Lebanese newspapers published birthday letters to American journalist Terry Anderson on Saturday, his 43rd birthday in captivity. One newspaper reported that fellow hostage Terry Waite will be freed soon. Seven newspapers printed birthday greetings to Anderson from his sister, Peggy Say, his youngest daughter, Sulome, and Madeleine, Sulome's mother. They published the original English text so that Anderson, who did not know Arabic when he was kidnapped, would be able to read them if his kidnappers allowed him to. The newspaper ad-Diyar, meanwhile, said British hostage Terry Waite would be freed either ``by the end of this month or within the first half of the coming November, at the latest.'' The short, front-page report attributed the information to an unnamed security source. The conservative ad-Diyar is not known to have special insight into the hostage issue, but the report was the latest predicting Waite's release since Iran and Britain agreed to restore diplomatic ties Sept. 27. Waite, 51, an Anglican Church envoy, was kidnapped Jan. 20, 1987 after leaving his west Beirut hotel to negotiate with representatives of Anderson's kidnappers. He is believed held by Islamic Jihad, the pro-Iranian group that abducted Anderson. Anderson, chief Middle East correspondent for The Associated Press, is the longest-held of the 13 Western hostages in Lebanon. He was kidnapped March 16, 1985. His birthday was marked by his colleagues as well as local and foreign journalists with a somber gathering at the Associated Press bureau. It was held in Anderson's office, which his colleagues refer to as ``Terry's Room.'' The staff sang ``Happy birthday, Dear Terry'' and blew out a candle on a white cake. The newspapers also published an Arabic translation of Mrs. Say's open letter to the captors, pleading with them to release Anderson and the other captives. ``I beg you to release Terry and the others for humanitarian reasons. Please, in honor of his birthday, give Terry and the others the gift of freedom this year,'' Mrs. Say wrote. ``His daughter Sulome, whom he has never seen, started school last month. His daughter Gabrielle has matured from a child of 8 to a young woman of 14,'' she added. Along with Sulome's hand-written letter, some papers published a pencil drawing by the child, who was born 83 days after her father's abduction. The drawing showed happy children playing. ``To Dad. I love you. Happy birthday. I go to proper school. I do work, tracing, art, math. I can write and read. I love you,'' Sulome's letter said. Former Irish hostage Brian Keenan said after his release Aug. 24 that he had spent part of his four years in captivity with Anderson, and he noted that Anderson has a photograph of Sulome and was given letters from his family published in the press. ``Terry and myself would sit through those long nights and speak with great pain and remorse and longing for his daughter,'' Keenan said. Madeleine, addressing ``My Dearest Darling Terry,'' wrote: ``Another birthday, another year, another letter. A question I ask myself every day and the answer I always want to give is `soon, soon.''' In addition to Anderson and Waite, the Westerners missing in Lebanon are five Americans, three Britons, two Germans and an Italian.
Lebanese newspapers published birthday letters to American journalist Terry Anderson on Saturday. One newspaper reported that fellow hostage Terry Waite will be freed soon. Seven newspapers printed birthday greetings to Anderson from his sister, Peggy Say, his youngest daughter, Sulome, and Madeleine, Sulome's mother. They published the original English text so that Anderson, who did not know Arabic when he was kidnapped, would be able to read them if his kidnapers allowed him to. The newspaper, ad-Diyar, meanwhile, said British hostage Terry Waite would be freed either "by the end of this month or within the first half of the coming November, at the latest."