15 hours Ago By Lia Tobin
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) – A homecoming celebration was held Saturday for Dansville native, Ryan Corbett, who was held captive by the Taliban after being arrested in Afghanistan in 2022.
Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (far right) sits next to Ryan Corbett, his wife and two of his kids during Saturday's homecoming celebration at Dansville High School. Rep. Tenney championed alongside Corbett's wife over the years for his release after she said he was wrongfully detained in Afghanistan.
(WROC/Ryan Hermenet)"I've never seen so much strength, courage matched with so much gratitude from this family. I mean, they really are a symbol of what we should be and aspire to be as people, as Americans, as citizens of this great town, and we're just so proud," Congresswoman Claudia Tenney said on Saturday during his celebration. Ryan Corbett lived in Afghanistan for 11 years until the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
A spokesperson for the Corbett family said that in August 2022, he returned to Afghanistan to pay and hold trainings for workers of the small business he started when he was detained. “Over the last 30 months, especially since being free, I found out what’s most important to me," Ryan Corbett began on Saturday. "So many of you: Friends who have advocated for me and have worked for my release.
So many others from both the Biden and Trump administrations who made this possible – I am amazed and humbled by all of that. My lovely wife who worked from day one to day 893. And when we said our vows 21 years ago, we had no idea what for better or for worse could mean, and now we know.
”Corbett said that during his time in captivity, he was held in a basement facility and was allotted limited contact with his family for more than two years."Lying on my mat and staring at the ceiling - I used to promise myself that if I ever got home, there are certain things I wouldn't take for granted again. Isn't it a wonderful thing to be alive and free, and a wonderful thing to have friends and family that love you, and a wonderful thing to have a life of purpose and meaning," he continued.
"I was lied to and threatened regularly, I was under constant video surveillance, I was moved from place to place with handcuffs and a hood, I wasn't allowed to talk to my family for eight months. People ask me now 'how did you survive that?' And all I can say is, God's strength and taking things a day at a time - sometimes an hour at a time."Corbett was freed in a prisoner exchange this year on Jan.
21. "I admit that I was a little nervous how you all would respond when you found out what was going on in our lives. But your reaction was deeply moving and touching," Anna Corbett, his wife, said.
"Although we know there is a long road ahead of us toward full recovery, we are grateful for all that we have learned and all of the amazing people we've gotten to know through this."Saturday's celebration took place at Dansville High School..
