A man who was detained by the Taliban has shared his distressing ordeal and how a single word ended up saving his life.
British journalist and filmmaker Sean Langan experienced a nightmare when he was abducted by the Taliban in 2008.
Langan and his translator were taken hostage while filming in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region for Channel 4’s Dispatches series.
He described facing numerous instances where he thought his life was in imminent danger and considers himself fortunate to be alive today.
In a conversation with LADbible Stories, Langan recounted how mentioning his son’s name may have spared his life.
He detailed becoming aware of his environment, noticing that Taliban leaders frequently visited the house where he was held, leaving the family to conduct his interrogation.
Langan mentioned that the family had been informed that he and his translator were ‘spies and non-believers’.
He shared: “I slowly developed a relationship with this man in the house and I had read somewhere that it is much harder to kill a fellow human being. If you see someone as the label, non-believer, spy, terrorist, it is much easier to kill them.
“So I drew on all of my experiences living and working in Islamic middle east countries, of how to present yourself, how to be polite etc. I could sense it change.”
Langan continued, describing how he was repeatedly questioned and would truthfully respond, joking that as a journalist, he wasn’t good at keeping secrets.
However, when asked about his family, he was initially reluctant to disclose the names of his two children.
He remarked that it wasn’t an act of cunning or bravery but some instinct prevented him from revealing their names.
He explained: “I just said ‘I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but I can’t give you their names’. [I said] ‘I can’t bring in such innocence into this dark business’.
“Well this guy said ‘well, we are going to have to shoot you’.”
Langan stated that he persisted in his refusal until they threatened his translator with a gun, prompting him to finally speak.
He revealed his eldest son was named Luke, and his youngest, Gabriel, who was about to turn four and would wonder why his father didn’t wish him a happy birthday.
Remarkably, he noted that the name Gabriel invoked a favorable response from his captors.
He explained: “I started to cry and to my great luck of course, Gabriel is one of the holiest names in Islam, the archangel Gabriel brought down the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad.
“This had a transformative effect because these tribal elders and the family who have been told by these men, these warriors, that I was an un-believer suddenly seeing this weak Western man and realizing that he is willing to die rather than give up the names of one of his children.
“And he has named one of them after one of the holiest names in Islam.”
Langan described a significant change at that moment, with the family declaring that he had tribal protection and the Taliban couldn’t harm him under their roof.
He endured 12 weeks as a hostage before being freed through negotiations by Channel 4 and his family.