White Matthews Women's Jersey -
With the recent kidnapping of an American ship captain by pirates off the Somali Coast, viewers are wondering, how could this happen? The reality is that it occurs more often than you think.
White Matthews Women's Jersey Expatriates working overseas on behalf of a company or organization are frequent targets of kidnap, particularly as globalization takes business to new corners of the world. Thousands of kidnapping cases occur worldwide every year White Matthews Women's Jersey and as current events show, this number is only growing.
As many have noticed, there is currently an intense focus on Africa and the region surrounding the Gulf of Aden due to the recent increase in piracy and kidnapping, but this is certainly not a new problem.
The International Maritime Bureau reports that in 2008, Somali pirates seized 815 crew members, proving that the latest kidnapping was not an isolated case. The threat has long existed and incidences are increasing in many countries, including Afghanistan, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines and Venezuela.
An Italian expatriate was abducted on April 9 in the southeastern Nigerian state of Ebonyi. Armed gunmen seized the man on his way to a construction site where he was working under government contract. Although less publicized, hundreds of expatriates and Nigerian workers have been victims of kidnap in just the past three years. According to the 2008 Kidnap Risk Brief published by Clayton Consultants, Inc., at least 172 foreigners were kidnapped in Nigeria alone in 2007.
The risk level for kidnapping remains high in Latin America and Africa, but Central Asia is seeing dramatic growth, particularly in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, the majority of kidnapping incidents are still occurring in Latin America. In most cases, the ransom is paid and the victim is safely released, but according to The Inkerman Kidnap and Ransom Monthly Review (February – March 2009), kidnap victims killed showed a 7 percent increase in January 2009, up to 19.3 percent.
Expatriates working abroad face a credible risk in high-risk areas away from home where their companies cannot protect them. Organizations and financial institutions with a significant global presence can be targeted White Matthews Women's Jersey for ransoms ranging from thousands to millions of dollars. While it may seem rare, kidnap is a thriving, corrupt business that is more common than companies would like to admit. Even statistics are difficult to gather because only about 10 percent of incidents are reported on average.
