Drugs of Last Resort; The Amanda Lindhout Story

>>> COMING UP -- BETTY ROLLIN REPORTS ON PARENTS OF DESPERATELY ILL CHILDREN WHO DON'T QUALIFY FOR A CLINICAL TRIAL, AND ARE TRYING TO GET EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS BEFORE THEY ARE APPROVED.

>> THE OTHER OPTION IS WATCHING OUR SON DETERIORATE AND DIE AND WE ARE NOT GOING TO STAND BY AND DO THAT.

>> AND BOB FAW TALKS WITH YOU A THOR AMANDA LINDHOUT WHO WAS KIDNAPPED BY SOMALI INSURGENTS AND SPENT 15 MONTHS IN CAPTIVITY.

COMPANY.

>> WELCOME.

I'M HARI SREENIVASAN, SITTING IN FOR BOB ABERNETHY.

AS CONFLICTS CONTINUE TO RAGE IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD, A STRONG PLEA FOR PEACE THIS WEEK FROM POPE FRANCIS.

MARKING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE START OF WORLD WAR ONE, FRANCIS URGED THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO REMEMBER THE LESSONS OF HISTORY, AND ESPECIALLY THE IMPACT OF WAR ON CHILDREN.

"I BEG YOU WITH ALL MY HEART," HE SAID.

"IT'S TIME TO STOP."

MEANWHILE, AS VIOLENCE CONTINUED BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMAS, A COALITION OF FAITH-BASED HUMANITARIAN GROUPS SPECIFICALLY RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT WHAT IT CALLED THE "ALARMING TOLL" THE CONFLICT HAS TAKEN ON THE CHILDREN OF GAZA.

THE CHRISTIAN GROUP WORLD VISION SAID THE VIOLENCE AND DESTRUCTION OF SO MUCH INFRASTRUCTURE HAS MADE IT DIFFICULT TO HELP THE THOUSANDS IN NEED.

MUSLIM AND SEVERAL CHRISTIAN GROUPS RAMPED UP THEIR OPPOSITION TO THE CONFLICT AND URGED THE U.S. TO STOP SENDING AID TO ISRAEL'S MILL LEAR EFFORT.

BUT JEWISH GROUPS AND MANY OTHER CHRISTIAN LEADERS CONTINUED TO EXPRESS STRONG SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL.

IN WASHINGTON, HUNDREDS OF TOP JEWISH RELIGIOUS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS CONVENED A SUMMIT TO SHOW THEIR SOLIDARITY AND UNITY.

THEY HEARD FROM MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS WHO PLEDGED TO CONTINUE HELPING ISRAEL DEFEND ITSELF.

MANY AT THE SUMMIT ALSO RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT A WAVE OF ANTI-SEMITIC ATTACKS IN PARTS OF EUROPE WHERE ANTI-ISRAEL SENTIMENT HAS BEEN STRONG.

MORE VIOLENCE IN IRAQ AS ISLAMIC STATE MILITANTS CONTINUED THEIR RAMPAGE ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

IN THE CITY OF MOSUL, THE EXTREMISTS DESTROYED SEVERAL HISTORIC MOSQUES AND SHRINES, INCLUDING THE SITE THAT WAS REVERED AS THE TOMB OF THE PROPHET JONAH IN THE BIBLICAL CITY OF NINEVEH.

THIS CAME AS THE LAST REMAINING CHRISTIANS WERE FORCED TO FLEE MOSUL.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ADVOCATES URGED THE U.S. TO PROVIDE HUMANITARIAN AID TO CHRISTIANS AND OTHER MINORITIES WHO HAVE BEEN UPROOTED BY THE VIOLENCE.

ACCORDING TO THE U.N., MORE THAN A MILLION IRAQIS HAVE BEEN DISPLACED BECAUSE OF THE RECENT EVENTS.

THE STATE DEPARTMENT SAID IN ITS ANNUAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT THIS WEEK THAT IN 2013, MORE PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD WERE FORCED TO FLEE THEIR HOMES THAN AT ANY OTHER POINT IN RECENT MEMORY.

