By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. Dec. 6, 2021: On October 16, 2021, 17 missionaries of Christian Aid Ministries, (CAM), were kidnapped on a highly anticipated trip to a CAM-sponsored orphanage in Haiti outside the capital, Port-au-Prince. Over 7 weeks later, five have have now been released as 12 remain hostages.
CAM officials says they continue to pray for their release and will be hosting a global three day fasting mission from today, Monday, Dec. 6th through Wednesday, Dec. 8th.
“We invite believers around the world to observe focused prayer and fasting for the release of the hostages,” the group said in a statement. “We invite you to consider fasting on one or all of these days. However, you feel led to join this effort, we appreciate your support.”
The group of hostages, which included 16 Americans and one Canadian, had been working with Christian Aid Ministries before being abducted by a gang called 400 Mawozo, which is infamous for orchestrating mass kidnappings.
The gang initially demanded a ransom of $1 million per person, but that was widely viewed as a start to the negotiations that are common in kidnappings in Haiti. It was not immediately clear how much money, if any, was paid to release the two in November. Three more were released last night.
The youngest hostage seized from the missionary group was an infant.
Since the kidnapping, Christian Aid Missionaries has been involved in protracted negotiations for the group’s release, with the gang demanding more money and the missionary group offering to bring services into their area instead, an official with knowledge of the matter said.
Security in Haiti has broken down in the wake of numerous natural disasters and political crises, including the assassination in July of President Jovenel Moïse. Violence has overwhelmed much of the capital, and by some estimates, gangs now control about half the city.
