Taliban Families Make UCC to Call for International Help
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Families of hostages being held by Taliban militants in Afghanistan are making video footage to plead for international help in gaining their release.
The move comes as negotiations between the kidnappers and the Afghanistan and Korean governments have remained stalled for about three weeks since the abduction.
Cha Sung-min, a representative of the families, said Monday that they decided to make a video clip appealing to the world for help in freeing the hostages and distribute it through international user created content (UCC) sites.
They began shooting Saturday, he said.
``We have announced appeals several times, but they were not enough to convey our anxiety. To call for the hostages' safe return more effectively, we've decided to make video footage ourselves with the help of a former program director from a television broadcasting company,'' Cha said.
The footage will contain interviews with the families, their written appeals, and their daily lives spent at the Saemmul Community Church office in Bundang of Gyeonggi Province anxiously awaiting the return of their beloved ones.
Through the video clip, the families will emphasize that the hostages went to Afghanistan for aid work and ask for international help for their release.
The footage will have subtitles in three languages _ Korean, English and Afghan _ and will be distributed on domestic and international UCC sites.
``We did as best as we could, but it was limited to domestic appeal. We expect that the video footage to be produced will help form international opinion about the release of the hostages, as people all around the world will be able to see it,'' Cha said.
Exhausted over just waiting in Korea, the families have sought ways that they can directly take part in the resolution of the crisis.
They previously tried to visit Afghanistan or the United States to directly plead with the nations for help. But the plan was dropped because the Korean government refused to allow them to go to Afghanistan due to security reasons, while the visit to the U.S. was expected to have no practical gain.
They then hoped to visit Pakistan or any neighboring countries to Afghanistan, but the government also dissuaded them from doing so.