CBC journalist's kidnapping in Afghanistan 'happened so quickly'

CBC journalist relied on instincts to survive Afghanistan kidnapping
The Canadian Press - TORONTO
1 hour ago

TORONTO — It all happened so quickly, the big men with guns jumping out of the car, stabbing her in the shoulder and shoving her into a car.

CBC journalist Mellissa Fung had just enough time to yell out to her Afghan fixer, telling him not to call the police, but rather a CTV colleague who would know what to do.

She knew it was money they were after when they kidnapped her Oct. 12 after she had just finished interviewing Afghan refugees.

And she knew she would spiral into a depression if she thought about all the terrible things that could happen to her, so she was determinedly optimistic.

"I'm not dying here," Fung, 35, would tell herself. "Dying is not an option. Help is coming. I will get out of here one way or another."

"That's not to say that there weren't some really awful days...There were some days when I thought, 'When am I ever going to get the hell out of here?"'

She was released Saturday after being held for a month, and she spoke to the CBC on Wednesday about the experience during an hour-long interview in an undisclosed location overseas.

In the midst of her abduction she fought back and hit one of the kidnappers. They stabbed her in the shoulder, shoved her to the floor of the back seat of a car and sped off.

Held down on the floor of the car and bleeding from the stab wound on her shoulder, Fung didn't know where she was going or who was taking her there.

"That was one of the scariest moments," she said. "I didn't know what was happening
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