The Hostage Legacy
After the early release of the hostages, 53 still remained because they did not fall under Khomeini's categories. They had the American ambassador held hostage for the first few hours until he was ordered for release by Ayatollah. The ranks of the hostages ranged form Charge 'd Affairs to the most junior members of the staff. A few of the employees avoided capture by going to the Canadian Embassy officers homes and hid there until they later fled Iran with the help of the CIA.
Most nights, hostages were forced to sleep on the floors, some under dining tables using drapery to cover them. For breakfast they were fed the same thing everyday, bread with butter and jam, tea, and orange juice. One of the hostages, Barry Rosen, was allowed to broadcast a message to his family on a news network. This message was read during the Christmas of 1980. Mr. Rosen urged the "people who squashed the human rights of those Americans, to say sorry." He also urged them to "admit if only to themselves that it was unjustified."
Finally, the hostages were released on January 20th, 1981.