THE REPORT SAID MILLIONS OF CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS, AND HINDUS ARE DISAPPEARING FROM THEIR TRADITIONAL AND HISTORIC HOMES.

THE STATE DEPARTMENT ALSO ADDED TURKMENISTAN TO ITS LIST OF WORST RELIGIOUS FREEDOM VIOLATORS -- A LIST THAT INCLUDES CHINA, SAUDI ARABIA, AND SUDAN, ALONG WITH FIVE OTHER COUNTRIES.

THIS WEEK PRESIDENT OBAMA ANNOUNCED THAT HE WAS TAPPING RABBI DAVID SAPERSTEIN TO BE THE NEXT U.S.

AMBASSADOR FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

THE 66-YEAR-OLD SAPERSTEIN IS AN INFLUENTIAL RABBI WHO HAS LED THE RELIGIOUS ACTION CENTER OF REFORM JUDAISM FOR FOUR DECADES.

HE WOULD BE THE FIRST NON-CHRISTIAN TO HOLD THE POSITION.

IN OTHER NEWS, RELIGIOUS GROUPS PRAYED FOR THE VICTIMS OF A DEADLY EBOLA OUTBREAK IN WEST AFRICA, SAID TO BE THE WORST IN HISTORY.

SEVERAL U.S. HUMANITARIAN GROUPS ARE PULLING VOLUNTEERS OUT OF AFRICA AMID REPORTS THAT HEALTH CARE WORKERS WERE INFECTED, INCLUDING TWO PEOPLE WORKING ON A JOINT PROJECT WITH THE CHRISTIAN AID GROUP SAMARITAN'S PURSE.

SAMARITAN'S PURSE WAS FOUNDED BY FRANKLIN GRAHAM, THE SON OF EVANGELIST BILLY GRAHAM.

AUTHORITIES IN SIERRA LEONE, GUINEA, AND LIBERIA ARE WORKING TO CONTAIN THE SPREAD OF THE DISEASE, WHICH HAS A FATALITY RATE OF UP TO 90%.

HE'S HAD SURGERIES DONE.

HE HAS HEART STUFF GOING ON, LIVER AND SPLEEN ENLARGEMENT.

>> IS HE IN PAIN?

>> I THINK HIS TOLERANCE FOR PAIN IS HIGH, BUT I THINK THAT THERE'S DEFINITELY PAIN INVOLVEMENT.

>> JACK IS ON AN ENZYME REPLACEMENT DRUG CALLED ELAPRASE, WHICH GAVE HIM SOME RELIEF INITIALLY, BUT NO LONGER.

THERE IS A PHASE II-III CLINICAL TRIAL GOING ON NOW THAT THE FOWLERS TRIED UNSUCCESSFULLY TO GET JACK ENROLLED IN.

>> SO THE TRIAL THAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW IS A REFORMULATION OF THAT ELAPRASE, AND IT'S INJECTED DIRECTLY INTO THE SPINE, AND THE FLUID IN THE SPINE TAKES THAT DRUG TO THE BRAIN AND THEN IT HELPS THE BRAIN, AND SO IT TREATS THAT TISSUE THAT NORMALLY ISN'T TREATED.

AND SO WE'VE BEEN DENIED ACCESS TO THAT BECAUSE OF JACK'S HYDROCEPHALUS AND THE SHUNT THAT HE HAS ON HIS HEAD.

>> FOR PATIENTS WHO ARE INELIGIBLE TO BE PART OF A CLINICAL TRIAL, ANOTHER OPTION EXISTS.

THE FOWLERS TRIED TO GET ACCESS TO THE TREATMENT THEY WANTED THROUGH THE PROGRAM CALLED EXPANDED ACCESS OR COMPASSIONATE USE.

BUT IN ORDER FOR JACK TO GET THE TREATMENT, THE DRUG COMPANY, SHIRE PHARMACEUTICALS, WOULD HAVE TO COMPLY.

BUT THEY DID NOT.

