“I hope he can come home and we’ll open up a bottle of Heineken or two and move on.”
The father of the Laois man that has been detained in Iraq was speaking with Joe Duffy today, providing some updates on the status of his son’s safety.
Declan Molloy, father of Joshua, has said that the he hasn’t suffered any injuries in captivity and that he was detained while “attempting to help a few colleagues to cross Northern Syria into Iraq, with the intention of coming home, before they were held by the KDP in Northern Iraq“.
Joshua joined the British Army five years ago before returning to Ireland.
He originally planned on working with an NGO, teaching English abroad or pursuing the cause of wildlife protection. Declan also gave a few reasons about why his son traveled over to the Middle East in the first place, while also dismissing the idea that Joshua is some sort of ‘mercenary’.
“Joshua sees this as a humanitarian crisis more than anything else due to the treatment of minorities, that’s why he wanted to head over. Various media outlets have suggested that he’s a freedom fighter. Nothing of the sort. He was well informed of the situation out there before he left. He’s not a mercenary, he’s a volunteer. He wanted to play his part in defending the minorities in the area and he felt strongly about it”, he says.
Regarding any resolution to the situation, Declan has appealed to the Irish and British Embassies to get involved.
“The embassy are working on the problem and it’s ironic that these young men have gone over to help and they’re being held by the same people that are allied to them. Joshua was fighting with a Kurdish group but it’s a complex situation because of variations between the YPG in Syria and a rival Kurish faction in Northern Iraq. I would like some good Irish diplomats to speak with the KDP to plead with them to release Joshua“.
“I hope he can come home and we’ll open up a bottle of Heineken or two and move on. As a parent, I’m scared and proud of him. When he crossed the border, the intention was to come home. I hope that the Irish consulate and the Department of Foreign affairs get in contact with the KDP“, Declan adds.
Here’s the interview with Joe Duffy in full.
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