Dutch aid worker freed in Russia

[Popmartijn]

Hello,

For a long time this aid worker (for Doctors Without Borders) was held hostage somewhere in Dachestan. Today he was finally free (set free? rescued?).
From the BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3617609.stm

Dutch aid worker freed in Russia

A Dutch medical aid worker taken hostage by gunmen near Chechnya in August 2002 has been released.

Arjan Erkel, of the relief organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), was freed in the southern Russian province of Dagestan.

...

IIRC, even Angelina Jolie (out of her function as UN ambassador) held a plea to rescue him last year. I guess Lara Croft wasn't on duty then.

C ya!

Marty

[beli]

Kewl. Thats good news. Why do you call the organisation Doctors Without Borders? I noticed the Yanks do that to. We call em Médecins Sans Frontières

Or at least attempt to. Its more like "Medicines Sands Fronteas"

But we try.

[FizzingWhizzbees]

That's really good news.

Originally posted by beli
Why do you call the organisation Doctors Without Borders? I noticed the Yanks do that to. We call em Médecins Sans Frontières

Yep, they're MSF here too. I don't understand why Americans call them something different...maybe they think people won't understand the real name or something. Any Americans want to explain?

[beli]

Where are you Fizz? Europe? I actually thought you were Australian because of your Choirgirl Hotel. Figured it was a Chisel reference.

[Angela Harlem]

Fizz is from the land of the beautiful accents where people sound like they're singing (don't think this is related to the choirgirl hotel though is it?) - Wales.

This is great news for this aid worker.

[beli]

Originally posted by Angela Harlem
Fizz is from the land of the beautiful accents where people sound like they're singing

Ah, Dublin then. I sit next to a woman from Wales and the amount of people who ask her if shes Irish, INCLUDING Irish people sends her insane.

[verte76]

Originally posted by FizzingWhizzbees
That's really good news.

Yep, they're MSF here too. I don't understand why Americans call them something different...maybe they think people won't understand the real name or something. Any Americans want to explain?

It's an "Americanization" of the name, which usually just means an anglicization. It's just easier for us to say and we like organizational names to speak to us, and most of us have little if any familiarity with French.

[Rono]

Well, if Popmartijn would say "Artsen zonder grenzen", nobody would understand it,....

Good news

[FizzingWhizzbees]

Yes, I'm from Wales...not so sure that my accent is that beautiful though, although almost everyone else in this country has a nice accent. My "Choirgirl Hotel" location is just a reference to a Tori Amos album, evidently putting where I live in the location box was far too simple for me.

[beli]

Originally posted by verte76


It's an "Americanization" of the name, which usually just means an anglicization. It's just easier for us to say and we like organizational names to speak to us, and most of us have little if any familiarity with French.

Most Australians are monolingual - which doesnt include neither French nor English.

We just blunder through French words - or, in this case, say MSF.

[beli]

Fizz, your not the only one. Most people around here dont put their location in. Im forever trying to work out roughly where people are from from the little time thingie under the location.

And Im not very good at it

[DrTeeth]

Originally posted by Popmartijn
For a long time this aid worker (for Doctors Without Borders) was held hostage somewhere in Dachestan. Today he was finally free (set free? rescued?).

Hehe, interesting to see it took a new Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs to get this guy back. I hope the old one doesn't hold an important position anymore. Oops, wait a minute...