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American Morning

Human Shields

Aired November 20, 2002 - 09:32   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.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: A terrorism insurance bill has just been passed by the Senate and it lets victims of terrorist acts collect judgments from the blocked assets of another country. That includes those held as human shields by Iraq during the Gulf War. Among them was Paul Eliopoulos, who was released in 1990.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freedom doesn't taste like anything. It's when you don't have it that you have a bad taste in your mouth. Freedom is just being able to talk to you right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard to describe. You don't have to look over your shoulder and go around. There's magazines and newspapers. It's amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The feeling I have is one of being overjoyed, first of all, and then one of anger for being held captive for four months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: He sued and won more than a million dollars. But the U.S. State Department has refused to release Iraq's frozen assets to pay off the judgment, and Paul Eliopoulos joins us now from Austin, Texas.

Good morning. Nice to have you with us, sir.

PAUL ELIOPOULOS, FMR. HUMAN SHIELD IN IRAQ: Good morning. It's good to be with you.

ZAHN: Can you explain what the passage of this terrorism insurance bill means to you?

ELIOPOULOS: Well, if the president signs it, it's going to be one more reason to be thankful this year. As a family man, it means that I will have gone a long way towards the security for my family. On a personal level, it's great to feel that my country stands shoulder to shoulder with me, especially during these times.

ZAHN: Let's talk a little bit about what you endured from Saddam Hussein. I know during the time you were held hostage, you say you refused to go on television and blast your government. Tell us a little bit about that.

ELIOPOULOS: The easiest way to get out of Iraq would be to go on television and say you did not agree with your government. I and everybody else that was with me decided we would never do that, and that's why I feel very gratified right now, because that was not for nothing.

ZAHN: How long were you held hostage?

ELIOPOULOS: 4 1/2 months.

ZAHN: And what was your life like during that period of time?

ELIOPOULOS: It was not good. It's hard to describe how you feel when you have no control over your life, and when you're not treated as a human being. You could not even go to the bathroom by yourself, and there was constant terror of being killed, worse things at times.

ZAHN: Describe to us what the living conditions were like? How many of you lived together in one room?

ELIOPOULOS: Depending on where we were, there was always more than a half a dozen, sometimes a dozen people, and when we were taken from site to site, we would sometimes sleep on the floor wherever we could. I also spent some time in the POW camps that they had, the concentration camps where they held the Iranians from the eight-year war south of Iraq, and it was very bad.

ZAHN: What did they do to you then?

ELIOPOULOS: There were many times I was afraid I was going to die, and at one time I was afraid I was going to be raped.

ZAHN: Oh, that's awful.

ELIOPOULOS: Were you beaten?

ZAHN: Yes.

ELIOPOULOS: And then, of course, you knew that there was going to be potential air strikes, too, by allied forces.

ZAHN: I was wishing for them.

ELIOPOULOS: You were wishing for them?

ZAHN: I was wishing for them.

ZAHN: You were less afraid of U.S. airstrikes than you were of getting killed by Saddam Hussein's people?

ELIOPOULOS: No, I thought I was dead anyway, and I was just hoping that my country would do the right thing. I think the fact that all of us are alive today is because the first President Bush convinced Saddam Hussein that he would not stop in order to save a few Americans. He would look after the interest of the nation. And that's why I'm alive today.

ZAHN: When you were finally freed and you went back to your home in Kuwait, what did that place look like? ELIOPOULOS: It was not my home anymore. Everything was destroyed. The only things that I had that were mine were my watch and a shirt, and everything else we lost.

ZAHN: Oh, it's just awful to look at.

I know you say you are encouraged by the passage of the terrorism bill last night. What exactly are you asking of the government?

ELIOPOULOS: To allow me to recover my losses from Saddam, his regime, and that's real losses; it's not punitive damages. It's harm that was done to us.

ZAHN: Of course that's part of your life that you'll never be able to reclaim. Is there any monetary judgment that could ever make up for what you had to endure?

ELIOPOULOS: It's not about money. It's about being a human being, living in a place where you are recognized as such, and knowing that your neighbors are standing shoulder to shoulder with you.

ZAHN: And I know you've made it very clear this has never been about money to you, but are you hopeful you'll get what you are asking of the U.S. government?

ELIOPOULOS: It will go a very long way in restoring the financial security for my family. If the president signs it, it's going to be a very good Thanksgiving for us.

ZAHN: Well, we do hope you have a great Thanksgiving, regardless of what might happen on the political front.

Paul Eliopoulos, thank you for sharing your story with us. I know it's not easy to relive a lot of that stuff you went through. Take care.

