Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

U.S. Citizen Missing in Liberia

Aired September 18, 2003 - 07:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's turn now to Liberia and the desperate search for a U.S. citizen who is thought to be held hostage by rebel forces.
Nabil Hage, an Army veteran, has been missing for more than a month. U.S. embassy officials believe he's been kidnapped in the rebel-held northern region of Liberia. And a photo that appeared in "The New York Times" showed a Liberian rebel leader wearing a U.S. Army jacket with Nabil Hage's name on it.

His sister, Meatta Hage, is leaving today for Liberia in an effort to win her brother's freedom, and she joins us from Washington, D.C. this morning.

Good morning. Nice to see you, and thanks for joining us.

When did you first discover, Meatta, that your brother was, in fact, missing?

MEATTA HAGE, BROTHER MISSING IN NIGERIA: Good morning, Soledad.

We were first -- we first found out about this on August 5, when there was an article in "The New York Times" with a picture of the Dragon Master rebel soldier with Nabil's uniform on. So, that was the first time that we had heard of it.

O'BRIEN: Your brother is an American citizen, and he was working in Liberia. Explain for me exactly what he was doing.

HAGE: We have businesses in Liberia, and Nabil was basically there taking care of the business, running it. He has been -- he actually took over for my mother when she left a couple of years ago to come here to take care of younger siblings that we have here as well. And he was there taking care of the business, and basically we had grown up there. So, that was home for him as well.

O'BRIEN: When you saw on the front page of "The New York Times" someone wearing your brother's uniform -- and I know this is a uniform that he felt was very important and kept a very close hold on to -- what did you do? What went through your mind? And what were your next steps?

HAGE: Well, first of all, I was appalled. And then secondly, I immediately called my mother to ask her if she had heard from him. And she had not heard from him for two weeks. So, then I immediately called the State Department to ask them if they were aware that he was missing. And if so, what were they doing in order to recover him. O'BRIEN: And what were their answers to those questions? Were they aware that he was missing? And what steps were they taking?

HAGE: Yes, they were aware that he was missing. I don't believe at that time that they had done anything for his recovery. As a matter of fact, they knew that he was missing. We were not informed. His family was not informed that he was missing. We basically had to contact them to ask about our brother's location before we were even told that he was in communication with them the entire time that he was being abducted.

O'BRIEN: What was their explanation that they hadn't contacted the family when they clearly knew that he was missing?

HAGE: They said that they needed authorization from Nabil in order for his family to be told that he was missing. Now, I think that is a ridiculous line. It's ridiculous. How is someone that's in captivity going to tell you, oh, please contact my family and tell them that I'm being held?

O'BRIEN: Is it, in fact -- are you sure that he's being held? Have you had contact with the kidnapers? Has there been a ransom demand?

HAGE: We have heard that there are ransom demands that were made. Our family has not been contacted, but I know that the Lebanese community in Liberia has been contacted. One of the reasons why my mother and I are heading to Liberia is so that we can be there as immediate family, so that if there is a ransom demand, they can make it to us so that we would know.

O'BRIEN: You say the Lebanese community has been contacted. Has any money exchanged hands?

HAGE: I have heard that there is some money that has been paid out, but exactly what it is, I don't know.

O'BRIEN: So...

HAGE: And once we get back over there, we will probably -- we will more than likely get the full story.

O'BRIEN: How long do you plan to stay in Liberia? And what specifically do you think you can do there?

HAGE: Well, we plan to stay there as long as it takes. Our goal is to bring Nabil back home. We're not going to settle for anything short of that. Specifically, we don't have a plan of action. I plan to meet with the American embassy there, work with them to do whatever is possible to get Nabil back.

The majority of the information that has been given to the American embassy has come from me calling my contacts in Liberia, getting information, and passing it on to them. I don't think that they are doing as much as they can in order to retrieve Nabil, as an American citizen, and the fact that he was a warden for the American embassy, which means that he was protecting American property on foreign soil. But yet, when he was in danger, they chose not to protect him, and I find that appalling.

O'BRIEN: You think that not enough is being done.

Meatta Hage, thanks for your time. We wish you, of course, the best of luck in getting in communication with your brother and then ultimately bringing him home. Thanks for being with us this morning.

