It seemed like an average day....on Monday June 2nd, Alexis Prem Kumar visited an Afghan village. He was getting ready to leave, when things took a wrong turn.
JAMES STAPLETON
Jesuit Refugee Service
'We think it was the early afternoon when a group of armed men arrived and they took him away in a car.â?
James Stapleton works for the Jesuit Refugee Service. He says, 47 year old Prem Kumar, who serves as Afghanistan's program director, was kidnapped in one of the schools they help out, near the city of Herat.
JAMES STAPLETON
Jesuit Refugee Service
'We are in, as you can imagine, dangerous places all around the world. We are working with people who are fleeing violence and often that violence follows people.â?
Prem Kumar is from India. He moved to Afghanistan four years ago. Together with his team, he promoted education and health care programs in the cities of Kabul, Bamiyan and Herat, that helped over 7,000 Afghans last year alone.
JAMES STAPLETON
Jesuit Refugee Service
'Heâ??s an extremely dynamic, modest individual. We are all hoping that he will come back safe.â?
Afghanistan's Interior Ministry reported it arrested three Taliban members, who allegedly have a connection to the case. But the Jesuit Refugee Service says it hasn't had any contact with Prem Kumar since his kidnapping.
JAMES STAPLETON
Jesuit Refugee Service
'The most important thing for us at the moment is Prem Kumar. That he comes home safe and sound. That none of the staff are on the ground or the refugees that we serve are at any risk whatsoever.â?
To try and make that happen, they're in contact with local authorities and communities out on the ground as they wait for better news...
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Up: MAE