DRUG COMPANIES WANT TO GET THEIR DRUG TO THE MARKET AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, AND A CLINICAL TRIAL IS THE ONLY WAY TO DO THAT.

OFTEN DRUG COMPANIES SAY THEY MUST REJECT APPLICANTS FOR COMPASSIONATE USE BECAUSE OF THEIR CONCERN THAT THEIR CLINICAL TRIAL PROCESS WOULD BE COMPROMISED.

DR. RUSSELL MEDFORD IS A CARDIOLOGIST AND DRUG DEVELOPER WHO CHAIRS THE BIOETHICS COMMITTEE FOR THE BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY.

>> HOW DO WE BALANCE THE RAPID AND ACCELERATED APPROVAL OF DRUGS THAT WE CAN ESTABLISH, DEFINITIVELY ESTABLISH, ARE SAFE AND EFFECTIVE VERSUS THE NEEDS AND IMMEDIATE NEEDS OF INDIVIDUAL PATIENTS WHO CANNOT WAIT FOR US TO COME TO THOSE FINAL DETERMINATIONS?

SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE PROBABLY DON'T QUITE UNDERSTAND IS WE ONLY MAKE AS MUCH AS WE NEED FOR THE CLINICAL TRIALS.

AND CERTAINLY ONE OR TWO PATIENTS THAT WE AGREE TO DO EXPANDED ACCESS ON IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE FINE.

IT'LL PROBABLY BE ACCEPTABLE.

BUT IF IT'S HUNDREDS, AND WE'RE ONLY STUDYING HUNDREDS OF PATIENTS, WHERE'S THE DRUG TO COME FROM?

IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT'S SITTING ON OUR SHELVES.

>> THE GOAL OF CLINICAL TRIALS IS TO ESTABLISH WHETHER DRUGS ARE BOTH SAFE AND EFFECTIVE.

IT'S USUALLY A LENGTHY PROCESS.

BUT DESPERATE PATIENTS ARE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT SAFETY.

>> IN THE 1990S, A NEW FORM OF THERAPY, BASED ON EARLY AND PRELIMINARY RESULTS, WAS CALLED HIGH-DOSE CHEMOTHERAPY FOR BREAST CANCER.

IT INVOLVED USING TOXIC LEVELS OF A DRUG AND REPLACING THE BONE MARROW.

IT WAS THE BELIEF THEN OF PHYSICIANS AND PATIENTS THAT AND WHEN THOSE FINAL TRIALS RESULTS WERE REPORTED OUT, THIS VERY TOXIC THERAPY WAS NO BETTER THAN STANDARD CHEMOTHERAPY, AND IN FACT IT DID HARM.

>> RICHARD KLEIN DIRECTS THE FDA'S PATIENT LIAISON PROGRAM.

HIS OFFICE FIELDS MORE AND MORE CALLS FROM PATIENTS WHO, HAVING RECEIVED PERMISSION FROM THE DRUG COMPANY, NOW NEED THE FDA TO GRANT THEIR REQUEST FOR THESE UNAPPROVED DRUGS.

MOST OF THE TIME THE REQUEST IS GRANTED, BUT HE OFTEN FEELS THAT THEIR HOPES ARE MISGUIDED.

>> PEOPLE HAVE TOO MUCH CONFIDENCE THAT BECAUSE IT'S NEW, BECAUSE IT'S IN DEVELOPMENT IT'S GOING TO BE EFFECTIVE, IT'S GOING TO BE A CURE.

PEOPLE ALWAYS SAY, "WELL, IF A PERSON IS IN A DEADLY SITUATION AND THEY'RE GOING TO DIE ANYWAY," AS PEOPLE OFTEN SAY, "WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE WORSE?"

AND IT COULD BE THAT PEOPLE WOULD BE HURRIED TO A DEATH.

YOU CAN DIE MUCH SOONER TAKING CERTAIN CHEMICALS.

OR IT COULD PROLONG LIFE WITHOUT ANY BENEFIT IN TERMS OF QUALITY OF LIFE.

