Page 12 - AT

A12 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 22 November 2018

Italy woman volunteering with Kenya kids kidnapped by gunmen

By TOM ODULA was working with for show-
Associated Press ing her how to live without
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — material things.
Gunmen firing indiscrimi- "These children, these peo-
nately into a coastal trad- ple have taught me to live
ing center kidnapped an with no material things but
Italian woman and wound- with love, Joy, gratitude,
ed several other people smiles, sincere eyes ... and
in the first kidnapping of a be happy in such simple
foreigner in Kenya in sev- way. Thank you Kenya,
eral years, authorities and thank you Chakama. This
witnesses said Wednesday. has been the deepest ex-
Silvia Costanza Romano, a perience of my Life," she
23-year-old volunteer work- said.
ing with Kenyan students, In Milan, where Romano
had begged for help be- lived, friends and her for-
fore she was violently tak- mer employer said she had
en away by the attackers found fulfillment in Kenya
who stormed the Chaka- and had even delayed a
ma trading center on the planned return to Italy.
coastal county of Kilifi at "She told me about the
around 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Villagers look up as a Kenyan police helicopter flies above the scene of an attack by gunmen beautiful people that she
who kidnapped an Italian volunteer, in the village of Chakama, in coastal Kilifi county, Kenya
police and witnesses said. Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018. met, people who although
Romano, who studied lin- Associated Press they had nothing were al-
guistic mediation in Milan, ways joyful, ready to smile
had told friends back home cording to Ronald Kazungu "I told them she had left to told me to help myself and I at you," said Silvia Cirstaldi,
how happy she had been Ngala, 19, who said he wit- go and get a power bank, ran for the man at the door a friend who worked at the
in Kenya and had planned nessed Romano's violent but they didn't believe me with a club and pushed Zero Gravity gym where
to stay at least until the end kidnapping. Ngala's high and surged into the room him away and escaped." Romano taught gymnas-
of the year because she school education is being where they found her," he He said two of the gunmen tics. "This is what I think
felt enriched "like never be- sponsored by Africa Milele said. who were outside the room pushed her to go back."
fore in my life." and he had gone to the Ngala said he followed shot at onlookers. Gym manager Francesco
Five people were wound- NGO's offices to present his them and heard one gun- Ngala said the gunmen Pisani said he had heard
ed in the attack, including grade 10 end of year report man ask the other if she is took Romano across the from Romano in Septem-
three children, said Ke- card to Romano, he said. the one and when he was Galana River. He said the ber, when she called to
nya's police chief, Joseph He heard gunfire which answered in the affirma- gunmen looked and spoke say she wouldn't be com-
Boinnet. The motive for the prompted all the shops tive, he proceeded to "slap like members of a local ing back as planned. He
abduction isn't clear and in the area to close and her very hard until she fell." herding community known played for The Associated
the identity of the attackers many people in the trading "Ronald please, please! as Orma. Many herding Press a WhatsApp audio file
is not yet known, he said. center to hide. Ronald, please help," Ro- communities in Kenya that Romano sent him, where
Romano had been work- At around 7.30 p.m. six mano said, according to live near the border areas she said she has been of-
ing for the Italian-based men, some armed with Ngala. "I tried to push away are armed to protect them- fered a position through
humanitarian group Af- guns and others with ma- a man who was smothering selves against rivals, who November or December.
rica Milele, according to chetes and clubs stormed her while holding her down may come across the bor- "It has to do with what I
Boinnet and Italy's foreign into the Milele offices and for her hands to be tied be- der to steal their livestock. have studied and anyway
ministry. demanded to know where hind her back, but some- In one of her latest postings in these two months I found
The gunmen came look- is the "mgeni" (Swahili for one hit me in the head with on Twitter, Romano said she it very fascinating and I
ing for a white woman, ac- visitor). a club and I got dizzy. She was grateful to the kids she have felt really satisfied
and happy inside," Roma-
Colombia tries quashing tensions at migrant camp no said. "I feel as though it
is the right decision for my
with soccer future and it will enrich me
a lot as it has in the past
Associated Press two months like never be-
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian officials are fore in my life and well, big
hoping to help ease tensions at a Venezuelan migrant hugs and let me know."
camp with a game both new arrivals and their hosts Somali-based Islamic ex-
share a passion for: soccer. tremists have been blamed
Migrants faced off against Colombian humanitarian in the past for a spate of
aid workers in a tournament Wednesday, two days after kidnappings of foreigners
sixteen Venezuelans were expelled from the camp. along Kenya's coast. Ke-
Authorities had accused the group of looting supplies, nya said it was prompted
destroying tents and attacking police. to send troops to Somalia
Migrants have said they are frustrated with food in 2011 to fight al-Shabab
distribution at the camp and rules that forbid cooking. militants after the kidnap-
Colombia is home to over one million Venezuelans who pings of four foreigners.
have fled their country's economic and humanitarian One of the foreigners, a
crisis.The camp was built last week to accommodate cancer-stricken quadriple-
Venezuelan migrants celebrate a goal during a soccer match migrants who had previously been living in tents made gic Frenchwoman kid-
at their temporary camp in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, napped off a Kenyan re-
Nov. 21, 2018. of plastic sheets and scrap materials outside the city's sort island, died in captivity
Associated Press bus terminal.q
in Somalia.q