Zeenab Khan, 03-26-2011, Blog #9 Topic: Crime, Posted: 5:15 PM

Parents: Student from Vermont missing in Syria

CNN world news stated that in Syria the U.S. embassy is looking/finding information on an American college student. The parents of this child say that authorities there held him while doing a demonstration. The student attended Middlebury College and was studying this spring in an Arabic program through Damascus University. The student’s father stated that more then likely he probably watched the protest, but he wouldn’t have participated in the protest. Why would someone just come and take the student? There has to be a reason to why this happened. Maybe the child was involved in some kind of criminal activity, so that’s why the authorities took him somewhere. The elder Root told CNN that they suspect the college student was picked up on the margin. The Syrian Embassy in Washington believed in a announcement Friday that it was just made alert of Mr. Pathik Root's condition and has been subsequent, very directly ever since. They said that they have been in contact with Mr. Root's parents, the state Senator, and the U.S. embassy in Syria. This is a regrettable occasion that they expect will be determined soon. An official of the United States has said that they have been in touch with Syrian authorities many times concerning reports that a U.S. citizen has been captured. I believe that crime has to be involved in order for the authorities to detain the college student. If crime was not involved then that is a kidnap case, which then is a crime dealing with the authorities. The Syrian authorities did not confirm that a U.S. citizen has been held.