Meanwhile, members of the French family held hostage for two months by the Boko Haram sect, spoke about their ordeal on French national television over the weekend. They said the four children helped them get through the tough times.

Despite their kidnapping, the family said it would be happy to return to Cameroon.
“It’s a superb country,” said Tanguy Moulin-Fournier, head of the family. “We were there for two years. We have friends there and Cameroonian brothers.”

The French family kidnapped in Cameroon by suspected Boko Haram Islamist militants were released last Thursday, without a ransom paid, French president François Hollande said. The group had released videos of the family, threatening to kill them if authorities in Nigeria and Cameroon did not release Muslim militants held there.

However, Albane Moulin-Fournier, in a prime-time interview Saturday night, said that there had been some “very hard moments, physically,” during their captivity.

Albane was held in a different location from her husband, Tanguy, who said they were put in extreme heat with little access to water. Tanguy’s brother Cyril said a routine of daily activities for the children helped the family keep their sanity.

“There were activities. We folded up the sheets in the morning. We went to prepare breakfast,” said Cyril. “It was important to keep up a daily routine.”