HAGE: Thank you, Soledad.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired September 18, 2003 - 07:43   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's turn now to Liberia and the desperate search for a U.S. citizen who is thought to be held hostage by rebel forces.
Nabil Hage, an Army veteran, has been missing for more than a month. U.S. embassy officials believe he's been kidnapped in the rebel-held northern region of Liberia. And a photo that appeared in "The New York Times" showed a Liberian rebel leader wearing a U.S. Army jacket with Nabil Hage's name on it.

His sister, Meatta Hage, is leaving today for Liberia in an effort to win her brother's freedom, and she joins us from Washington, D.C. this morning.

Good morning. Nice to see you, and thanks for joining us.

When did you first discover, Meatta, that your brother was, in fact, missing?

MEATTA HAGE, BROTHER MISSING IN NIGERIA: Good morning, Soledad.

We were first -- we first found out about this on August 5, when there was an article in "The New York Times" with a picture of the Dragon Master rebel soldier with Nabil's uniform on. So, that was the first time that we had heard of it.

O'BRIEN: Your brother is an American citizen, and he was working in Liberia. Explain for me exactly what he was doing.

HAGE: We have businesses in Liberia, and Nabil was basically there taking care of the business, running it. He has been -- he actually took over for my mother when she left a couple of years ago to come here to take care of younger siblings that we have here as well. And he was there taking care of the business, and basically we had grown up there. So, that was home for him as well.

O'BRIEN: When you saw on the front page of "The New York Times" someone wearing your brother's uniform -- and I know this is a uniform that he felt was very important and kept a very close hold on to -- what did you do? What went through your mind? And what were your next steps?

HAGE: Well, first of all, I was appalled. And then secondly, I immediately called my mother to ask her if she had heard from him. And she had not heard from him for two weeks. So, then I immediately called the State Department to ask them if they were aware that he was missing. And if so, what were they doing in order to recover him. O'BRIEN: And what were their answers to those questions? Were they aware that he was missing? And what steps were they taking?

HAGE: Yes, they were aware that he was missing. I don't believe at that time that they had done anything for his recovery. As a matter of fact, they knew that he was missing. We were not informed. His family was not informed that he was missing. We basically had to contact them to ask about our brother's location before we were even told that he was in communication with them the entire time that he was being abducted.

O'BRIEN: What was their explanation that they hadn't contacted the family when they clearly knew that he was missing?

HAGE: They said that they needed authorization from Nabil in order for his family to be told that he was missing. Now, I think that is a ridiculous line. It's ridiculous. How is someone that's in captivity going to tell you, oh, please contact my family and tell them that I'm being held?

O'BRIEN: Is it, in fact -- are you sure that he's being held? Have you had contact with the kidnapers? Has there been a ransom demand?

HAGE: We have heard that there are ransom demands that were made. Our family has not been contacted, but I know that the Lebanese community in Liberia has been contacted. One of the reasons why my mother and I are heading to Liberia is so that we can be there as immediate family, so that if there is a ransom demand, they can make it to us so that we would know.

O'BRIEN: You say the Lebanese community has been contacted. Has any money exchanged hands?

HAGE: I have heard that there is some money that has been paid out, but exactly what it is, I don't know.

O'BRIEN: So...

HAGE: And once we get back over there, we will probably -- we will more than likely get the full story.

O'BRIEN: How long do you plan to stay in Liberia? And what specifically do you think you can do there?

HAGE: Well, we plan to stay there as long as it takes. Our goal is to bring Nabil back home. We're not going to settle for anything short of that. Specifically, we don't have a plan of action. I plan to meet with the American embassy there, work with them to do whatever is possible to get Nabil back.

The majority of the information that has been given to the American embassy has come from me calling my contacts in Liberia, getting information, and passing it on to them. I don't think that they are doing as much as they can in order to retrieve Nabil, as an American citizen, and the fact that he was a warden for the American embassy, which means that he was protecting American property on foreign soil. But yet, when he was in danger, they chose not to protect him, and I find that appalling.

O'BRIEN: You think that not enough is being done.

Meatta Hage, thanks for your time. We wish you, of course, the best of luck in getting in communication with your brother and then ultimately bringing him home. Thanks for being with us this morning.

HAGE: Thank you, Soledad.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.