Illinois Family of Beirut Hostage Presses Campaign to Free ‘Seven Not Forgotten’

In the dining room-turned-war room, there are reminders everywhere.

The clock is set to Beirut time. Nearby, a world map is dotted with pins marking places Father Lawrence Martin Jenco has served. One pin is stuck in Lebanon.

Across the room from the clock and map is a picture of Jenco. As it has been for the last 234 days, since he was kidnaped by masked gunmen, the photograph is lighted by the flame of a votive candle.

The 50-year-old priest, head of Catholic Relief Services in Lebanon, is one of seven American men believed being held hostage by a shadowy group called the Islamic Jihad.

One night each week, Jenco’s relatives gather in the dining room here to discuss ways to assure that America does not forget the seven hostages and to keep pressure on the U.S. government to work for their release.

Lack of Commitment Cited

“They shouldn’t be given second-class citizenship,” said Andrew Mihelich, a nephew. He and others in the family believe that the Reagan Administration has not made the same commitment to the freedom of the seven that it made to the release of the TWA passengers taken hostage and freed last June.

Although Jenco’s relatives are amateurs and operate on a shoestring-budget, financed only with donations, their “awareness campaign” has all the polish of a high-priced public relations crusade, complete with balloons, T-shirts, posters, videos and “opportunities” for local television stations to do interviews.

Although families of some of the seven hostages have remained relatively invisible and inaccessible--a course of action recommended by the State Department--the Jencos are among three families that believe they must keep the plight of their relatives in the public spotlight.

“We don’t have a human face we can communicate with,” said John Jenco, a brother. “Nobody has ever said they are the Islamic Jihad. Everything has just been innuendo, threats and demands.”

Traveled to 17 Cities

Since starting their national campaign to draw attention to the remaining seven hostages, the Jenco family has carried its cause to 17 cities in 10 states.

This week, four family members will travel to Southern California to take part in a “Freedom Day or Prayer for the Seven Not Forgotten,” at Westminster. There will be a press conference at John Wayne Airport, a memorial service and a ceremony at which seven rose bushes will be planted as seven helicopters hover overhead.

“I get goose bumps hearing about it,” said a sister, Sue Franceschini.

Two other family members will march in a Labor Day weekend parade in Rockdale, Ill., and then man a booth selling T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Free the U.S. Seven. United We Stand.” They plan also to hand out bumper stickers calling for Jenco’s freedom.

This week, the family will also appeal for help directly to Syrian President Hafez Assad. In a carefully written letter, they say, in part: “Our days have been filled with sadness, disappointments and false hopes.”

Republican Rep. George M. O’Brien, who represents the Joliet district, has arranged for the letter to be delivered to Assad, who played a key role in obtaining the release of the TWA hostages.

Church Groups Team Up

In September, a syndicated television program will carry a segment on the family’s crusade. Meanwhile, Catholic Relief Services is planning to team up with the Presbyterian Church to produce a television public service announcement reminding Americans of Jenco and the remaining six hostages.

The family last heard from the priest on April 26 in a letter passed to them from the State Department. They do not know how the government received the letter. A week later, the Islamic Jihad released a picture of Jenco.

Before his kidnaping, Jenco “spent most of his evenings without lights listening to the bombs and the rockets. He slept under his desk,” said his brother, John Jenco. “He told a fellow priest that he could not afford the luxury of walking for fear he would be kidnaped.

“He had a chance to come out of there, but he refused because he said he had a job to do,” John Jenco added.

Also being held hostage are:

--The Rev. Benjamin Weir, 61, a Presbyterian minister and California native who was kidnaped on May 8, 1984.

--Terry A. Anderson, 33, chief Middle East correspondent and Beirut bureau manager for the Associated Press, kidnaped on March 16.

--William Buckley, 56, a political officer at the U.S. Embassy, kidnaped on March 18, 1984.

--David P. Jacobsen, 54, of Huntington Beach, Calif., administrator of the American University Hospital, kidnaped on May 28.

--Peter Kilburn, 60, a librarian at the American University. He disappeared last Dec. 3 and is believed to be held hostage.

--Thomas Sutherland, 54, dean of the American University’s agriculture department, kidnaped on June 9.

Although the government does not take the position publicly, State Department sources said that the United States considers these hostages to be different from those held on the TWA plane.

‘They Knew the Risks’

“They were there voluntarily. They knew the risks,” said one official.

“Hearing them called ‘the forgotten seven’ makes me furious. If people only knew the hundreds of hours and the hundreds of contacts we’ve made on their behalf,” said a diplomatic source who spoke on the condition that he not be identified.

Meanwhile, at the modest little house in Joliet that has become the headquarters for the Jenco family’s campaign, there is a needlepoint on the front door. It reads:

“Freedom is what this nation was founded on. Free the hostages. Rev. Lawrence Martin Jenco Kidnaped Jan. 8, 1985. Released ----------------”