Gunmen kill French aid worker in eastern Chad. Save the Children staff member Pascal Marlinge was killed on Thursday. If there is a heaven, people who lose their lives helping others go there.
the missing
Aid worker kidnappings in Afghanistan
Two Afghan aid workers just went missing north of Kabul. It is assumed they were kidnapped. Afghanistan’s really bad territory for aid workers, we all knew that. But it hits home every time I read something like this.
Two aid workers kidnapped in Somalia
Two UN contract workers kidnapped in Somalia. Murray Watson and Patrick Amukhuma were kidnapped in Somalia yesterday. Patrick is Kenyan, and Murray is British. Murray Watson is an ecologist with a long history of work in Africa. I am praying for a quick release, like last time an expat was kidnapped in Somalia.
One thing I find interesting about the media coverage on this is how few outlets have gotten their jobs right. They were contractors for an Indian company which held a subcontract with FAO to do aerial survey work. Not all that unusual if you’re used to how the system works, but hard for an unfamiliar reporter to grasp.
AFP: Fate of US aid worker a mystery two months on, say officials
AFP: Fate of US aid worker a mystery two months on, say officials My news about Cyd Mizell may have been premature. We can hope, at least.
Relevant article: BBC list of foreigner kidnappings in Afghanistan.
U.S. Aid Worker Killed in Afghanistan – World – CBN News
U.S. Aid Worker Killed in Afghanistan. I’m sorry. It looks like Cyd Mizell and Muhammad Hadi were killed. There is a statement on the Asian Rural Life Development Foundation website.
German aid worker kidnapped in Somalia
Somalia is bad ugly territory for aid workers. Today, a German aid worker was taken. No name has been released, but he was an experienced guy who’d been in Afghanistan. He was working for Welthungerhilfe, also known as German Agro Action. Welthungerhilfe is active in Somaliland, which is actually one of the safer parts of the country to work in. There is always terrible risk to working in Somalia, but the need is so great that you can’t really ignore the ethical imperative.
Statement from Cyd Mizell’s father
Cyd Mizell’s father has released a statement. She’s still being held, and as far as I know, no one has claimed responsibility for her kidnapping.