Free the Taliban Hostages
Ricken Patel
A global outcry for the Taliban to follow their own code would certainly be covered by media in Afghanistan and Pakistan where the Taliban are based – creating more local pressure on them to free their prisoners. But these hostages are living under a 24 hour death sentence. We have seconds not minutes to act. Sign the petition below, forward this email, and let's report a truly powerful outcry to local journalists:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/honour_the_afghan_code
Pashtunwali has real power among ordinary people in Afghanistan. In 2003 Bettina Goislard, 29, was shot by Taliban gunmen while she was working for the UN High Commission for Refugees in the town of Ghazni, near where the Korean aid workers were kidnapped. Incensed by her murder, local people chased down the gunmen and beat them before handing them over to the police -- then they gathered up her body and marched several hundred miles to Kabul to show their sorrow to the world.
Recently, global pressure helped free BBC reporter Alan Johnston from his captivity in Gaza. It can be amazing what happens when we speak together around the world. So let's try our best, for these 23 young people and their families, and the millions of Afghans who need their aid -- With hope,
Ricken, Iain, Graziela, Tom, Paul and the rest of the Avaaz Team