Matt Bush, FISM News
On Oct. 16, 17 missionaries serving in Haiti were kidnapped and taken hostage by the notorious Haitian gang 400 Mawozo. Shortly after the kidnapping a ransom of $17 million was set by the head of that gang with the threat that if the ransom was not paid, the hostages would die.
As of December 16, exactly two months after the kidnapping took place, every victim is now home in America, although the accounts of how they got there have been unclear.
On November 21, two missionaries were released due to health issues as a sign of good faith by the kidnappers. In Haiti, history shows that kidnappings are rarely emotional and almost always business transactions with the goal being the ransom money. When the money is paid, usually the captives are released.
On December 6, three more missionaries were released, though the reasons behind this release were uncertain. Recently however, officials for Christian Aid Ministries (CAM) have said that an unidentified donor paid a ransom prior to their release.
Phil Mast, a CAM executive board member who had traveled to Haiti after the kidnapping occurred, spoke of the donor in his testimony at Mt. Moriah Mennonite Church in Crossville, TN on Dec. 26, as have some of the hostages in similar testimonies.
The organization said that while they had refused to pay a ransom out of principle, they turned negotiations over to a third-party donor that was unaffiliated with the ministry. This led to a payment, the amount of which has not been released.
After the ransom was paid, however, Mast says that the 400 Mawozo gang reneged on the deal, only releasing 3 prisoners, reportedly in an attempt to free their leader who is currently in prison.
That sets the stage for the escape of the remaining 12 captive missionaries. On December 16, almost two weeks after the three missionaries were released, the remaining 12 got away, but for a couple of days there was no word on how they made it home.
Shortly after reaching American soil, the 12 missionaries recounted a miraculous story of pushing through the door of the room in which they were being held captive, walking through bush-like conditions, and ultimately finding a phone and calling for help. There are now numerous testimonies and articles regarding their release, including official releases from Christian Aid Ministries.
For some in the media and around the world, however, the story did not add up. It was difficult for many to believe that the guards at the door just happened to leave the door open or that the missionaries were able to walk 10 miles without being noticed.
A story from the Yonkers Times cites an unnamed source they refer to as “Emma” with intimate knowledge of the situation, who said the hostages were in fact freed and the “escape” was permitted by the gang, possibly as a result of a ransom payment being paid. Emma said the gang purposefully left the door unlocked and unattended and had told people in the area to leave the missionaries alone as they “escaped.”
The missionaries maintain their story, while the sources close to the story in Haiti maintain theirs as well. It is also possible that the conflicting elements of the story may be due to perspective and the knowledge each individual had of the full situation. Often in hostage situations like this one, the truth never fully comes to light.
What we do know is that 17 missionaries were kidnapped at gunpoint, including children and babies. We know that 12 of them spent two months in terrible conditions, scared for their lives, and looking into the eyes of people who very well could kill them at any moment. We know that they were freed by sneaking out of a door and walking a long way to safety. We know that God protected them for those two months and brought them home to their families in His sovereignty.
In the words of CAM’s Haiti Country Supervisor Phil Mast, “I always come back to this simple childlike faith in what I believe God would have His people to do, and I find rest there. And for me that was the miracle; that God did this. It wasn’t what man did. It was what God did as His people turned their hearts to Him and were ready to accept and to move when He called them to.”