Parents of freed US soldier read an emotional letter to son
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In an emotional televised speech, the parents of freed US soldier Bowe Bergdahl, who have yet to speak to their son directly, reached out to him with a message of love and support.
Bergdahl, the only US prisoner of war since the war began in 2001, was freed Saturday in exchange for the release of five senior Taliban figured held at Guantanamo Bay.
The only proof of his releases were occasional videos put out by the Taliban.
The 28-year-old's mother Jani Bergdahl read from a letter at a press conference in Idaho. Her husband, Bob, stood by her side.
She said: "Give yourself all of the time you need to recover and decompress. There is no hurry. You have your life ahead of you."
The younger Bergdahl is now receiving treatment at the US military medical center in Germany.
His father acknowledged the challenges that lay ahead of his release.
"Bowe has been gone so long that it's going to be very difficult to come back," said Bob.
"It's like a diver going deep down on a dive and has to come back up for recompression. If he comes up too fast, it could kill him."
He also looked into the camera as he spoke to his son directly. "When you're ready to hear this and when you see this, I hope your English is coming back and I want you to know that I love you."
In an earlier conference at the White House, the older Bergdahl spoke in the Afghan language in Pashto so that his son could understand him.
He said: "I am your father Bowe."
Source: CNN, AFP
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