Peacekeeper's abduction tests resilience of a man, a family, an organization

On February 13, 2009 at approximately 2:15 a.m, nine armed men broke into the NP field office on Basilan Island in the Philippines and abducted Umar Jaleel, an International Civilian Peacekeeper for NP and Sri Lankan national.

Jaleel had joined NP's Mindanao project in October 2008 after four years of service in Sri Lanka.  At the time of his abduction, he was working to improve Muslim-Christian relations and support local peace organizations and structures to consolidate the ongoing peace processes, efforts intended to maintain a fragile ceasefire between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and armed groups on Basilan.

NP responds

Upon notification of Jaleel's abduction, NP Executive Director Mel Duncan formed a Crisis Management Team (CMT) and an Incident Management Team (IMT) as prescribed in our Emergency Master Plan.  This plan proved invaluable.  NP Philippines Country Director Atif Hameed served as team leader/lead negotiator of the IMT, Strategic Liaison Manager Norgianna Suleik liaised with the media, and peacekeeper Jeya Murugan, who is Sri Lankan, served as family liaison.  Jeya telephoned Jaleel's family daily.  NP Sri Lanka provided weekly visits to support Jaleel's family.

The Crisis Management Team, led by Mel and including Atif, Kim Cermak, Jan Passion, Natalie Brenner, Bernard O'Sullivan, Christine Schweitzer and Amanda Cross, met 66 times during the 111 days. Mel and Atif were on call continuously during this time.  The CMT coordinated and consulted on an integrated strategy from the international to the local level. They also handled security, medical issues, external and intra-NP communication and reporting.

The perspective from Mindanao

In Mindanao, many people supported NP during the ordeal. Representatives of the government, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front, local government units and the Provincial Governor/Vice Governor of Basilan, police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and local civil society-in particular the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society and management of NP Philippines who worked tirelessly for a safe release-found their efforts rewarded when Jaleel was finally released on the 3rd of June. Jaleel's colleagues from NP Sri Lanka were equally rewarded as they witnessed the relief and joy of Jaleel's family and friends.

In the period between Jaleel's kidnapping and his release, many things changed in the Philippine project. The Mission Preparedness Training for a new group of thirteen International Civilian Peacekeepers took place, and new field offices and a Manila Liaison office were established. The management of NP Philippines expanded and several new officers were hired, even as armed clashes between MILF and the Armed Forces of the Philippines increased.

In addition to the untiring efforts of those in the Crisis Management Team and the on-the-ground Incident Management Team who worked on Jaleel's release, we must also acknowledge the invaluable contribution of those who pursued NP's mission during that time, making it possible by their presence and trust for NP Philippines to emerge from the crisis a much stronger organization.

Lessons learned

As a result of this difficult ordeal, many important lessons were learned. NP conducted a security audit and determined that our existing safety and security protocols were generally quite strong.  However, a number of improvements were put in place to make them even stronger. These include suspension of work in Basilan for the time being, stricter security precautions in Central Mindanao, more systematic emphasis on early warning activities, enhanced security in all field offices and residences to prevent further intrusions, and expediting the process already underway to hire a Safety and Security Coordinator.

Most of all, we are grateful for the courage and determination shown by Jaleel and his family to get through this frightening and painful ordeal.