Kidnappings in Zamboanga, Mindanao, Philippines

[jadegil6]

Story Dateline December 12, 2011
An American teenage boy, who was kidnapped on July 12, 2011 while on an island near Zamboanga City, Zambaoange del Sur, escaped from his kidnappers who are suspected to be Al Qaeda-linked militants.
After escaping, Kevin Lunsmann, 14, was lost for nearly two days, roaming through the jungle without shoes, before he was found by villagers. Kevin said he convinced his four armed captors that he was going to take a bath at a nearby stream, but then he decided to make a run for it. He followed a river down a mountain in Basilan province before being found with bruises on his arms and feet late the next day by villagers. He initially feared the villagers and fled from them as well, and there was a chase before the villagers convinced him that they were friends.
This past summer, Kevin was vacationing in the Philippines with his Filipino-American mother, Gerfa Yeatts Lunsmann, and his cousin Romnick Jakaria. On July 12 the relatives were kidnapped and taken by boat to Basilan, an island off the coast of the Zamboanga peninsula, and known to be a base for muslim terrorists. The captors then called the family in Campbell County, Va., to demand a ransom. Kevin's father then paid an undisclosed ransom amount intended for the release of the boy and his mother two months ago, but only the mother was released. The kidnappers decided they wanted more money to release the boy.
The mother was freed when captors dropped her off at a wharf on Basilan. Lunsmann's cousin also escaped from hostage holders last month, when Filipino army forces managed to get near the camp where they were held.
The kidnappers are believed to be led by a militant, Puruji Indama, of Abu Sayyaf, an Al Qaeda-linked group on a list of U.S. terrorist organizations. They are reportedly responsible for kidnappings, beheadings, and bombings.
Ransom kidnappings have long been a problem in the region and are blamed mostly on Abu Sayyaf. The group was founded in Basilan in the 1990s as part of a violent Muslim insurgency.
Last Monday, December 5, 2011, suspected militants abducted Warren Richard Rodwell, 53, of Australia from his house in Zamboanga Sibugay province. The group is also believed to still be holding three other foreign hostages in another island near Basilan.

[abufarsi]

This is really scary news for a newbie.

I am not a newbie, I have lived in the Philippines for an extended time. I have traveled extensively both in the Philippines and Asia. I feel some facts should be pointed out. for example, that there are 200 times more kidnappings in Manila than Mindanao. The most common kidnap victim is a Filipino of Chinese decent. That there are white guys everyplace, tens of thousands around Manila, thousands in Cebu and Davao and a sprinkling of them in thousands of small towns all over, so the thinking that foreigners are walking targets is a false one.

No you are not as save in Davao as you are in Seattle. But kidnapping is way down the list of dangers.

[jadegil6]

I spent a week in Davao, and never felt threatened. But I have read comments from several foreigners that the areas west of a line from Davao to Cagayan de Oro are dangerous, and should be avoided. I was in Cebu, Negros Oreiental, Leyet and Biliran, and was OK...just got a small fright in Biliran once.
Since you lived there for so long, I imagine that you know better than most what life there is like and what areas might be more dangerous than others for a while-skinned foreigner to travel to.

[Edwin]

I think sometimes we are not aware of the dangers that exist. My friend that went to the Philippines a year ago with is not afraid of anything, but sometimes he should be. Carol's brother who lives in the Philippines said that he would stay in that area where my friends have always stayed and I stayed there with them as well, because my brother-in-law said that it is not a safe area. My friend's filipina wife's brother confirmed that, and told us what could happen, and that we needed to always stay alert in that area, and keep our eyes moving, and keep moving quickly. He told us that sometimes the criminals will follow you at a distance until they see you are in a vulnerable place, then they will rush up beside you and put a knife in your ribs. The guy who told us that is a filipino who lives in Manila. Then down in Negros Oriental my friend and I felt perfectly safe going for our walk between Amlan and Tanjey, City, but another brother told us that he was not going to let us keep walking alone, but he was going to go with us, because he told us that it was not safe for 2 white guys to be walking out on that road. He said he was afraid someone would kidnap us. So he walked with us every morning after that. I don't think he realized we were out there walking at first. Just because nothing happens that does not mean it is safe. Maybe it is, and maybe it is not. They say it is not good to dress so you stand out, but try to dress so you blend in with everyone else. If only my grandmothers would not have married white guys I would be dark skinned! I am what I am anyway. I think it is a good idea to take some precautions, and also if a person can be in the company of filipinos that you know and trust, I think that helps also.

