Freelance journalist Amanda Lindhout continues to recover after a 15-month ordeal in Somalia, where she was kidnapped, tortured and kept alone in a dark room.
“She’s surrounded by people who love her and want to support her in any way that they possibly can,” her mother Lorinda Stewart told the Calgary Herald. “She’ll be OK; I guess it’s important for people to understand that we’re just beginning a new journey.”
Formerly of Sylvan Lake, Lindhout has been back in Alberta for the past week and a half. The 28-year-old freelance reporter and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan were released on Nov. 25 in the Somalian capital of Mogadishu after their families secured a hefty ransom and hired a British security firm to get them safely out of the country.
“We’re just taking it a day at a time,” Stewart told the Herald. “You don’t go through a horrific ordeal like Amanda did and just come out exactly like you were when you started that journey.”
Lindhout hasn’t spoken to media since her return home, but she issued a statement on Thursday thanking the people who helped secure her release.
“After being in captivity for so long, I can’t begin to describe how wonderful it feels to be home in Canada; without doubt the best country in the world,” she said in her statement.
Lindhout also acknowledged the Government of Canada, saying she accepted that they did what they could.
Stewart told the Herald the family had its ups and downs with the government but she says government officials did what they could.
