Stuff
Alia Bojilova was kidnapped in Syria. She told Simon Bridges how she escaped when she appeared on his podcast, Generally Famous.
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In 2013, Dr Alia Bojilova was working as a United Nations military observer in Syria when she and two colleagues were kidnapped by rebel fighters, held at gunpoint and told they were going to be decapitated on camera.
It was a high-stress situation and Bojilova had a choice – give up and face a horrible death, or use the skills she’d developed as a lead psychologist and officer with the New Zealand Defence Force Special Air Service.
Bojilova explained why she and her colleagues were held hostage and how they managed to negotiate their release in a matter of hours, on Stuff’s Generally Famous podcast, hosted by Simon Bridges.
She told Bridges she awoke one night to strange noises at the UN observation post where she was staying. The next thing she knew, a gun was being pointed at her.
Through her training, she knew people had two options in such situations.
“You can lay dead, you can scream, you can try to bail out. Or, you can try to look for ways out – and that’s what we did.”
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Bojilova explains how relating to their kidnappers’ human side was crucial to her and her colleagues escaping alive.
“That was the starting tactic, and this is the one that stayed with us the whole way through – build a connection, there’s a human standing in front of you.”
During the episode, she explains the “enormous turmoil” Syria was facing when they were kidnapped, and the resolution they reached to be freed. She also talks about her new book, The Resilience Toolkit.
To listen to the full interview, click the play icon on the audio player at the top of this story or visit the Generally Famous homepage.
There’s a new episode of Generally Famous every Wednesday. Follow the show on Apple, Spotify – or wherever you get your podcasts – to get instant, automatic access.
