September 1 press
release
DRC - North Kivu
After the escape of one of our abducted colleagues,
MSF asks for help to find the three other members of our team who were taken more
than a year ago.
On Friday, April 29, Chantal,
one of the four members of the MSF team abducted in North Kivu, was found
unharmed. However, MSF remains
with no news about our colleagues Philippe, Richard, and Romy more than 13
months after they disappeared. We continue our search and issue a new call to anyone who may be in a position
to help with their release.
MSF
members were deeply moved and delighted to learn of the escape of Chantal
Kaghoma Vulinzole, who was kidnaped with three of her colleagues on July 11,
2013 during an attack on Kamango, blamed on the ADF-NALU. Chantal, a
nurse originally from Goma, was a member of the emergency team that disappeared
during a mission to evaluate the health facilities in Beni Territory.
After
more than 13 months of captivity under difficult conditions, Chantal was able
to flee and reach troops, taking advantage of military operations in the bush against
the ADF-NALU. Our colleague was found, weak and thin, on Friday and was returned
safely to Beni by Congolese armed forces.
“It is
an immense relief for her family, her friends and all of her colleagues to know
that she is alive and with us again,” said Mégo Terzian, President of MSF. “We also want to believe that our
three other colleagues - about whom we have no information - will also return. We are thinking of their families
and of all the hostages. We will
not forget you."
We have been unable to establish contact with
the three other members of our Congolese team, despite our efforts, resources
mobilized, and the trails we have followed in the DRC and neighboring
countries. “Chantal was separated from her three colleagues and was no longer in
contact with them when she escaped,” explained Benoît Leduc, crisis cell
coordinator in Paris. “Our search continues, with the ADF group now dispersed
and, probably, disorganized.”
Over time,
a series of doors has opened and closed but we have been unable to obtain proof
of life or direct access to those holding our colleagues. “People are
willing to help us, but each time we seem to be close, our contacts report a
last-minute obstacle or the people who might have the power to free the
hostages do an about-face,” said Leduc.
More than one year after our colleagues
disappeared, MSF is thrilled that Chantal has returned. We continue our efforts
to find Philippe, Richard, and Romy. Given the difficulties we have encountered,
MSF calls for help from anyone with information on our team members or who can
help us establish contact with them. To save the lives of all the
hostages and ease their families’ pain, MSF is issuing a call for assistance and
asks those holding the hostages to release them immediately.
