Causecast

by JONATHAN HARRIS, Managing Editor

7/29/09 UPDATE: According to the GOAL Chief Executive John O’Shea, Hilda Kawuki and Sharon Commins are still in captivity, but are in good health.

O’Shea also commented that the governments of Ireland and Sudan, and GOAL, are working around the clock to ensure the aid workers’ release.

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Causecast has been outspoken in our support of detained American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in North Korea after being arrested on their border. It’s a tragedy that these women are being held in captivity in punishment for their journalistic ambition.

Though I doubt she’d consider herself lucky at this point, Laura Ling does have one thing going for her. She’s the sister of American television personality Lisa Ling, and both women were working for youth-oriented Current TV. These connections have raised the banner of their imprisonment to a point where the United States can hopefully ensure their release.

The situation seems even bleaker for Hilda Kawuki and Sharon Commins. These women were working with the Irish aid group GOAL in Darfur when they were kidnapped from their base on July 3 by armed gunmen. After nearly two weeks, the kidnappers have spoken, and they want $2 million ransom in exchange for Kawuki and Commins. This latest incident is the third time humanitarian workers have been abducted in Darfur in the last four months, and international governments and NGOs hardly wish to encourage more malfeasance. It’s unlikely that anybody will pay the ransom, but nobody is talking about what else is being done to keep the women safe.

The last word from GOAL came on July 10, when CEO John O’Shea gave the following statement:

“I am satisfied that the delegation, assisted by the Sudanese authorities, are doing all within their power to secure the release of the GOALies”

No organization has yet claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, though two groups, Eagles of Bashir and the Freedom Eagles of Africa, have taken credit for previous 2009 abductions.

Kawuki is 42 and from Uganda. Commins is a 32-year-old native of Dublin. They were in Darfur trying to help others and now they may be fighting for their lives. Here’s what I want you to do:
•Tweet this story to everyone you know. Make sure all your friends who care about causes are aware of the danger that faces aid workers.
•Make a YouTube or Causecast video asking for Kawuki and Commins to be released. We’ll spread these around to as many people as possible and show those working with the Irish delegation and for GOAL that we are with them in demanding their release.

Photo by hdptcar, flickr