The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Best-selling author recounts her captivity in Somalia by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff 3 | Friday, March 11, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com She was chained, starved, sexually abused, tortured and left in a dark room for months, but never lost her faith in humanity or her ability to feel compassion, even for those who were hurting her. Author and humanitarian, Amanda Lindhout, gave a presentation at Appleby College Tuesday (March 8) -- International Women's Day -- in which she told students the story of how she survived 460 days as a hostage in Somalia. She suffered greatly during that period, but now tells her story in the hope of inspiring audiences with her messages of forgiveness, compassion and determination. A native of Red Deer, Alta., Lindhout had a lust for travel and a desire to make a difference in the world. She had already served as a freelance journalist in Afghanistan and a TV broadcaster in Iraq when an opportunity arose to cover the humanitarian crisis unfolding in war-torn Somalia in 2008. The country had been ravaged by internal conflict for much of the previous 25 years and extremist groups controlled entire swaths of it. Lindhout and Australian photojournalist and friend Nigel Brennan flew into the Somali capital of Mogadishu via cargo plane on Aug. 21, 2008. They were going to do a piece on the more than one million Somalis who became refugees. Soon after arriving, Lindhout realized Mogadishu was far different from the other conflict zones she had been to. "As we drove from the airport to the hotel that we would be staying at with the three security guards we had been advised to hire, I noticed the streets were almost completely empty," she said. "In the war zones I had been to before, in Afghanistan and Iraq, there was still life in the markets, but the situation was so bad in Mogadishu in 2008 that people had either fled the city or were too afraid to come out of their homes." Best-selling author and founder of The Global Enrichment Foundation, Amanda Lindhout spoke to students at Appleby College. | photo by Justin Greaves ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog) On the pair's third day in the country, they planned to visit the refugee camp they had come to report on. They never made it. As the group drove along a highway, Lindhout noticed a car at the side of the road ahead. As they approached, about a dozen armed men, who had been hiding behind the parked car, emerged and fanned out across the road, forcing Lindhout's vehicle to stop. "What unfolded was like something out of a Hollywood movie," said Lindhout. "They pulled our doors open, pulled all of us out and the next thing I knew I was lying in the dirt, face down, spread-eagle with one of their guns at the back of my head." The group's small security team was left at the side of the road while Lindhout, Brennan, and their Somali driver, cameraman, and translator were taken away. Lindhout said she soon realized her abductors were teenagers. Later, as they drove, the one holding the gun to her head told her he had just celebrated his 14th birthday. The group was taken to an abandoned house where the teen captors separated Lindhout and Brennan from their Somali colleagues. One of the leaders of the kidnappers, a man in his mid-20s, spoke English and demanded contact information for Lindhout and Brennan's families. Shortly after, both families received a ransom demand of $1.5 million in U.S. dollars for the release of their loved one. Lindhout noted neither family had that kind of money. She also said both the Canadian and Australian governments do not pay ransoms. The policy is intended to prevent Canadian and Australian citizens from being specifically targeted for kidnapping, but this did little to help Lindhout and Brennan whose abductors were threatening to behead them if they did not get paid quickly. Two months went by, with the pair being moved often, usually blindfolded with no idea what was happening. "It was absolutely terrifying," said Lindhout. During her captivity Lindhout said she learned about her kidnappers, who would often speak to practice their English. The kidnappers were mostly teenagers who had never been to school. Some were orphans, others had large scars where they had been shot or injured in bomb blasts. "We heard really awful stories from these young people. You heard from them what life is like in those refugee camps. They see Anger on p.12 New Patients Are ALWAYS Welcome HollisWealth Congratulates RowanOak Private Wealth Counsel CUSTOM · Evening & Weekend Appointments Available · Female Dentist Available · Same Day Appointments · Same Day Emergency · Walk-in Service · Family & Cosmetic Dentistry · Insurance Billed Directly · Digital X-Rays Call today to book your appointment For the sixth consecutive year, Paul Rowan has achieved the prestigious Chairman's Club status which is rewarded to our top 10 advisors nationwide. Reach out to their office if you would like to learn more on how Paul and his team manage their client's estate, tax and wealth strategies. Dr. Manchanda 700 Kerr Street, Suite 210 Oakville 905-849-1099 www.rowanoakcapital.ca Paul Rowan Senior Investment Advisor HollisWealth, A Division of Scotia Capital Inc. HollisWealth is a trade name and a division of Scotia Capital Inc., a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada.® Registered trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia, used under licence. RowanOak Private Wealth Counsel is a personal trade name of Paul Rowan. HollisWealth and the Scotiabank companies do not provide income tax preparation services nor do they supervise or review other persons who may provide such services. 627 Lyons Lane, Suite 100 www.doctor4teeth.com Oakville, ON 905-339-1666