Haiti Kidnapping

[Ernie]

And if you drop off clothing, be ready to talk to reporters.

https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/missio ... 51900.html

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fbi-will-h ... 1634593701

[Josh]

At some point, I find it very sad there is so much press coverage, prayer lists and prayer chain, and global concern because some Western missionaries get kidnapped… yet… was there the same concern a month ago for the frequent violence and kidnappings the native Haitians have to deal with? They have been targets for a long time. Only recently have Westerners become targets.

The people in Haiti (including the thousand-plus converts to conservative Anabaptist churches there) have to face this every day. They can’t move easily to go between towns. Operating things like the orphanage in question becomes very difficult. (That orphanage happens to have been started and operated by members in my church, but who are natives to Haiti.) We gave up on having westerners volunteer there quite a while ago, about a year. Just too dangerous.

[steve-in-kville]

I hear you, Josh. Its the same concept of Missing White Woman Syndrome:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_w ... n_syndrome

Sad, but true.

[steve-in-kville]

Someone at work just told me there are ransom demands. Our FBI is apparently handling it. Not sure how accurate this info is.

[temporal1]

CAM's new director-in-training and his wife arrived in Haiti this morning.
As reporters get names of the kidnapped, they are calling any numbers that they can get ahold of whether it be relatives, in-laws, CAM employees, etc.

Of course they are -- that's their job. It might make sense to have a conversation within the community over whether you want to engage the media or whether its better to say "no comment."

It's a question of how much the community wants its own pain in this crisis exposed to the outside world.

valid question.
remembering the witness Nickel Mines reflected was profound.

they received multitudes of prayers from around the world, without submitting to mainstream media, without allowing the mainstream to define+determine the worth of the tragedy or those involved. (i believe) this is something for real, everyday people to keep in mind: our value is not determined by media+politicians, no matter how loudly they make the claim.

Someone at work just told me there are ransom demands. Our FBI is apparently handling it. Not sure how accurate this info is.

i believe it started with big ransom demands, many millions, see page 1. this makes it critical, the prevailing belief being it’s a huge mistake to attempt to negotiate. doing so guarantees more kidnappings for ransom. extremely sensitive and volatile.

Theophilos:

.. I just talked to the kidnappers, they want 17 million or they start killing.
Please pray for wisdom!...from brother Barry

The kidnappers WANT media attention.

[Media doesn’t have “syndromes.”] They are for-profit, they compete for what sells.
U.S. media is not a reliable source for world news.
For some reason, they pick certain stories to obsess on, quickly leaving them when “the next thing” comes along.
Old saying, “love ‘em and leave ‘em,” very much applies to fickle-minded media.

The Nickel Mines leaders were wise to decline.

[steve-in-kville]

Definitely wisdom. I'm not gonna even begin to armchair quarterback this.

[Ernie]

Someone at work just told me there are ransom demands. Our FBI is apparently handling it. Not sure how accurate this info is.

https://miami.cbslocal.com/2021/10/18/c ... dnappings/

CAM as an organization has a policy against paying ransoms.

[temporal1]

Definitely wisdom. I'm not gonna even begin to armchair quarterback this.

The key difference between Nickel Mines and this is, NM violence was over by the time anyone knew, even those in the community.
In Haiti, we hope no ultimate violence has happened, and won’t. The situation is volatile. Excruciating. There are no “pat” solutions.
The kidnapping, itself, is a violent crime. We can pray it does not go to further extremes.

We can pray for more, too.
We can pray for converted hearts of the kidnappers.
It is not unheard of, that victims can touch hearts of perpetrators. It’s found in scriptures.

Pray for God to use this horror for His end greatness.

[Josh]

Someone at work just told me there are ransom demands. Our FBI is apparently handling it. Not sure how accurate this info is.

https://miami.cbslocal.com/2021/10/18/c ... dnappings/

CAM as an organization has a policy against paying ransoms.

And at this point, ransoming 17 Canadians and Americans is a matter of national interest for America, Canada, and Haiti. None of these governments want this to go on; Haiti is highly dependent on money from NGOs.

(I’m not even sure how one would meet the kidnapper’s demands. A duffel bag full of $100 bills flown in? BitCoin? A bank wire? Professional kidnappers have a contact in a first world country so a money transfer can be made quietly and privately, and also ensure the safety of the kidnapped party. This crowd doesn’t have any such setup.)

[Ernie]

Latest Update from CAM:

https://christianaidministries.org/upda ... abduction/