Norman Frank Kember (born 1931) is an emeritus professor of
biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...
at
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry
, mottoeng = Temper the bitter things in life with a smile
, parent = Queen Mary University of London
, president = Lord Mayor of London
, head_label = Warden
, head = Mark Caulfield
, students = 3,410
, undergrad = 2,23 ...
and a Christian
pacifist
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
active in campaigning on issues of war and peace. As a
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
, he is a long-standing member of the
Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America and the
Fellowship of Reconciliation
The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR or FOR) is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries. They are linked by affiliation to the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR).
...
. As a
conscientious objector
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
to
military service
Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription).
Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...
, he worked in a hospital in the early 1950s, which stimulated his interest in
medical physics
Medical physics deals with the application of the concepts and methods of physics to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases with a specific goal of improving human health and well-being. Since 2008, medical physics has been incl ...
. He has been involved with the "Peace Zone" at the annual
Greenbelt Festival
Greenbelt Festival is a festival of arts, faith and justice held annually in England since 1974. Greenbelt has grown out of an evangelical Christian music festival with an audience of 1,500 young people into its current form, a more inclusive f ...
.
He became internationally known in 2005 when, as a member of a delegation of
Christian Peacemaker Teams
Community Peacemaker Teams or CPT (previously called Christian Peacemaker Teams) is an international organization set up to support teams of peace workers in conflict areas around the world. The organization uses these teams to achieve its aims ...
(CPT) in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, he was taken hostage with three other CPT members, leading to
a widely publicised hostage crisis.
Kidnapping
On 26 November 2005, Kember (a delegate) and three other
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
peace workers with CPT (American
Tom Fox and Canadians
James Loney
James Anthony Loney (born May 7, 1984) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, and New York Mets, and in Korea Baseball Org ...
and
Harmeet Singh Sooden
Harmeet Singh Sooden (born 1973) is a Canadian-New Zealand anti-war activist who volunteered for the international NGO Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq. He was held captive in Baghdad with three others for almost four months until being freed ...
) were
kidnapped
Kidnapped may refer to:
* subject to the crime of kidnapping
Literature
* ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson
* ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...
by a previously unknown group calling itself the
Swords of Righteousness Brigade.
According to his family, Kember went to Iraq to help Iraqis. Kember's family said: "Norman’s recent trip to visit the people of Iraq serves to highlight his willingness to listen to people from all backgrounds, beliefs, and walks of life and his determination to promote equality amongst all people." "He has gone to Iraq to listen, not convert; to learn from the Iraqi people, not to impose values; to promote peace and understanding."
On 5 December 2005 Kember's wife made a plea for his release. Her 30-second plea was shown on Arab broadcast station
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
.
A 10 December deadline was set by the kidnappers for the release of all Iraqi prisoners, or the hostages would be executed. It passed without any word on the hostages' fate.
As the deadline passed, and with no news of his whereabouts, his friends held an hour-long silent
vigil
A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' (Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become genera ...
for him in
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
A further vigil was held by local dignitaries and friends at
Harrow Civic Centre.
Two weeks later, with the Kember family still waiting to hear news, they set up a telephone line, hoping that the kidnappers would contact them.
On 28 January 2006 a new video was released by his captors and shown on Al-Jazeera television. They stated that this was the "last chance" for their demands to be met.
On 5 March vigils were held in
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...
to mark 100 days since Kember was taken hostage.
and on March 7 a new tape of Kember was aired on
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
satellite television station
al-Jazeera
Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
. Three days later, the body of Kember's American colleague
Tom Fox was found.
Release
On 23 March Kember and the others were freed during a raid by multinational forces led by British Special Forces. None of the captors were present at the time of the raid, no shots were fired and no-one was injured.
Kember himself assumes that the non-violent manner of his release was a result of a previous campaign to get hold of one of his captors who obviously uncovered the address of the place in return for allowance to inform his comrades that they should stay away from the place.
Kember was repeatedly criticised for his response toward the military forces involved in his release. He refused to provide military intelligence with any information regarding his captors. He also requested the withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq. On 24 March
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
Sir Michael Jackson told
Channel 4 News
''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982.
Current productions
''Channel 4 News''
''Channel 4 News'' ...
that he was "saddened that there doesn't seem to have been a note of gratitude for the soldiers who risked their lives to save those lives". On 25 March, in a telephone phone-in discussion on
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
,
Colonel Bob Stewart, a former British Commander under
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
command in
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...
from September 1992 to May 1993 suggested that Kember and people like him were a liability, since he had ignored advice not to go to Baghdad and the security services, the British government and multinational forces had diverted valuable time and resources to rescue a "foolish, albeit well-intentioned, meddling civilian". His alleged lack of gratitude was criticised as not being characteristic of true Christian values.
