Some, like Ms Bettancourt, have been lucky enough to be rescued from the clutches of outlawed Maoist gangs. Others, like this blogger, still hope to to gain freedom from them, wishing that the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilians during War is still in force in 2009 Western Europe.
ARTICLE 52
No contract, agreement or regulation shall impair the right of any worker, whether voluntary or not and wherever he may be, to apply to the representatives of the Protecting Power in order to request the said Power's intervention.
All measures aiming at creating unemployment or at restricting the opportunities offered to workers in an occupied territory, in order to induce them to work for the Occupying Power, are prohibited.