[jadegil6]

My ex is from Honduras, and when I would go there to visit my in-laws, she would always tell me to keep my arms inside the vehicle coz everyone could see that I was a white man, and then I would become a target for a carjacking or kidnapping or robbery. There is not much of a police presence there, and if there is an incident such as a kidnapping or murder that requires the police, then they MIGHT be there in 3 or 4 days if you're lucky.
When I was there in 1998 I saw 8 bodies in the streets during the 2 weeks I was there. Things got considerably worse in the years after that, and my in-laws were afraid to leave their houses to go to buy food and necessities because of the gang violence. Kidnapping was a major concern for the wealthy and for the tourists. Then there was a new President elected, and his military took back control of the gangs. So many of those criminals disappeared from the face of the earth...never to be seen again, and then those who remained got the message, and stopped their criminal activities. I am not sure what life is like there now since I have been divorced for such a long time, and haven't returned to Honduras in many years.
When I rode in the jeepneys around Cebu City, my friends would tell me to keep my cameras inside the jeepney....I was intent on taking photos or videos of the people and surroundings. But my friends were afraid that a thief would run up and snatch my camera, or board the jeepney so that they could rob me. That happens at times. Several of my filipina friends have been robbed at knife point as they ride a jeepney and the other riders are afraid to interfere. Who could blame them?
I live in Texas, and our neighbors to the south (Mexico) have become some of the most dangerous places in the world. I have read that Juarez, Mexico which is across ther border from El Paso, Texas is the most dangerous city on earth. Most Americans have realized over the past 5 years that Mexico is now a dangerous place to visit becuse of the narco-traffic gangs and drug wars. So few Americans are bold enough to venture into Mexico these days for fear of being kidnapped. Across the border form Laredo, Texas is Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. It was once a thriving tourist town, but since the drug wars began, the tourists have stopped going there, and 75% of the shops and stores are now boarded up and closed.
So there are dangerous places all over the world that people need to be wary of. It can be just as dangerous in most large cities in the US in certain areas. We just need to be watchful and aware of our surroundings, and not put ourselves into harm's way, wherever we are.

[jadegil6]

On Friday, December 16, 2011, the Philippine police raided a kidnappers' hideout and rescued a 4-year-old American boy who was held for ransom for eight days. Five suspects were arrested, and this is the second recent case of a kidnapped U.S. minor in the Philippines.
The boy, who was living with his Filipino mother and American father, was seized in Manila on Dec. 6 by three gunmen who cut off the car he was traveling in with the mother.
A $13,600 ransom was paid three days later, but the kidnappers demanded $113,000 more before releasing the boy, whose identity has been withheld. The father, an engineer, sought the help of the U.S. Embassy and FBI, who sent representatives to the national police headquarters to coordinate with local authorities in securing the victim's release.
He said police feared the boy would be harmed and traced his location to the kidnappers' hideout in Prieto Diaz, a town in Eastern Sorsogon Province. On Wednesday, police stormed the site, rescued the boy, who was unharmed, and arrested three of his alleged captors. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of two more suspects in Manila on Thursday.
After a medical checkup found the boy to be in good health, he was reunited with his family.
The boy's identity was withheld because of privacy concerns. He was attending an international school in a Manila suburb.
The five suspects were charged by the Department of Justice with kidnapping for ransom and are being held in police detention pending trial. If convicted, they face up to 40 years in prison.
The kidnappers appear to be linked to the communist rebel New People's Army, which has a strong presence in Sorsogon province.
Last week, 14-year-old American Kevin Lunsmann escaped from suspected al-Qaida-linked militants in the southern Philippines after five months in jungle captivity. His Filipino mother was freed two months ago, and their cousin escaped last month.
Kidnappings for ransom are more common in the impoverished, volatile south, home to a long-running Muslim insurgency. But abductions have also taken place in Manila, which was once notorious as the kidnapping capital of Asia. Children of wealthy Filipinos are often targeted and many cases go unreported to police.

[Edwin]

I am so happy that these kidnapping victims were rescued and that most of their captors were caught. I think 40 years in prison for them is a good thing. It seems to me, and maybe that has changed, but I think kidnappers in this country when caught used to be executed, is that not correct? No punishment is too severe for these people who do such things. Because of incidents like these a person could live in constant fear of what might happen, but we can't live our lives that way. We have to pray, trust the Lord, knowing that He will take care of us no matter what happens, and go on living, but at the same time taking precautions, and not being careless with our living. Things do happen no matter how careful we are though, and we just have to pray, trust, and go on living.

[abufarsi]

Because who you know is to important as to the safety of any place, when you ask any Filipino if you are safe here the answer is a universal "yes" and if you ask if you will be safe "There" the answer is "be careful, so many snatchers there". And then you go there and ask the same question about the place you left... the answer is you are safe here but be careful there--->!!! (where you just left). Truth is that people are kidnapped in the PI, and some places are more dangerous than others. But you face the greatest danger on the roads, or getting swindled in some "business" deal, or ripped off by some pretty face.

Not to mention health issues, everybody gets the trots... the longer you stay the more likely you will have a skin infection or pink eye or fever or unexplained nausea. Lets face it, dishes in all restaurants are washed in COLD water. Sure they heat the water the silver is in but first they wash it with the dishes you eat off.

You want to save foreigners lives? tell them not to swim in fresh water.

[tom]

You want to save foreigners lives? tell them not to swim in fresh water.

hmmm... swimming in fresh water in the philippines can be deadly???

i'm wondering why??... killer bacteria?? "crocodile nasties"?? polluted, toxic water??

(does that mean ALL rivers, lakes and ponds?... does "fresh water" include swimming pools? what about swimming at the ocean (or bay, or "sea") beaches?)

please "edu-ma-cate" me, persian tatay...

salamat