Haiti Kidnapping

[ohio jones]

We need to pray for the ones calling the shots at this point.

Somehow this doesn't seem like quite the right choice of idioms for the situation.

[steve-in-kville]

We need to pray for the ones calling the shots at this point.

Somehow this doesn't seem like quite the right choice of idioms for the situation.

Oh... yeah, I could've worded that better

[Ernie]

We have learned that two of the hostages in Haiti were released. We praise God for this! Only limited information can be provided, but we are able to report that the two hostages who were released are safe, in good spirits, and being cared for.

We cannot provide or confirm the names of those released, the reasons for their release, where they are from, or their current location. We ask that those who have more specific information about the release and the individuals involved would safeguard that information.

We encourage you to continue to pray for the full resolution of this situation. While we rejoice at this release, our hearts are with the fifteen people who are still being held. Continue to lift up the remaining hostages before the Lord.

“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable” (Psalm 145:3).

Christian Aid Ministries | November 21, 2021 12:15 p.m.

[Dan Z]

We have learned that two of the hostages in Haiti were released. We praise God for this! Only limited information can be provided, but we are able to report that the two hostages who were released are safe, in good spirits, and being cared for.

We cannot provide or confirm the names of those released, the reasons for their release, where they are from, or their current location. We ask that those who have more specific information about the release and the individuals involved would safeguard that information.

We encourage you to continue to pray for the full resolution of this situation. While we rejoice at this release, our hearts are with the fifteen people who are still being held. Continue to lift up the remaining hostages before the Lord.

“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable” (Psalm 145:3).

Christian Aid Ministries | November 21, 2021 12:15 p.m.

We praise God for this good news Ernie. Our fellowship lifted them up again this AM in prayer. We'll certainly keep praying.

[markroth]

So wonderful to learn of the two releases! Praise the Lord!

I heard only the first little bit of a song dedicated to the hostages. I would like to have the lyrics. And the name of the writer/composer. And the name of the singing group. If you can help me with this, please send me a message.

[ohio jones]

I heard only the first little bit of a song dedicated to the hostages.

I don't have any of the information, but the recording of the entire song is in the Nov. 19 entry on CAM's Update on Haiti kidnapping page for those who would like to listen.

[Ken]

This is from today's Wall Street Journal so I'm not revealing anything not already public: https://www.wsj.com/articles/two-of-17- ... 1637534798

Two of 17 Missionaries Kidnapped in Haiti Are Released
Ohio-based missionary group says the two released hostages are in good spirits

Two of the 17 U.S. and Canadian missionaries kidnapped in Haiti last month have been released, the missionary group said on Sunday.

Christian Aid Ministries, the Berlin, Ohio-based group, said in a statement that it could neither provide nor confirm the identities of the two people released, the reasons for their release or their whereabouts.

The two “are safe, in good spirits, and are being cared for,” the group said. “We ask that those who have more specific information about the release and the individuals involved would safeguard that information.”

National Police spokesman Garry Desrosiers confirmed the release but couldn’t provide further details.

A State Department spokesperson said it welcomed reports that “two individuals held hostage in Haiti have been released.”

Sixteen Americans and a Canadian, including five children, were abducted last month by a gang known as the 400 Mawozo, or 400 country bumpkins. At the time of the kidnapping, one of the children was eight months old, and the others were 3, 6, 14 and 15 years old.

Haitian officials said at the time that the gang demanded a ransom of $1 million per person. The leader of the gang said in a video posted last month on YouTube that he was willing to kill the hostages, if his demands weren’t met.

“I think the release of these two people is a good sign [that all captives may be eventually released]. Negotiations were expected to be complex because of the kidnappers’ high demands,” said Gédéon Jean, the director of the Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights, a nonprofit specialized on tracking kidnappings in Haiti.

He said kidnappers may have released just two of them for humanitarian reasons, in case there were some ill people among the hostages. The release could also be their way to show goodwill once a payment is made, among other possible reasons, he said.

Mr. Jean said that never before has a group of foreign hostages been kidnapped for so long in Haiti, likely because the kidnappers are demanding a very high amount of money per person.

The release comes as the country, one of the world’s poorest, is going through one of the worst political and economic crises in its history. Nearly 200 criminal gangs control more than half of the nation’s territory, and a wave of kidnappings has terrified ordinary Haitians.

Gangsters are increasingly flaunting their power in the face of a weak government hobbled by the murky assassination in July of President Jovenel Moïse, whose murder remains unresolved. Prime Minister Ariel Henry is leading a caretaker government.

For a month, a powerful coalition of gangs, called G9, in the capital, Port-au-Prince, blocked access to the country’s main fuel terminal, leading to fuel shortages all across the country. The gang’s leader, Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, demanded money and the resignation of Mr. Henry in exchange for releasing the fuel.

On Nov. 12, Mr. Cherizier announced a truce to allow tank truckers to load fuel again at the terminal, and gasoline started to be distributed, easing a dire situation that had put the country at the brink of energy collapse.

President Biden has flatly ruled out any military intervention in Haiti but has ramped up financial and technical assistance to the embattled Caribbean country, senior Haitian officials say. Since Mr. Moïse’s assassination, the U.S. has funneled some $50 million to improve the training and capabilities of the national police.

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation were sent to Haiti by the Biden administration to help with the recovery of the missionaries.

Earlier this month, the U.S. and Canadian governments urged their citizens to leave the country. Immigration experts say that Haiti’s deteriorating economy and descent into violence will likely fuel increased migration to the U.S. Some 1,500 Haitians were detained at sea while heading to the U.S. in fiscal year 2021, which ended in September, more than three times the number during the previous year.

[steve-in-kville]

This is good to hear

[RZehr]

As I keep pointing out, most Haitians are very anti-kidnappings and don’t want violent gangsters to keep getting more money and control.

Giving them $17 million is inherently immoral.

I responded with my take here: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4269&p=141222#p141222

[RZehr]

Imagine your HELOC application: "I'm taking this cash out to pay a bunch of violent criminals." That might even be illegal under KYC banking regs in the U.S., you generally can't take out money in order to engage in an illegal act.

It isn't illegal for American citizens to pay ransoms to criminal gangs. It is only illegal to pay ransom to designated terrorist organizations.