Terry Waite was a lecture not to be forgotten. He was dynamic and engaging. He was a man who, despite his world-renowned reputation, came across as humble. For someone who has gone through so much, he was the kind of man who seemed as if he would do it all over because he was genuine and as he said one should have, “no regrets.”
The lecture was in the Quick Center, as opposed to the other marquee speaker the Ignatian College has had this year, Joe Berardin, who spoke at the business school last semester. However, it wasn’t just the venue, but the tone that made this night so different than Berardino. Waite the author, the humanitarian, and the former hostage gave a lecture than hit on the touchstones stressed in the Ignatian mantra, “Who am I? Whom am I and Who am I called to be?”
In 1987 Waite traveled to Beirut, Lebanon in hopes of negotiating the release of the Iranian hostages. What happened, however, was that Waite himself was taken hostage and forced to endure 1,063 days spent in near solitary confinement.
He spoke of time spent chained to the wall, and having to blindfold himself every time a person entered his presence. The only solace he had were a few books that a somewhat sympathetic guard slipped him. Ironically, one of the books was the “Greatest Escapes,” and another dealt with breast feeding. The bulk of his time was tortuous, in both the trials that the Iranian captors forced him to endure in hopes of gleaning information about Iran-Contra and in the crushing loneliness.
When Waite was asked if he felt the current “enemy-combatatants” in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba could be considered by both some in the United States and the International community as hostages, his reply was sharp, focused, and drew several periods of spontaneous applause. He stressed the importance of diplomacy over war and the important place that the United Nations needs to play in the war. He characterized what the United States had done with the combatatants as a mistake and a dangerous precedent. It is clear that Waite understands the horror of war and the need to communicate better between nations and cultures.
What really made Waite a great speaker is that, even in the very last row as most Ignatian students were seated, one could sense how genuine he was. The difference in perception between him and Joe Berardino is stark. One might have felt that Berardino had his Lincoln all gassed up and ready for him to exit out the back door and drive off into the night. With Waite it would not have seemed out of place if he walked out into and mingled among the crowd.
Maybe that is the difference between a minister and a manager.
Waite flew over from England to come to our little hamlet. Berardino stopped here in the midst of a college tour that including such venues as a basement in Boston College. Waite’s humility shined through whereas Berardino’s brashness tainted his visit.
In light of all the negativity surrounding the present situation on this campus and in this world it was refreshing to see such a dynamic individual willing to share his life so that others might gain some kernel of knowledge. There was no need for Waite to defend himself or explain his actions. Waite has no regrets and he is certainly someone who knows who he is, whom he is, and who he has been called to be.
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