Westport Photographers Suffered, Nearly Died

The guns pointed at four New York Times journalists were ready to fire.

Anthony Shadid, Lynsey Addario, Stephen Farrell and Tyler Hicks had been beaten and tied. They stood behind a small one-room house in Libya waiting for death, according to an account written by the four in the New York Times. The story details the brutal cruelty they endured while in captivity.

“Shoot them,” a soldier loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, ruler of the oil-rich nation, said in the article.

Death never came to the four journalists, which included Staples High School graduates Addario and Hicks. The four have since been safely released.

It wasn’t the first time the Staples graduates have been this close to danger. Addario was captured in Iraq in 2004. Hicks, as was reported in the New York Times, “had more scrapes than he could count, from Chechnya to Sudan.” One of their colleagues was once shot. Another was kidnapped in Afghanistan.

All contact was lost with the journalists last week, until of their captivity surfaced. Even when the news got out, there were questions as to whether they’d be released safely, as the Libyan government promised.

Hicks, who has won a Pulitzer Prize along with other top awards for his photojournalism, was in Afghanistan in 2006. That year, he developed a close bond with Creek Company of the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division. The soldiers respected Hicks, not just for his dedication, but for his kindness.

“This may sound trivial but Tyler collected all the cigarettes from the unit that was leaving and passed them out to the smokers of my platoon,” Jason Schlesinger, a member of the company, told Patch in an email. "So, not only did he
stay with our unit with very minimal supplies, he came back from what
could have been his ride home, but he came back bearing gifts.

Schlesinger heard about Hicks’ capture from an article that a fellow soldier posted on Facebook.

“We all believed that if there was any one person who was tough enough to
cope and get through that kind of ordeal it would be Tyler,” Schlesinger said in the email.

Hicks spent a month with Creek Company, and the dangers were plenty. The harsh environment was rife with disease, deadly animals and armed opposition.

“Any photographer has the same challenges as our fighting men and women,
except they can't shoot back, at least not with a weapon. They also
may stick their necks out a little further to get that picture that
they came for,” Schlesinger said.

Afghanistan was dangerous, but Hicks had the support of soldiers. In Libya, which was on the brink of civil war, the group drove to the frontlines with little protection. After their capture, they were beaten severely. Addario was groped.

One Libyan soldier threatened to cut off Hicks’ head and put it on top of his own. After days of uncertainty, they found themselves in the Foreign Ministry. They were eventually released to Turkish diplomats on Monday.

"We are thrilled with the news that they are safe," Camile Addario, Lynsey's mom, said in an e-mail published by the Westport News. "It has been a difficult week for all."

"We want to thank everyone for their support and all who have been instrumental with their release," she added. "The story will evolve just as life. I just can't wait to have her in my arms and give her a hug."

The soldiers who worked with Hicks also issued a welcome.

“I would just like to add if I may, that all of the Creek Warriors welcome Tyler Hicks back home,” Schlesinger said.

The full New York Times story, which details their harrowing journey, can be found here.