Looking back on our 20th year – the need for Hostage International continues to grow.

An end of year message from our CEO, Lara Symons.

As we come to the end of 2024, it offers a moment to reflect on our achievements while highlighting our priorities for next year and beyond to ensure that we continue to be here to help lessen the strain for families affected by hostage-taking (including arbitrary detention), and for hostages after their release.

We always said that this 20th anniversary year wouldn’t offer cause for celebration; it is a sad fact that the demand for our services continues to grow.

THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS:

However, this year did give us a chance to bring people together to highlight our work, to hear from many of those who have been supported by us, and to give our heartfelt thanks to our fantastic teams of volunteers, trustees, and supporters who enable us to be there for those who are living the ordeal of having a loved one taken hostage, or who are attempting to readjust to life after the trauma of being taken.

A highlight was our event in the majestic surroundings of the Old Bailey in London, where our volunteers from around the world joined with our network of supporters alongside individuals who have been helped by Hostage International to help raise funds and awareness. Another fundraising highlight was our Challenge For All, which saw participants walking, running and cycling to help raise funds for Hostage International.

SUPPORTING MORE PEOPLE THAN EVER:

For another consecutive year, we have  seen a record high number of people coming to us for support since our founding, and we are now supporting around 65 individuals at any one time.

We continue to offer expert guidance, information, support and access to specialist services, including mental health professionals, but alongside our core services, we are looking at new ways to provide support. In 2024, we held our first hostage retreat, a day to bring former hostages together to share experiences and offer peer support as part of a ‘club that nobody wants to be part of’. So positive was the feedback, that we hope to repeat and build on this initiative.

ADVOCATING FOR THOSE AFFECTED ACROSS THE GLOBE:

As well as continuing our direct and tailored support for those affected by hostage-taking and arbitrary detention, this year has seen us grow our advocacy work. This isn’t about campaigning for individual hostages or detainees, but around working behind the scenes or feeding into government enquiries or legislation to highlight the needs of families and former hostages. With 20 years of knowledge and expertise across our small team of employees, we are in a strong position to highlight the needs of those we support based on our evidence.

We have been able to feed into a number of governmental initiatives looking at arbitrary detention and/or kidnappings, including giving evidence to the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development on Bill C-353 and to the Australian Senate Inquiry into the wrongful detention of Australian citizens overseas. The team has also attended the launch and subsequent meetings of the UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Arbitrary Detention and Hostage Affairs, and made a contribution to the report being drafted by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, classifying hostage-taking as a form of torture.

OUR WORK NOW AND INTO THE FUTURE:

As this year closes, we have launched another new initiative with a dual purpose: providing additional support and collecting evidence on effective practices. From our 20 years of working with more than 500 people affected by hostage situations, we know that the period after release is one of the most complex times for former hostages and their loved ones to communicate and share their individual experiences around this shared trauma. Using mediation as a form of tailored support, while simultaneously gathering evidence on its benefits, we aim to improve our work in helping and guiding people through this intensely difficult time.

Moving forward we will continue to grow our work internationally, and to be driven by the needs of families and former hostages to offer impartial, independent and confidential support. We will also continue to highlight the needs of those affected by hostage situations through our discreet advocacy and our provision of bespoke training and education for employers around the essentials in support for families and former hostages.

We would love to live in a world where there was no need for Hostage International and our charitable work, but sadly if anything, we can only predict a growth in need for our services.

We need your help to ensure that we have the funds to continue this work and in raising awareness to ensure that anyone in need knows where to find us.

I want to thank you all for your support now and into the future, to ensure that we can make a real and positive difference to those affected by the unique and devastating impact of kidnapping and arbitrary detention.

Thank you again, and best wishes for 2025.

Lara Symons

CEO

December 2024