World

A town united, brings Lindhout home for the holidays

by Jessica Tucker | December 18, 2009 at 10:06 am

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Back in Alberta, a transformed Amanda Lindhout thanks all who worked to end her Somalia ordeal

Only a few weeks after the release of Amanda Lindhout and Nigel Brennan from their captivity in the hands of Somalian kidnappers, pictures have been released of a smiling Amanda finally safely at home in front of her family Christmas tree.

Once word got out to the public of the kidnapping and ransom demands, many feared for the pairs safe return. According the The Star, during the time of the pairs captivity the family felt the internet to be one of their worst enemies as they did not want any information on their efforts at home to be made available to the captors.

Fundraisers were held, but people learned of them only by word-of-mouth. Local businesses donated items for auctions that were always silent. Only a few knew how much was raised and no one asked questions about how much was needed.

Little did we know that while the world wondered, one small town in Alberta, Canada was secretively launching a massive silent fundraiser in hopes of raising the money requested by the captors.

One government source said the price for Lindhout's release once dropped down to $28,000 but before the Brennan and Lindhout families could get that amount to the kidnappers, the price suddenly soared again to $250,000.

Just in time for the holidays, in relation to every thing else going on in the world at the moment, this story of people uniting together for one purpose is such a fresh breathe of air.

May this Christmas and holiday season be exceptional for Amanda, her family and the town of Sylvan, Alberta.