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The town of LaPorte is still waiting for word about Jeffrey Ake, the American man being held hostage in Iraq. Meanwhile, there are a lot of questions left unanswered concerning Jeffrey Ake, his family, and the cancellation of a prayer vigil that was to be held Friday evening.
Executive Director Mike Seitz of the Greater LaPorte Chamber of Commerce refused any further comment other than "A press release is up on the board." Meanwhile, the community remains unwavering in their love and support for the family of Jeffrey Ake. The cancellation of the city-wide prayer vigil didn't stop some from coming together anyway. One of those was Marlissa Jongkind. "I just wanted to meet with other believers in the community to pray for Jeff." "I think the Lord is with him right now. I'd like to think that the hearts of his captors would be softened. That is what I am praying for," says Liz Hoffman Bauer. Who will join with is and pray for a safe return of Jeffrey to his family and friends? Top US government officials said they were in contact with the family of Jeffrey Ake, a 47-year old father of four, but there was no fresh word on his fate since a videotape aired yesterday in which armed and masked militants were shown holding assault rifles at his head. Mr Ake's family has remained in seclusion at home near LaPorte in northern Indiana, and issued no public statement. Local leaders said they were offering what encouragement they could. The canceled prayer vigil was being organised by the LaPorte Chamber of Commerce, mayor's office, Rotary Club and local Ministerial Association. "We wanted to do something from the community to show our support and prayers," said Michael Seitz, president of the Chamber of Commerce. "LaPorte is a close-knit community so everyone knows everybody. We just feel very strongly that we want to show the family we are here but we also want to respect their privacy."
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, "We are in close contact with his family, and he remains a priority for this administration". He said, "I don't think that when you have a situation like this that it's helpful to get into talking too much about it for a variety of reasons. But any time there's an American held hostage, it's a high priority". Mr Ake is the president and owner of Equipment Express in Rolling Prairie, Indiana, which makes bottling equipment. He was a frequent international business traveler and had been involved in deploying his products in Iraq for drinking water and edible oils, according to the company's website. He was was seized from the site of a reconstruction project near Baghdad on Tuesday.
He also called on US forces to withdraw swiftly from Iraq, it said. The video showed Mr Ake bracketed by armed and masked insurgents, but there were no flags or banners in the background as has often been the case in videos of others seized in Iraq. Mr Ake founded the company in 1995 with his wife, working in the couple's garage, the firm's website said. Neighbors said the couple has four children aged from 3 to the early teens. ******************************* The Al-Jazeera tape showed a man sitting behind a desk with at least three assailants, two hooded and one off-camera pointing assault rifles at him. Ake, wearing an open-collar shirt with rolled-up shirt sleeves, was sitting or kneeling behind a wooden desk and holding what appeared to be a photo and a passport.
President Bush's press secretary, Scott McClellan, said there would be no negotiating with the kidnappers. "Any time there is a hostage ¡ª an American hostage ¡ª it is a high priority for the United States," he said. "Our position is well known when it comes to negotiating. Obviously, this is a sensitive matter."
"Obviously, the United States continues to hold to a policy that we do not negotiate with terrorists," Rice told reporters after meeting Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini. "It only encourages them." In Indiana, LaPorte Police Chief David Gariepy met with Ake's family and called it "a terrible situation." "We have to keep them in our thoughts and pray for his safe return," Gariepy said. "It devastates all of us as Americans when someone from our country is involved in something like this." Gariepy asked for those in the community about 25 miles west of South Bend to "hope and pray and wait."
Ake is one of at least 14 Americans who have been kidnapped or have gone missing in the past year in Iraq. At least three have been killed. Last April, Nicholas Berg, a 26-year-old businessman from West Chester, Pa., was the first to be kidnapped. He was beheaded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq group. One of the Americans still being held was kidnapped last month along with three Romanian journalists. The Romanian government said Wednesday it was in direct contact with their abductors, and that the four were being treated well. |
