On the 20th anniversary of his release from captivity, the former church envoy shares the concerns of the St Paul’s protesters
The Guardian reports that tomorrow will be 20 years since Terry Waite was released from captivity, after being held hostage in Lebanon for just under five years, and he wants to use the anniversary to draw attention to issues closest to his heart, a report in The Guardian states.
But his chosen topics have more to do with social injustice in the UK than the Middle East or his experiences as a hostage. “Our society is going to fragment unless we are very, very careful,” he says. “I believe that the state really has – that we together collectively – have a responsibility for the elderly, for the sick, for children, and for those who are casualties of society. That seems to be a perfectly reasonable thing to do rather than chipping away at this and chipping away at that.”
Waite is at ease talking about his years in captivity; of not knowing if he would ever be released, of coming to terms with solitude and even the torture he endured. But he quickly moves the discussion on to what he sees as more pressing issues.
“I’ve taken a lot from that experience [in captivity]. It’s enabled me to focus more clearly. It’s enabled me to say, ‘OK this is important – give yourself to other things.'”
Waite, a Church Army officer, left his job with the Church of England soon after returning to the UK, and became a public speaker, charity campaigner and author. He has even toyed with, but ultimately dismissed, going into politics.
World stage
There was a period during the mid-1980s when images of the serene, statesmanlike Waite were often flashing across television screens. As a special envoy for the then archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, he brokered the release of western hostages in the Middle East. Strikingly tall and eloquent, he was a composed figure on a politically volatile world stage.
Now aged 72, Waite is regarded as a sort of roving humanitarian. The issues and projects he is involved with are exhaustive. From homelessness to prisoner welfare and reconciliation projects for young victims of war in the Middle East, he has lost none of his zest for taking on a challenge.
With a double-dip recession threatening Britain’s economy and coalition government cuts beginning to bite, he is especially eager to shine a spotlight on homelessness and to talk about the work he does with the homelessness charity Emmaus.
“There’s a big myth that all homeless people are layabouts,” he says, his voice rising for the first time. “It’s just not true. I can’t stress this firmly enough: people from all walks of life [end up] on the street. I met my former sergeant major in an Emmaus community. He came out of the army. He lost his job, he lost his family and he was on the street.”
For Waite, the issue of homelessness is inextricably tied to that of personal dignity, and he has little patience for a society or political elite that doesn’t always understand this. “The first thing you have to do is enable people who have been on the streets, and who may have many difficulties, [to] have dignity as human beings,” he says.
Emmaus, a charity with a long history in France, established its first residential “community” in Britain in Cambridge just after Waite was released. There are now 20 communities across the UK, with more planned. Emmaus is not about providing a bed for a night or even finding someone an apartment to live in. Rather, it focuses on providing a community environment in a residential setting that fosters a route back into society.
“I want to make this point very strongly. It’s not sufficient just to give a handout to people. What you need to provide is a structure that enables them to get back into normal life. That’s what Emmaus does,” Waite stresses.
His interest in homelessness stems from his time as a student working at a shelter for men in Middlesbrough. “They got bed and breakfast. But then they were put out on the street and there was nothing for them. I thought there must be a better model. It was a revolving door.”
He says he is heartened by the work homelessness charities do, but worries that, as the economic climate in Britain remains uncertain, the problem will worsen. He has already witnessed an increase in the number of younger homeless people, he says.
If Waite, who describes himself as a “conservative socialist”, is a passionate advocate for homeless people, then prisoners come a close second. He spends a lot of time in jails around the country, talking to inmates and staff as patron of a number of charities. He says he “absolutely” connects with prisoners because of his own incarceration, and they with him. Some even joke about “how easy” they have it in comparison, he says laughing.
He is anxious to make the point that politicians are failing to address the crucial issue of rehabilitation. “Penal policies and rehabilitation policies need to be co-ordinated, rather than hit-and-miss, stop-start policies, which is happening all the time,” he suggests. “What we have to [ask] is what is the best remedy? How do we stop it happening again?”
Relative anonymity
Waite appears to relish the relative anonymity he has had since his release, but is nonetheless willing to put his head above the parapet when he thinks it is called for. As a former employee of the Church of England – although never a member of the clergy, as many people often think – he has been following closely the recent events at St Paul’s Cathedral. Many of the issues that the Occupy London protesters camped outside the building highlight – such as rising inequality, the damage done by turbo capitalism – are ones that Waite has long been concerned about. He suggests the church should pay close heed.
“It seems to be that there is widespread sympathy throughout the church, and among non-church people, for the cause that the demonstrators profess,” he says. “[However] many would feel that the church is frequently expounding from the pulpit but when it comes to dealing in the marketplace where the action is, then it is inept.”
Waite is bewildered by a society he says pushes people to be “chronically materialistic” and which promotes the “ridiculous” idea of everlasting economic growth. There is a general sense too of frustration with politics and politicians in general. He dismisses David Cameron’s “big society” as “a way of saving money. It’s not really about social concern.”
Marginalised groups
Waite feels compelled to keep working with society’s most marginalised groups. He is an Anglican and latterly a Quaker, which he says provides a “sense of absolute equality”, and there is a degree to which faith has shaped and sustained him. But he has no interest in what he regards as institutionalised religion’s “dogmas and doctrines”.
So what of the future? There are two books in the offing: one a collection of his poetry and the other a reflection on solitary lives. Does he think that he could be persuaded to go into politics after all? He laughs at the idea, saying he gets “much more done” working directly with charities than he ever would in parliament.
“The best balance is the way I’m going now. And I don’t regret that,” he says. “I’m still hopeful. Because I see things happen – and in myself, too. I see things that have changed for the better.”