>> BUT THAT VIEW HAS NOT DETERRED NANCY GOODMAN, PATIENT ADVOCATE, WHO AFTER HER OWN SON, JACOB, DIED CREATED KIDS V CANCER, AN ORGANIZATION PROMOTING DRUG ACCESS AND DEVELOPMENT FOR CHILDREN.

>> THE MOST SERIOUS OBSTACLE, FRANKLY, IS THE RELATIVELY SMALL SIZE OF THE MARKET FOR PEDIATRIC CANCER AND OTHER PEDIATRIC RARE DISEASES.

WE HAVE TO FIND WAYS IN OUR SOCIETY TO EITHER GIVE COMPANIES A REASON TO COME IN THIS MARKET OR REALLY POUR IN SIGNIFICANT GOVERNMENT RESOURCES INTO DEVELOPING THESE DRUGS.

>> NANCY GOODMAN ALSO POINTS OUT HOW DIFFICULT IT CAN BE FOR FAMILIES TO APPLY TO THE DRUG COMPANY FOR COMPASSIONATE USE.

>> COMPANIES DON'T HAVE ON THEIR WEBSITES A LITTLE BUTTON, YOU KNOW, CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR THE COMPASSIONATE USE PROGRAM.

THEY DON'T HAVE A STATED POLICY AS TO WHAT THEIR TIMELINE WILL BE FOR TURNAROUND.

>> IN DESPERATION, SOME PARENTS TURN TO SOCIAL MEDIA.

THE IDEA IS TO GET PEOPLE, ANYONE THEY CAN, TO SUPPORT THEIR EFFORTS IN GETTING THE DRUG THAT THEY WANT FROM THE DRUG COMPANY.

AND THERE IS NOW SOME LEGISLATIVE ACTION SUPPORTING THIS CAUSE.

COLORADO RECENTLY PASSED WHAT IS KNOWN AS A RIGHT TO TRY LAW WHICH ALLOWS PATIENTS TO RECEIVE EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS WITHOUT GOING THROUGH THE FDA.

SIMILAR BILLS HAVE PASSED IN MISSOURI AND LOUISIANA, AND IN ARIZONA RIGHT TO TRY WILL BE ON THE BALLOT IN NOVEMBER.

DRUG COMPANIES IN THESE STATES, HOWEVER, ARE NOT OBLIGED TO MAKE THE DRUGS AVAILABLE, AND INSURANCE COMPANIES DON'T HAVE TO PAY FOR THE TREATMENTS.

RICHARD KLEIN HAS SOME DOUBTS ABOUT THE NEW LEGISLATION.

>> THE AGENCY HAS A PATHWAY.

IT SEEMS TO WORK QUITE WELL, AND I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE STATE RIGHT TO TRY BILLS WOULD REALLY ADD TO THAT, AND IN FACT I THINK MIGHT TAKE AWAY SOME OF THE SAFETY ADVANTAGES THAT PEOPLE HAVE BY GOING THROUGH THE FDA PROCESS, WHERE YOU'VE GOT INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD, YOU'VE GOT SOMEBODY CHECKING THE INFORMED CONSENT, MAKE SURE THAT PATIENTS ARE FULLY AWARE OF WHAT THEY'RE GETTING INTO.

>> MEANWHILE, THE FOWLERS HAVE TAKEN THEIR SON JACK'S TREATMENT INTO THEIR OWN HANDS.

>> WE'RE WORKING WITH SOME PHYSICIANS TO TAKE JACK'S ELAPRASE AND HAVE IT REFORMULATED SO THAT THEY COULD ADMINISTER IT THE SAME WAY THAT'S DONE IN THE TRIAL, JUST WITHOUT SHIRE.

WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO.

IS THERE RISK INVOLVED?

THERE DEFINITELY IS, BUT, AGAIN, WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER OPTION IS WATCHING OUR SON DETERIORATE AND DIE AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO STAND BY AND DO THAT.

>> ALTHOUGH RICHARD KLEIN SUPPORTS THE COMPASSIONATE USE PROGRAM, HE SOMETIMES WORRIES THAT PEOPLE'S DESPERATION TO GET UNAPPROVED MEDICATION FOR THEIR LOVED ONES MAY NOT BE WHAT THEIR LOVED ONES TRULY WANT.

