Essex: I survived Saddam's vile human shield...

When Jim Payne drives to work in Woodham Ferrers every morning he counts his blessings for precious gifts like health, family and freedom.

Almost exactly ten years ago his life was shattered by the menacing shadow of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

He was taken hostage in Kuwait, blindfolded, subjected to psychological terror and dumped on a Baghdad fuel site with fellow captives to act as a human shield.

It was the worst nightmare for a civilian working abroad. The recollection of such traumatic events still tortures his mind, but Jim has emerged a much stonger and self-reliant person.

"I was working as a senior dealer in the Foreign Exchange department of the Gulf Bank in Kuwait City," he recalls.

"I had been in Kuwait for three years and political tensions were always high. Iraq had 300,000 soldiers and tanks on the border."

Although Kuwait had financed them in the war with Iran, Saddam invaded on August 2 1990.

"Ironically, I had just finished my contract and was preparing to return to England, " says Jim. "I was living in a flat next to the Crown Prince's palace when Iraqi tanks crossed the border. I was woken up by heavy gunfire.

"There was general panic in the city as people tried to escape to Saudi Arabia. Few escaped across the desert without a guide.

"We were trapped and I went into hiding with a Dutch friend because I was British. They were putting British, German and American citizens on strategic sites as insurance against Allied bombing. We were known as the Human Shield.

"I was discovered by the Republican Guard and taken to a disused sports complex," Jim recalls.

"We were blindfolded and driven around in a truck for five hours to scare us. It worked; we were all terrified.

"Armed soldiers then took us to the Meridian Hotel and returned my friend's passport before releasing him.

"When I asked for mine I was subjected to a lecture on the evils of Margaret Thatcher and told I was now a permanent guest of the Iraqi people.

"The next day a bus took all the detainees to Baghdad. It was a horrendous, cramped 14-hour journey across the desert in 105 degree heat.

"There was total fear and confusion before we were taken to the Mansour Melia Hotel.

"The very next morning I was flown to Basrah with two other Brits and dumped as a hostage on the strategic site of Basrah Airport.

"After a miserable month we were moved to the fuel dump at Saddam Hussein Airport in Baghdad. I stayed there until my release in the December."

Sitting on top of 300 million gallons of aviation fuel made it the most dangerous dump in the world.

Jim, now 41, pauses before adding: "Conditions were poor and the food was vile. It was mainly soup coated with a thin layer of fat and a few vegetables.

"The bread was like a brick and you had to leave it in the soup for 20 minutes to make it palatable.

"Our treatment got worse every time Mrs Thatcher condemned Iraq's regime. They had a fixation about her.

"Iraq was ruled by propaganda and fear. Some of the guards felt keeping civilians in captivity was morally wrong, but none of them protested on our behalf. It would be construed as treason and traitors were shot.

"Despite all the anxiety and discomforts I liked the Iraqi people. I felt sorry for them because they were also victims of tyranny and lived under miserable conditions."

Jim, a resilient and articulate individual, lost two and a half stone in weight. Now he is able to joke about it: "Fear is great for weight loss!"

He refuses to indulge in any dramatics about his captivity but when I press him he tells a harrowing tale: "There were several games the Iraqis played.

"One of my friends was blindfolded and stood up against a wall. The troops fired blanks and considered it a big joke. It was all part of their psychological war to instil fear and control.

"We all knew the war was imminent - in fact it started in early January after I'd been released, but having to sit on an oil dump waiting to be blown up was not good for the heart.

"We were pumped up with adrenaline all the time. Life is precious when everything is so unpredictable.

"You needed tremendous mental strength to combat the demons of the mind - especially at night when you listened for every footstep."

One big worry for Jim was the anxiety he knew his wife and daughter back in England would be going through. They had too had become victims of Saddam's terror campaign.

"When we were finally released in December and flown back to Heathrow a marvellous sense of freedom swept over us," recalls Jim.

He was soon to discover another side of inhumanity when he returned to Britain, however, broke and jobless.

He was confronted with indifference when he went to see Social Security officials and was politely informed that there was no free handouts for Saddam's victims.

"I was unemployed for a year," he claimed without any trace of bitterness. "I had lost five month's salary and most of my savings.

"My flat in Kuwait had been ransacked. My car and all my personal belongings had been taken.

"My bank manager capped it all when he informed me my account was overdrawn. Welcome back to Britain, chum.

"It took nine years before I received any sort of Government compensation."

After a year of festering frustration and unemployment Jim went back to the Middle East and worked in Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Kuwait again as a Foreign Exchange dealer.

He finally returned to Britain two years ago and set up his own business, taking out a franchise with Aquaid, a water cooler firm in South Woodham Ferrers.

Not only is it a business - it also works to help water projects in underdeveloped countries.

"We rent out coolers and deliver spring water to customers," he explained. "We work in support of Christian Aid and so far we have raised more than £100,000 for water projects in the Third World - enough to give life to 10,000 children.

"Every cooler we rent out provides life for two children each year."

Jim understands just causes and has only one complaint after his horrific experience at the hands of his Iraqi captors - the total lack of support from the British Government after his release from captivity.

"All the American prisoners received counselling after returning from the Gulf. We received only a debriefing.

"Most of the hostages were in desperate need of counselling. Some descended into deep depression and committed suicide," he says.

Jim now lives in Stock with wife Mandy and daughters Charlotte and Emily, seven, and has successfully rebuilt his life. Enough time has elapsed even for him to become philosophical: "Maybe I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Surviving the experience has made me stronger and more appreciative of life."

He can hold up his head in dignity after a haunting nightmare that he now can live with, though it is one he will never forget.

(Right) Family man - Adding to Jim Payne's worries while he was a hostage was concern for his wife Mandy and their then bady daughter Charlotte, now 11, back in England. Since then, Jim has returned to work in Kuwait, but now runs his own franchise business from his home

(Left) As seen on TV - Britains were shocked to see TV film of their countrymen being held hostage paraded by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain after the fall of Kuwait

Picture: NICK ANSELL

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.