THERE is no force as strong as the power of human love and devotion. This fact has never been better evidenced than by watching the astonishing way in which the family of Iraq hostage Ken Bigley have waged their own campaign for his release. Tony Blair and foreign secretary Jack Straw are taking the only public stance they can. They are, rightly, refusing to negotiate with the hostage takers. Were they to do so, it would be open season on British workers in Iraq with every semi-serious terrorist getting in on the act in the hope of fundamentalist martyrdom or a fast buck by way of ransom. That leaves the Bigley family with two choices. To sit tight, put up the shutters and hope upon vain hope for a miracle. They took though, the second, less obvious and far more courageous option. They chose to fight. Ken Bigley's brother, his son, and indeed his wife, have waged their own gallant and skilful campaign for their loved one's release. They have organised leafleting in Baghdad and an unwilting publicity barrage on these shores to ensure the Bigley crisis remains at the very front of public and political awareness and conscience. The pressure they have exerted is winning admirers and influencers across the Muslim world and has played a huge part in Jack Straw's announcement yesterday that while negotiation was impossible, communication with the hostage takers was not. The Bigley family campaign has been remarkable to witness. These driven people have taken every opportunity to appear publicly, on radio on television, in newspapers and on websites when they are, to all intents and purposes, in the middle of a nightmare capable of inducing nervous breakdown at any moment. They alone have ensured a vague glimmer of hope for Ken Bigley and for themselves. One can only hope that behind the scenes, behind the headlines, the government is beavering away to advise the Bigley campaign and help towards the release that everyone in Britain is praying for. | 