>> I'VE SEEN IT MORE THAN ONCE WHERE IT'S THE FAMILY MEMBERS SIMPLY CAN'T LET GO OR DECIDE WE CAN LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED, WHETHER OR NOT IT'S WHAT THE PATIENT REALLY WANTS AND FEELS IS THE BEST THING FOR THE PATIENT.

>> ALL THE HARDER TO KNOW IF THE PATIENT IS A YOUNG CHILD.

FOR "RELIGION AND ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY" I'M BETTY ROLLIN IN MUNDELEIN, ILLINOIS.

>>> IN 2008, CANADIAN AUTHOR AMANDA LINDHOUT WAS KIDNAPPED BY SOMALI REBELS AND SPENT 15 MONTHS IN CAPTIVITY.

NOW THE AUTHOR OF A BEST-SELLING MEMOIR, LINDHOUT SPOKE WITH BOB FAW ABOUT HER ORDEAL AND THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS.

>> IT'S 24 HIGH SCHOOL AGED GIRLS, ALL OF THEM ARE ORPHANS.

>> LISTENING TO HER NOW SPEAKING TO AN AUDIENCE ON LONG ISLAND, OR WATCHING HER SIGNING COPIES OF HER BEST-SELLING MEMOIR, ONE CAN HARDLY BELIEVE HOW AMANDA LINDHOUT SURVIVED 462 DAYS AS A KIDNAP VICTIM IN SOMALIA, MUCH LESS HOW SHE WAS TRANSFORMED.

>> THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO ME DURING THOSE LAST 10 1/2 MONTHS IN CAPTIVITY, THEY'RE EXPERIENCES THAT NO HUMAN BEING ON THE PLANET SHOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH.

MINE IS NOTHING IF NOT A STORY OF SURVIVAL.

>> A CANADIAN, LINDHOUT LONGED TO SEE THE WORLD, AND ON A SHOE STRING BUDGET BACKPACKED IN MORE THAN 50 COUNTRIES.

YOU HAD A KIND OF WANDER LUST, BUT WAS THERE A SPIRITUAL LONGING THERE OR A CURIOSITY?

IS THAT THE BETTER WORD?

>> OH, DEFINITELY.

I REFER TO MYSELF IN MY EARLY 20s AS A SPIRITUAL SEEKER.

>> IN 2008 LINDHOUT, THEN 27, A FREELANCE JOURNALIST AND PHOTOGRAPHER, AND FELLOW ADVENTURER, AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHER NIGEL BRENNAN, WENT TO SOMALIA.

AS DEPICTED IN THE FILMING "BLACK HAW DOWN" RIVEN BY 20 YEARS OF CIVIL WAR, WAS NOT JUST IMPOVERISHED BUT ALMOST COMPLETELY LAWLESS.

WHEN THEY WERE TRAVELING TO DO A STORY ABOUT A REFUGEE CAMP, A BAND OF TEENAGERS BRANDISHING ALASKA AK-47s SEIZED THEM AND DEMANDED A RANSOM OF $3 MILLION.

>> I FOUND MYSELF LYING FACE DOWN ON THE DIRT SPREAD EAGLE WITH A GUN HELD TO THE BACK OF MY HEAD.

OUR KIDNAPPERS TOLD US THEY WERE GOING TO KILL US.

THEY TOLD US THAT THEY WOULD BEHEAD US IF THE MONEY WASN'T PAID.

>> IN HER BOOK, LINDHOUT TALKS ABOUT CONVERTING TO ISLAM DURING HER CAPTIVITY AND READING THE KORAN MULTIPLE TIMES.

YOU SAY IT WASN'T SURRENDER, AND IT WASN'T DEFIANCE.

THIS WAS TO ISLAM.

THIS WAS SIMPLY A CHESS MOVE.

WE WERE DOING WHAT IT TOOK TO SURVIVE.

