Anne McLoughlin

Anne McLoughlin, Irish aid worker and hostage, born c. 1960.

Background

A native of Coolebeg, Clontuskert, County Galway, McLoughlin was the centre of an international event when she was taken hostage in Ethiopia in 1984. She had been working with Concern (now Concern Worldwide) at Korem since November 1983, as an administrator of aid to Somali refugees of local wars.

Conditions at Korem

In a message recorded prior to her kidnapping, she stated that

"The people are absolutely starving. I find it hard to describe the poverty in Korem and Ethiopia. There are people lying in their own diarrhoea with all sorts of diseases like malaria, dysentery, typhoid, relapsing fever and the babies suffer from hypothermia because of the extreme night and day temperatures. Complete families are suffering from the drought here."

T.P.L.F. attack and capture

On Wednesday 21 April 1984 the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front attacked Korem. Two of the heavily armed guerrillas seized McLoughlin and the other volunteers. They were forced to walk over the mountains or ride mules till they reached the militant's camp. They were held in captivity in extremely primitive conditions, surviving on very spare meals.

Captivity and release

However, the Tigrayan had never intended to harm the volunteers, their purpose been to bring world attention to the famine. On 1 May they began the long journey down from the mountains. They again crossed deep and wide rivers, endured terrible heat and were anxious at the constant fear of being attacked and shot by other militant elements. They arrived in Khartoum where they were greeted by Concern's field director. They had been in captivity for forty-nine days.

Aftermath

McLoughlin returned to Africa, working as a teacher in Tanzania, where she met James O'Loughlin of Ballinrobe, and later married. She currently lives in County Clare.

References

• The Parish of Clontuskert - Glimpses into its Past, 2009, pp. 325–327.