- Title: HAITI: Two kidnapped aid workers from Belgium and Czech Republic are released
- Date: 12th March 2010
- Summary: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (MARCH 11, 2010) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OVER THE CITY MEN, SMOKE AND DESTROYED AREA EXTERIORS OF DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS/MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (MSF) DOORS MSF LOGO ON JACKET MICHEL PEREMANS, SPOKESMAN FOR DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS/MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (MSF), SPEAKING ON PHONE STICKER WITH MSF LOGO (SOUNDBITE) (French) MICHEL PEREMANS, SPOKESMAN FOR DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS/MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (MSF), SAYING: ''We are really relieved of course. Our two colleagues are back safe and sound, in good shape and they will soon be reunited with their families.'' MSF LOGO ON STICKER ON DOORS (SOUNDBITE) (French) MICHEL PEREMANS, SPOKESMAN FOR DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS/MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (MSF), SAYING: ''We want to continue to work here. It has been 19 years, there are huge needs, immense needs, we think our assistance is essential so we want to stay. But of course we will review how we can work in Haiti.'' MSF LOCAL WORKER THREE MSF LOCAL WORKERS TALKING NEXT TO CARS (SOUNDBITE) (French) MICHEL PEREMANS, SPOKESMAN FOR DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS/MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (MSF), SAYING: ''I can tell you there are two women, one Belgian and the other Czech.'' MSF POSTER ON CAR (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHEL PEREMANS, SPOKESMAN FOR DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS/MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (MSF), SAYING: ''They were abducted for five days and it was a long time for them, for us, for the families, so it's a big relief today to know that they are back, they are safe and in good condition.'' MSF CAR ARRIVING GATE CLOSING
- Embargoed: 27th March 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Haiti
- Country: Haiti
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVA4TCHRDW0MZU39COIL130F1THE
- Story Text: Two European aid workers with Doctors Without Borders in quake-hit Haiti were kidnapped and held for nearly five days before being freed, the medical charity says.
A Belgian and a Czech aid worker from Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) were released on Thursday (March 11), the medical charity said.
''We are really relieved of course. Our two colleagues are back safe and sound, in good shape and they will soon be reunited with their families,'' Michel Peremans, spokesman in Haiti for Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), told Reuters Television.
Peremans said Doctors Without Borders would review its operating procedures in Haiti following the kidnapping, but was committed to continuing to help the country's quake survivors recover from the disaster.
''We want to continue to work here. It has been 19 years, there are huge needs, immense needs, we think our assistance is essential so we want to stay. But of course we will review how we can work in Haiti,'' Peremans said.
Peremans said it wasn't MSF's policy to pay ransoms.
The charity employs 400 international staff and 1,300 local workers in Haiti.
Since the earthquake, it provided healthcare to 40,000 people.
The incident was the first known kidnapping of foreign nationals in Haiti since the catastrophic earthquake on January 12 that wrecked Port-au-Prince and surrounding towns.
It was expected to raise security concerns among the thousands of foreign aid workers, journalists and soldiers who have flocked to Haiti since the quake struck. There were fears that the kidnapping could lead to copycat abductions.
Haiti's president has said up to 300,000 people may have been killed by the earthquake, and more than a million people were left homeless, most of them poor.
Although the small Caribbean nation has a bloody history of political instability and social unrest, United Nations and U.S. military commanders involved in the post-quake aid operation say security has remained generally stable.
Nevertheless, significant looting followed the quake and aid groups reported some cases in which gunmen had attempted to hold up food convoys, which travel with military escorts.
Several thousand convicted prisoners have escaped from quake-damaged jails, and most of them are still at large. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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