>> WHAT I WANTED OUT OF IT WAS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT MOTIVATED MY CAPTORS.

THEY BELIEVED THAT WE WERE ENEMIES AND THAT BASED ON THESE PARTICULAR PASSAGES IN THE KORAN THAT IT WAS JUSTIFIED UNDER ISLAMIC LAW THEN TO ABDUCT US AND ASK FOR A RANSOM.

>> USING WHAT SHE LEARNED IN THE KORAN, SHE PLEADED FOR HER FREEDOM.

YOU SAID, I AM YOUR MUSLIM SISTER.

YOU HAVE TO HELP ME.

ALLAH SAYS MUSLIMS HAVE TO HELP ONE ANOTHER.

>> WELL, MUSLIMS HAVE THE BELIEF THAT EVERYTHING IS PREORDAINED, AND SO, THEREFORE, I WAS EXACTLY WHERE I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AT THAT MOMENT IN TIME.

THE MORE I CAME TO UNDERSTAND HOW LIáERALLY THEY TAKE IT THAT EVERYTHING IS PREORDAINED, I REALIZED THAT I COULDN'T ARGUE WITH THEM ABOUT THIS BEING WRONG, WHAT THEY WERE DOING WAS WRONG.

>> AFTER BEING HELD FOR FIVE MONTHS, LINDHOUT AND BRENNAN TRIED TO ESCAPE AND FLED TO A LOCAL MOSQUE WHERE A WOMAN TRIED TO HELP.

>> WHEN NIGEL AND I RAN IN, OUR CAPTORS RAN IN RIGHT BEHIND US WITH GUNS, SO THE DANGER, THE REAL DANGERS THAT EXISTED THAT DAY MAKES WHAT THAT WOMAN DID AT THE MOSQUE ALL THE MORE REMARKABLE BECAUSE THAT WOMAN, SHE SAW A STRANGER, A WOMAN IN NEED OF HELP, AND SHE JUST REACTED, AND SHE CAME DIRECTLY OVER TO ME AND EMBRACED ME AND CALLED ME HER SISTER, AND SHE DID EVERYTHING SHE COULD THAT DAY, PUTTING HER OWN LIFE ON THE LINE TO TRY TO HELP ME.

>> RECAPTURED, HER KIDNAPPERS MADE HER LIFE ALMOST UNBEARABLE.

>> I COULDN'T MOVE BECAUSE MY CAPTORS HAD WOUND A THICK METAL CHAIN AROUND MY ANKLES, WHICH THEY SECURED WITH HEAVY PADLOCKS WHICH REMAINED ON MY ANKLES FOR THE NEXT 10 1/2 MONTHS.

I COULDN'T SIT UP.

I COULDN'T EVEN LIE ON MY BACK.

I COULD LIE ONLY ON MY SIDE ON THIS VERY THIN, FILTHY FOAM MAT ON THE FLOOR IN THE DARK FOR 24 HOURS A DAY.

>> LINDHOUT WAS REPEATEDLY ABUSED, NEARLY STARVED, AND IN EXCRUCIATING PAIN.

>> I JUST COULDN'T UNDERSTAND HOW PEOPLE COULD BE CAPABLE OF REACHING THOSE KINDS OF DEPTHS TO INFLICT THAT KIND OF SUFFERING ON ANOTHER HUMAN BEING, AND I BECAME CONSUMED BY ANGER AND CONFUSION AND SELF-PITY AND RAGE.

>> YOU FLIRTED WITH THE IDEA OF SUICIDE.

YOU HAD A RAZOR.

YOU COULD HAVE.

WHY DIDN'T YOU?

>> I VERY CALMLY MADE THIS DECISION TO END MY LIFE, BUT I HAD THIS UNBELIEVABLE EXPERIENCE THAT PROBABLY ALMOST SOUNDS LIKE I'M MAKING IT UP.

IT WAS A SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE THAT ABSOLUTELY CHANGED EVERYTHING FOR ME.

AS I LOOKED OVER TOWARDS THE DOOR, THERE WAS THIS LITTLE BROWN BIRD HOPPING AROUND IN THIS SQUARE OF LIGHT.

