Two Algerian-born Filipino sisters kidnapped by Muslim extremists eight months ago escaped from their captors in the jungles of the southern Philippines with a cat that had given them company during their ordeal.
Nadjoua and Linda Bansil were abducted by the brutal militant group Abu Sayyaf when they travelled to Jolo island, a militant stronghold, to make a video documentary about the lives of poor coffee farmers in the predominantly Muslim region.
The Muslim sisters were born in Algeria to an Algerian mother and a Filipino father but grew up in the Philippines, where they have produced independent films.
Philippine marines found them Thursday in Buhanginan village in the mountainous town of Patikul, clad in black Muslim dresses that exposed only their eyes. One was cradling a cat, marine Capt. Ryan Lacuesta said.
"They said that their captors often kept them in isolation in the mountains and the cat gave them company and pleasure," Lacuesta said by telephone from Jolo.
Linda Basil, 37, said she started taking care of the cat, named Juanita, after it was brought by a militant to the Abu Sayyaf camp where they were being held, reading books and "waiting and waiting." When mortar rounds went off and loud explosions thudded in the distance, she would hide the cat in a piece of cloth for safety.
"I think I needed a pet because they say a pet makes you relax," she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday. "It's scary, there were times we heard mortar explosions but I always grabbed her first. I got used to that. I got attached to her."
She said the worst period was the first five days of their captivity, when they were unaccustomed to the harsh environment and constant danger.
