Freed hostage Brian Keenan, who flew home to Ireland Saturday, said he saw American hostages Terry Anderson and Thomas Sutherland during his four-year captivity in Lebanon and that both had been well.
Keenan, 39, looking pale but otherwise physically fit, had an emotional reunion with his two sisters in the Syrian capital, Damascus, almost 24 hours after he was freed by his captors in Beirut.In his comments in Damascus, he did not say when he had seen the two Americans. He described Anderson as being comforted by a picture of his daughter, Sulome, and said Sutherland entertained his fellow hostages with jokes and stories.
He said he had seen British hostage John McCarthy only two days ago, but did not mention any other hostages.
His hair cut short and his beard neatly trimmed, Keenan struggled to hold back tears as he sat between his sisters, Elaine Spence and Brenda Gillham. He read a statement to reporters, but took no questions.
"I am delighted to be with my sisters," he said, his voice breaking.
"On my way here, I thought of what I was going to do," he told reporters. "And finally, I said to myself I would eat all the food in the world, drink all the drink in the world and make love to all the women in the world, and then maybe I'll get a good night sleep."
Keenan's sisters arrived in Syria with Irish Foreign Minister Gerry Collins and a doctor and a nurse. They all flew back to Ireland three hours after Keenan was formally turned over to Collins at the Syrian Foreign Ministry.
A welcoming cheer went up as Keenan stepped off a government jet at Dublin airport onto a red carpet. He was warmly embraced by Prime Minister Charles Haughey.
Keenan opened his arms to the crowd and then clasped his hands over his head in delight. He clasped his two sisters to him and blew kisses to the crowd of about 500 before going into the VIP lounge for a private reunion with more than 20 relatives.
In Damascus, he told reporters, "I saw Terry Anderson some time ago.
"He's in good form . . . and he appreciates the letters that he received from his family."
Anderson, chief Middle East correspondent for The Associated Press, is the longest held of the 13 Westerners believed held captive by Moslem extremists in Lebanon. He was abducted March 16, 1985.
Anderson and Sutherland are among six Americans remaining in captivity, along with two West Germans, an Italian and four Britons.
Of Sutherland, 56, of Fort Collins, Colo., Keenan said: "He's well."
"He has told us an entire repertoire of jokes, and Dr. Sutherland is in good health and regularly exercising," Keenan said. Sutherland was kidnapped June 9, 1985.
Anderson has never seen his 5-year-old daughter, who was born almost three months after he was kidnapped. But Keenan said, "He has a picture of his daughter, Sulome, which is some great companionship for him."
Keenan also said he had seen McCarthy, a reporter for the London-based Worldwide Television News, two nights ago. He said McCarthy was well.
"John's good humor was very much appreciated and brought in all of us who came in contact with him a real sense of the outside world," Keenan said.
McCarthy, 33, was captured April 17, 1986. The other Britons are Terry Waite, the envoy of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Alec Collett and Jack Mann.
Waite disappeared in Beirut on Jan. 20, 1987, while seeking the release of other hostages.
Keenan was handed over Friday to Syrian army officers in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, after a little-known group calling itself The Organization of the Islamic Dawn said he would be released. Until the kidnappers' statement Friday, no group had claimed responsibility for Keenan from the time he was abducted until he was freed.
The fifth Western hostage freed in as many months, Keenan was kidnapped April 11, 1986, in west Beirut while walking to the American University where he taught English.