Aftermath
He arrived back in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
on 25 March and released a written statement saying "I do not believe that a lasting peace
n Iraqis achieved by armed force, but I pay tribute to their (the armed forces) courage and thank those who played a part in my rescue". Later that day he also released a video statement in which he again thanked his rescuers, and those who had supported his family throughout his kidnapping.
A public interview with Kember was recorded at the Greenbelt Christian Arts Festival at Cheltenham in August 2006.
Kember wrote an account of his kidnapping, ''Hostage in Iraq'', which was published in 2007. He himself considers it an irony that he travelled to Iraq to oppose the military intervention and was flown out of Baghdad in a military helicopter, guarded by machine guns. He also discusses whether his peace testimony has been compromised and what alternatives would have been at hand. In lectures and interviews, Kember states that what saddens him is the fact that he is alive and well, while people in Iraq, servicemen as well as civilians, are constantly threatened and many have meanwhile lost their lives.
Pleas for his release
Many individuals and groups asked for Kember's release; including:
Terry Waite
Terence Hardy Waite (born 31 May 1939) is an English humanitarian and author.
Waite was the Assistant for Anglican Communion Affairs for the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, in the 1980s. As an envoy for the Church of England, he ...
, radical Islamic cleric
Abu Qatada,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
's
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan ...
, and Briton
Moazzam Begg
Moazzam Begg ( ur, ; born 5 July 1968 in Sparkhill, Birmingham) is a British Pakistani who was held in extrajudicial detention by the US government in the Bagram Theater Internment Facility and the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, in Cuba, for ...
, a former detainee at the
Guantanamo Bay prison.
Arrest of kidnappers
On 7 November 2006 Iraqi government troops arrested individuals suspected of involvement in the kidnap and imprisonment of Kember. The same day, Kember released a statement in which he refused to testify against them.
''Hostage in Iraq''
A year after his dramatic release by a multinational military raid, Kember revealed his story behind the controversy of his captivity in Baghdad in his book ''Hostage in Iraq''. Writing for
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
newspaper, Kember praised his captors' conduct, stating that "I am almost surprised that we were treated so moderately by our captors – apart, that is, from the tragic, largely unexplained, decision to kill Tom Fox, the American Quaker."
Kember provides bail for Abu Qatada
In May 2008 Kember controversially provided bail security for the release of Abu Qatada. Qatada, who requested the release of Kember, entered the UK using a forged passport but was allowed to remain in the UK on appeal under the British
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 (c. 42) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received royal assent on 9 November 1998, and came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim was to incorporate into UK law the rights contained in the European Con ...
and
European Convention on Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...
, despite suspected continued terrorist involvement, and was held in prison until his release by the
Special Immigration Appeals Commission
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (also known by the acronym SIAC) is a superior court of record in the United Kingdom established by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997 that deals with appeals from persons deported by t ...
.
See also
*
Foreign hostages in Iraq
Members of the Iraqi insurgency began taking foreign hostages in Iraq beginning in April 2004. Since then, in a dramatic instance of Islamist kidnapping they have taken captive more than 200 foreigners and thousands of Iraqis; among them, dozens ...
*
Harmeet Singh Sooden
Harmeet Singh Sooden (born 1973) is a Canadian-New Zealand anti-war activist who volunteered for the international NGO Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq. He was held captive in Baghdad with three others for almost four months until being freed ...
*
List of kidnappings
The following is a list of kidnappings summarizing the events of each individual case, including instances of celebrity abductions, claimed hoaxes, suspected kidnappings, extradition abductions, and mass kidnappings.
Before 1900
1900–1949
...
*
List of solved missing person cases
Lists of solved missing person cases include:
* List of solved missing person cases: pre-2000
* List of solved missing person cases: post-2000
See also
* List of kidnappings
* List of murder convictions without a body
* List of people who dis ...
References
;Notes
;General references
Concern grows for Iraq hostages ''
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
'', 10 December 2005
Iraq hostage deadline passes with silence from kidnappers ''
CBC News
CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...
'', 10 December 2005
External links
Baptist Peace FellowshipChristian Peacemaker TeamsFellowship of ReconciliationFree The Captives Petition for the release of Christian Peacemakers being held in Iraq – includes latest news and daily updates
Interview with Norman Kember at Premier.tv*Norman Kember talks to Nigel Bovey, editor of The War Cry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kember, Norman
1931 births
2000s missing person cases
British Christian pacifists
British conscientious objectors
Baptist pacifists
British people taken hostage
English Baptists
English physicists
Foreign hostages in Iraq
Formerly missing people
Kidnapped British people
Living people
Medical physicists
Missing person cases in Iraq
Place of birth missing (living people)