Matt Bush, FISM News
More than two months after being kidnapped by the 400 Mawozo gang in Haiti, all 17 missionaries that had been taken hostage have been released.
The group of short- and long-term missionaries were serving with an Ohio-based organization known as Christian Aid Ministries (CAM). On their way back to the CAM compound from a local orphanage, the group was kidnapped and held hostage by the well-known Haitian gang.
Shortly after the kidnapping, the leader of 400 Mawozo publicly demanded $1 million per person for a total of $17 million for the safe release of the hostages. After that video was released very few details about the situation were made known from any source. CAM leaders sent out almost daily communications asking for prayer, while Americans waited for news about what was happening.
In late November two of the hostages were released, and it was later confirmed that the cause was sickness. This was a hopeful sign which indicated that gang leaders did not want their hostages to die and were willing to release them for humanitarian concerns. On December 5, three additional hostages, two from Michigan, were also released.
The circumstances surrounding the release of the remaining hostages are not yet clear. There is no word on whether or not a ransom was paid or if they were released for other reasons, but we join Christian Aid Ministries and Christians around the world in praising God for the release.
CAM said in a statement, “We glorify God for answered prayer—the remaining twelve hostages are FREE! Join us in praising God that all seventeen of our loved ones are now safe. Thank you for your fervent prayers throughout the past two months. We hope to provide more information as we are able.”
While we celebrate and praise God for the release of these victims, we also wait for details about their release.
In recent months, the already unstable nation of Haiti has been rocked by multiple catastrophes. Their sitting President, Jovenel Moise, was brutally assassinated in his own home, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit just off Haiti’s coast, and most recently a fuel tanker exploded killing at least 75 people in northern Haiti.
Amidst this insecurity, thousands of American missionaries and aid workers remain in the country. They stay despite the insecurity, the daily kidnappings, and the dangerous conditions they face every day just leaving their homes.
Prior to the recent kidnappings, Americans were largely spared the violence and kidnappings that occur in Haiti daily.