AND I HADN'T SEEN A BIRD IN A YEAR.

AND THIS BIRD, TO ME, WAS A MESSENGER TO HOLD ON.

ALL OF THE DESIRE TO END SV OWN LIFE LEFT ME IN THAT MOMENT, AND I BECAME FUELED BY THIS DESIRE TO CONTINUE TO LIVE, TO CHOOSE LIFE NO MATTER WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO TO ME.

>> FROM THAT POINT ON, AS DESCRIBED IN HER BOOK, IT WASN'T JUST HER WILLPOWER, BUT HER IMAGINATION WHICH HELPED AMANDA LINDHOUT TO GO ON.

>> IN MY MIND I BUILT STAIRWAYS.

AT THE END OF THE STAIRWAYS I IMAGINED ROOMS.

>> AND BECAUSE OF THAT IMAGINARY HOUSE IN THE SKY, BECAUSE OF WHAT SHE COULD ENVISION, AMANDA LINDHOUT WAS ABLE TO ENDURE.

>> IT WAS ESSENTIALLY A PLACE THAT I COULD GO IN MY OWN MIND TO ESCAPE MY DAILY REALITY, AND SO IN MY HOUSE IN THE SKY IT WAS EVERYTHING FROM REMEMBERING THE LIFE THAT I HAD LIVED AND SO RECREATING TRIPS THAT I HAD BEEN ON IN THE FINEST DETAIL TO IMAGING WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO SIT AROUND A TABLE AND SHARE A MEAL WITH MY FAMILY.

THE MORE I USED THESE PRACTICES, LIKE GOING TO MY HOUSE IN THE SKY, THE EASIER IT BECAME.

AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I COULD CLOSE MY EYES AND ESCAPE MY REALITY, AND I COULD EVEN -- I COULD SMILE AT A NICE MEMORY, I COULD LAUGH AT REMEMBERING A JOKE.

>> NOW, LOOKING BACK ON THAT TERRIBLE ORDEAL, LINDHOUT REMEMBERS ANOTHER TURNING POINT AS SHE WAS BEING ASSAULTED BY TWO OF HER CAPTORS.

>> I REMEMBER IT SO CLEARLY LOOKING DOWN ON THOSE THREE PEOPLE ON THE FLOOR, ONE OF WHOM WAS ME, AND THE TWO YOUNG MEN, TEENAGERS WHO WERE TORTURING ME AND HURTING ME, AND SO IT SURPRISES PEOPLE TO HEAR ME SAY THERE WAS A SENSE OF COMPASSION THAT I HAD FOR THE FACT THAT THOSE YOUNG MEN WERE THE PERPENDICULAR PET WAITERS OF VIOLENCE, THAT THEY WERE ALSO THE VICTIMS OF IT.

AND THIS IS NOT STOCKHOLM SYNDROME, AND I AM NOT SAYING THAT THEY WERE INNOCENT AT ALL, BUT THAT IS JUST THE TRUTH OF THE SITUATION.

>> AND AT THAT POINT, SHE WOULD WRITE, "I BEGAN TO NURTURE SOMETHING I'D NEVER EXPECTED TO FEEL IN CAPTIVITY, A SEEDLING OF COMPASSION FOR THOSE BOYS."

>> PHYSICALLY I WAS IN CHAINS ON THE FLOOR AND I HAD NO POWER, NO CONTROL OVER THAT, BUT I STILL HAD THE POWER TO CHOOSE MY RESPONSE TO WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO ME, TO HOLD ON TO MY OWN MORALS AND MY OWN VALUES.

I KNEW SOMEHOW AT THE DEEPEST PART OF MY BEING THAT IF I CHOSE FORGIVENESS, THAT EXPERIENCE JUST WOULD NOT HAVE THE POWER TO CRUSH ME.

>> LINDHOUT STILL WRESTLES WITH HATRED AND ANGER, AS SHE DID IN CAPTIVITY.

BUT THEN AND NOW SHE TRIES TO CHOOSE FORGIVENESS.

