, as he and his crewmates find themselves stranded in a vulnerable life raft. The hellish experience will involve near starvation, brutal weather, physical turmoil, and tragedy, as it becomes apparent that survival won't be possible for everyone on board.

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