"We are here with no help and no hope,” he says.

“If we stay here for much longer, we will be killed.

"I don't want to die here alone

"My mother, I know you are sick in hospital and I may never see you again.

"I ask Dad, please, I want to come home; please speak to the American government.”

His haunting words are interspersed with sobbing and a shortness of breath.

He is clearly not a well man, physically or mentally.

It’s heartbreaking to watch.

It’s impossible to even imagine how it feels for those that know and love him.

For the past five months, Mr Weeks has been in a living hell, held captive by the Taliban and used as a political chess-piece.

He is one of ours – a Wagga born-and-bred boy who left the Riverina as a young man to explore himself and the world.

A philanthropic streak led him to East Timor, where he taught English to locals, and then to Afghanistan for the same purpose.

His generosity of spirit stands in bare contrast to the cold-blooded indifference to life of his captors.

Mr Weeks’ treatment offers another chilling reminder – not that we need it – of the barbarism of Islamic extremism and the callous face of fundamentalism.

It is futile to ignore the uncomfortable reality that many at the extreme of Islam do not agree with, and have no intention of adopting, Western values of tolerance and freedom.

Incidents like this should serve to strengthen the West’s resolve to confront Islamic extremist in all its many malignant guises.

We should have faith in the Australian government to do everything in its power to see Mr Weeks freed.

But it’s a fraught operation.

It may be true the West doesn’t negotiate with terrorists.

It may be true that relenting to the demands of the Taliban and entering into a prisoner exchange deal would weaken any future bargaining position.

But for Mr Weeks’ parents in Wagga, and his vast network of friends, they care little for what comes after.

They just want Mr Weeks back.

Let’s hope and pray they get what they want.