>> OF COURSE, I WAS ANGRY FOR EVERYTHING THAT WAS HAPPENING TO ME, BUT AS TIME WENT ON IN CAPTIVITY, I JUST REALIZED FOR MY OWN SELF, FOR SELF-PRESERVATION, THAT I COULDN'T STAY TRAPPED IN THAT EMOTION, THAT I HAD TO TRY TO FIND WAYS TO LET IT OUT, AND THAT'S WHEN I STARTED DEVELOPING PRACTICES LIKE CHOOSING FORGIVENESS IN CAPTIVITY.

>> YOU SAID THE MIND AT ONE POINT, THIS IS I THINK WHEN YOUR HANDS AND YOUR FEET WERE BOUND, THE MIND ALMOST BECAME MUSCULAR YOU SAY.

BUT YOU ALSO SAID YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHETHER THAT WAS A SURVIVAL TOOL OR A GLIMPSE OF LUNACY.

>> I WAS ALONE FOR THE FIRST TIME, SO REALLY ALONE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE.

I REMEMBER THAT BEING THE PERIOD WHERE I WAS ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED OF LOSING MY MIND.

BUT THE MORE TIME THAT I SPENT ALONE, I MEAN, I HAD 13 MONTHS IN CAPTIVITY ALONE, THE MIND BECAME VERY, VERY STRONG, AND THAT'S WHAT I MEAN WHEN I REFER TO IT AS MUSCULAR.

THE MORE THAT I USED THESE PRACTICES, LIKE GOING TO MY HOUSE IN THE SKY, THE EASIER IT BECAME.

>> FINALLY THEY WERE RELEASED AFTER A RANSOM OF $300,000 WAS PAID BY LINDHOUT'S AND BRENNAN'S PARENTS.

SHE HAS SPENT THE LAST FOUR YEARS RECOVERING AND WRITING HER BOOK AND STARTING A FOUNDATION, RAISING OVER $3 MILLION TO HELP SOMALI REFUGEES LIVING IN NEIGHBORING KENYA.

>> THIS WORK HAS REALLY BECOME MY LIFE.

IT'S WHAT I CALL COMPASSION IN ACTION AND IT'S REALLY ALL ABOUT THE CHOICE THAT I MAKE EVERY DAY TO FORGIVE THAT ALLOWS ME TO STEP INTO THIS WORK.

>> NOW 33 AND ENROLLED IN A CANADIAN UNIVERSITY, SHE STILL HAS DARK MOMENTS AND WRESTLES WITH PTSD FROM AN ORDEAL WHICH HAS LEFT HER BOTH WOUNDED AND STRONGER.

>> I PRAY MANY TIMES IN A DAY NOW, AND FOR ME NOW MY PRAYERS ARE VERY, VERY DIFFERENT.

THEY'RE MORE LIKE A STATEMENT OF GRATITUDE FOR EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE, FOR MY FREEDOM NOW, FOR THE ABILITY TO EXPERIENCE THE BEAUTY OF THE WORLD AGAIN.

I'M REALLY PROFOUNDLY GRATEFUL FOR THAT, AND I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO EXPRESS THAT.

>> AMANDA LINDHOUT, TRAVELING FROM DARKNESS INTO LIGHT AND FROM A HOUSE IN THE SKY TO AN INNER PEACE.

FOR "RELIGION AND ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY," THIS IS BOB FAW IN NEW YORK.

>>> FINALLY, ON OUR CALENDAR THIS WEEK, JEWS MARK THE SOLEMN HOLIDAY OF TISH BAV.

FOR JEWS, IT IS A DAY OF FASTING AND LAMENT FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FIRST AND SECOND TEMPLES IN JERUSALEM, AND FOR OTHER TRAGEDIES IN JEWISH HISTORY.

THAT'S OUR PROGRAM FOR NOW.

I'M HARI SREENIVASAN.

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AS WE LEAVE YOU, SCENES OF MUSLIMS AROUND THE WORLD CELEBRATING EID-AL-FITR, THE END OF RAMADAN.

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