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 November 20, 2002 - 09:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: A terrorism insurance bill has just been passed by the Senate and it lets victims of terrorist acts collect judgments from the blocked assets of another country. That includes those held as human shields by Iraq during the Gulf War. Among them was Paul Eliopoulos, who was released in 1990.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freedom doesn't taste like anything. It's when you don't have it that you have a bad taste in your mouth. Freedom is just being able to talk to you right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard to describe. You don't have to look over your shoulder and go around. There's magazines and newspapers. It's amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The feeling I have is one of being overjoyed, first of all, and then one of anger for being held captive for four months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: He sued and won more than a million dollars. But the U.S. State Department has refused to release Iraq's frozen assets to pay off the judgment, and Paul Eliopoulos joins us now from Austin, Texas.

Good morning. Nice to have you with us, sir.

PAUL ELIOPOULOS, FMR. HUMAN SHIELD IN IRAQ: Good morning. It's good to be with you.

ZAHN: Can you explain what the passage of this terrorism insurance bill means to you?

ELIOPOULOS: Well, if the president signs it, it's going to be one more reason to be thankful this year. As a family man, it means that I will have gone a long way towards the security for my family. On a personal level, it's great to feel that my country stands shoulder to shoulder with me, especially during these times.

ZAHN: Let's talk a little bit about what you endured from Saddam Hussein. I know during the time you were held hostage, you say you refused to go on television and blast your government. Tell us a little bit about that.

ELIOPOULOS: The easiest way to get out of Iraq would be to go on television and say you did not agree with your government. I and everybody else that was with me decided we would never do that, and that's why I feel very gratified right now, because that was not for nothing.

ZAHN: How long were you held hostage?

ELIOPOULOS: 4 1/2 months.

ZAHN: And what was your life like during that period of time?

ELIOPOULOS: It was not good. It's hard to describe how you feel when you have no control over your life, and when you're not treated as a human being. You could not even go to the bathroom by yourself, and there was constant terror of being killed, worse things at times.

ZAHN: Describe to us what the living conditions were like? How many of you lived together in one room?

ELIOPOULOS: Depending on where we were, there was always more than a half a dozen, sometimes a dozen people, and when we were taken from site to site, we would sometimes sleep on the floor wherever we could. I also spent some time in the POW camps that they had, the concentration camps where they held the Iranians from the eight-year war south of Iraq, and it was very bad.

ZAHN: What did they do to you then?

ELIOPOULOS: There were many times I was afraid I was going to die, and at one time I was afraid I was going to be raped.

ZAHN: Oh, that's awful.

ELIOPOULOS: Were you beaten?

ZAHN: Yes.

ELIOPOULOS: And then, of course, you knew that there was going to be potential air strikes, too, by allied forces.

ZAHN: I was wishing for them.

ELIOPOULOS: You were wishing for them?

ZAHN: I was wishing for them.

ZAHN: You were less afraid of U.S. airstrikes than you were of getting killed by Saddam Hussein's people?

ELIOPOULOS: No, I thought I was dead anyway, and I was just hoping that my country would do the right thing. I think the fact that all of us are alive today is because the first President Bush convinced Saddam Hussein that he would not stop in order to save a few Americans. He would look after the interest of the nation. And that's why I'm alive today.

ZAHN: When you were finally freed and you went back to your home in Kuwait, what did that place look like? ELIOPOULOS: It was not my home anymore. Everything was destroyed. The only things that I had that were mine were my watch and a shirt, and everything else we lost.

ZAHN: Oh, it's just awful to look at.

I know you say you are encouraged by the passage of the terrorism bill last night. What exactly are you asking of the government?

ELIOPOULOS: To allow me to recover my losses from Saddam, his regime, and that's real losses; it's not punitive damages. It's harm that was done to us.

ZAHN: Of course that's part of your life that you'll never be able to reclaim. Is there any monetary judgment that could ever make up for what you had to endure?

ELIOPOULOS: It's not about money. It's about being a human being, living in a place where you are recognized as such, and knowing that your neighbors are standing shoulder to shoulder with you.

ZAHN: And I know you've made it very clear this has never been about money to you, but are you hopeful you'll get what you are asking of the U.S. government?

ELIOPOULOS: It will go a very long way in restoring the financial security for my family. If the president signs it, it's going to be a very good Thanksgiving for us.

ZAHN: Well, we do hope you have a great Thanksgiving, regardless of what might happen on the political front.

Paul Eliopoulos, thank you for sharing your story with us. I know it's not easy to relive a lot of that stuff you went through. Take care.

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