By Sandra Elliot

11/15/2016 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern) – Over the summer, International Christian Concern (ICC) published a series of stories covering the persistent and devastating string of kidnappings plaguing the Christian communities of Egypt. Historically, kidnapping has been a choice form of torment used by extremists to intimidate and control the Christian populations in especially rural areas. Often these kidnappings start with the suspicious disappearance of Christian individuals.

Recently, ICC spoke with another five Christian families who have reported the disappearance of family members, likely to this reviled persecution trend. Fathers, wives, sisters, and young children are all among this updated list of victims.

The following are the personal accounts of five loved ones who have recently disappeared in Egypt.

Camellia’s Story

Camellia used to visit her uncle and grandmother once a week. On June 16, a normal Thursday afternoon in Boulaq Dakrour, the 15-year-old set out to see her relatives at 1:00 p.m.

“At 2:00 p.m., I received a call from my brother asking me if Camellia had come to my home or not,” Camellia’s uncle told ICC. “He [Camellia’s father] had tried calling her many times on her cell phone, but it was shut off.”

After talking to her friends and searching the local hospitals, the family went to file a police report. That was three months ago.

“We don’t know if she is still alive or dead,” her uncle told ICC. “We went to the police station many times after we filed the report to follow up with them but none of them have helped us or assured us. We accuse them of apathy towards our case.”

Emad and John’s Story

On Wednesday, June 29, Emad and his son were driving form Mallawi city to Dairut city. Emad lives in Cairo with his family and works in the water pump industry. He and his son were driving a delivery to Mallawi when they were reportedly taken. They are believed to have been intercepted in Sheikh Hassan village where Emad’s truck was later recovered.

“I received a call form Emad’s wife telling me that she had tried to call Emad several times but his cell phone was shut off,” Emad’s cousin told ICC. “I then called the customer in Dairut to ask about Emad, but he told me Emad hadn’t come yet.”

Relatives immediately set out to find Emad and John. They soon found his truck with all the water pump supplies and goods still inside. They reported the disappearance to the Mallawi police station, but have heard nothing since then.

“They are still missing till now,” Emad’s cousin explained. “We ask all people to pray for their safe return.”

Nada’s Story

A mother of two from Alexandria was reportedly kidnapped on her way home from dropping her son off at pre-school. Nada left her home at 8:30 a.m. At 10:00 a.m., her cell phone was shut off and by 12:00 p.m. she still had yet to come home.

“I immediately went to John’s nursery pre-school to investigate the matter,” Michael, Nada’s husband, told ICC. “They told me that my wife arrived at the nursery pre-school with our son at 9:00 a.m., left him, and went as usual.”

After dropping their son off at their grandparents’ home, Michael went out looking for Nada. He checked with her friends, at hospitals, and the local police station where he filed a formal complaint. Shortly after, Michael told ICC that he had received a tip that a man named Ahmed Samir Mahrous was responsible for the kidnapping of his 26-year-old wife.

“Police have done nothing to help us till now, the man hasn’t been arrested and my wife hasn’t returned yet,” Michael told ICC. “I urge officials to look on my two innocent children who haven’t stopped crying on the loss of their mother. Please intervene to return her to us.”

Michael has accused local police of apathy and collusion in the case of his abducted wife.

Marian’s Story

On August 5, Marian, a Christian girl from Minya, disappeared in Abu Qurqas city. The circumstances surrounding this case remain a mystery. Khalaf, Marian’s father, told ICC that the family reported her disappearance to the Abu Qurqas police station.

“The prosecution asked the police to make investigations about the matter and its circumstances, but it was not investigated since the date of her disappearance,” he told ICC.

Marian’s family can only wait and hope that the police will choose to investigate report number 6142, the four digits assigned to their 20-year-old daughter.

Magdy’s Story

On Monday, August 8, Magdy was taken by a Muslim mob. Soon after, the group contacted his family, demanding a ransom of 50,000 Egyptian Pounds.

“We immediately headed to the Biba police station, filed a complaint and told the police about the call we received and the demanded ransom,” Magdy’s uncle told ICC. “They promised us that they would do their best to arrest the kidnappers and release Magdy soon.”

On Sunday, August 14, the abductors killed Magdy and threw his body into the Nile because his family was too poor to pay the demanded ransom.

“We received a call from the police telling us that they found a corpse for a young man in the Nile and asked us to come and recognize the man,” Magdy’s uncle continued. “We immediately headed there and choked when we saw the corpse was that of Magdy, he was stabbed several times in his body.”

Magdy was an aspiring painter.

An Ever Growing Trend

Christians make up 10 percent of Egypt’s population. As citizens, they are entitled to equal protection under the law. However, they often do not receive it. The kidnapping trend has revealed time and time again the widespread indifference on the side of local police authorities towards Egypt’s Christian minority.

Unfortunately, these kidnappings and disappearances are not isolated cases. These are five individuals in a long list of Christian victims that is ever growing in Egypt. Pray for those in captivity, pray for the families left behind, and pray for the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators to end.