**** français en bas ****
"That's the Azawad"*
"As long as we do not get jobs in NGOs*, nobody will be in peace. We take your property today, more will take your life before they also rob you of your property "
These are the words of the head of the army group who kidnapped us.
An hour before this, Monday, October 13, about 45 km from Timbuktu on the road south to Douentza, a Land Cruiser emerges from the bush to our left and chases us. On board four gunmen order us to stop in pulling a gun trigger. These individuals (all Malian Arab youth between maybe from 18 years to 35 years old. Only the group leader was careful to hide his face behind his turban; the three others operated openly.
They leave the vehicle brandishing weapons, ordered us out of our cars and make us ride in a van. They then return to the path by which they arrived. They will drive for more than an hour only stopping every 15 minutes to consult. They finally stop in a valley between trees. They ask us to get out of the car and sit on the ground. They then begin to search the car thoroughly , open our bags, emptying their contents on the ground; then they begin to search us one by one, taking whatever is valuable like all cell phones, radios, & computers. We ask their leader to let us keep at least our phones chips which he accepted. He even agreed to give us our personal belongings (except computers and phones). Before abandoning us on the spot, they grant us a water bottle and a 4 liter bottle of mineral water.
It was 13:00 hours when they left us; we began immediately start trying to find a village, hamlet or camp. So we walked from 13:00 hours in the heat to 20:00 hours to arrive at an Arab encampment located two miles from Tiboraguen on the road. But we were so exhausted we decided not to do these two little miles that separated us from the road and to sleep on site. Arabs of the camp welcomed us with lots of fresh & sour milk, and water. They also prepared a meal us to eat, and we spent the night there. The morning at six o'clock, we continued to the highway at Tiboraguen. At nine o'clock, a bus arrived from Douentza, and we took it to go back to Timbuktu.
We learned later that the vehicles were taken across the river at a ferry point and moved out into the desert for use by the bandits and Islamists.
That's what happened.
I thank God for his great compassion and protection he has given me during this very difficult day. I saw the hand of God at work through the support of each of my brothers and sisters who have not ceased to pray for me for our liberation and our return home. Thanks to each of you for the brotherly love shown in this situation, and for the living & brilliant testimony to those living outside.
I would like to assure your dear brothers and sisters that I did not take any unnecessary risks in this case. I have not tried to play the hero. I put myself in God's hands who I know will not abandon me. I lived this day as a test to pass. Indeed the previous week, all our pastors were at Sévaré for a workshop with the Open Doors ministry. I was left alone to provide teaching at the church. God put on my heart the following topics "Christian in a World of Hatred" for Bible study Thursday, "God Takes Care of his Children" for the prayer meeting, and "Build a Strong Christian Life on Christ, the Rock of our Faith" for the message Sunday.
When these bandits led us, I said in my heart, now is the time to put into practice what I have taught others! I was worried for a moment saying that if these bandits turned us over to the jihadists I might have trouble, because in my bag there was my Bible, my passport and identity card on which I am identified as a pastor. But this anxiety was quickly spent as I realized that our captors were "small" Arabs from Timbuktu area and all spoke Songhai. A lady next to me asked me if they're not going to kill us; I told her that no one was going to be killed. I began to pray and ask God to help us. God gave me the opportunity to reassure my fellow prisoners that nothing will happen to us, and God has been good for us. We were very tested, but we are alive and in good health, thank God.
Here is the list of what I lost that day: a computer, an Acer tablet, an xTera external hard drive, two digital voice recorders (the last was given to me just a month ago by the Rev. Nouh Yattara), two USB drives (30 GB and 16 GB), and radio, and all my money.
They leave the vehicle brandishing weapons, ordered us out of our cars and make us ride in a van. They then return to the path by which they arrived. They will drive for more than an hour only stopping every 15 minutes to consult. They finally stop in a valley between trees. They ask us to get out of the car and sit on the ground. They then begin to search the car thoroughly , open our bags, emptying their contents on the ground; then they begin to search us one by one, taking whatever is valuable like all cell phones, radios, & computers. We ask their leader to let us keep at least our phones chips which he accepted. He even agreed to give us our personal belongings (except computers and phones). Before abandoning us on the spot, they grant us a water bottle and a 4 liter bottle of mineral water.
It was 13:00 hours when they left us; we began immediately start trying to find a village, hamlet or camp. So we walked from 13:00 hours in the heat to 20:00 hours to arrive at an Arab encampment located two miles from Tiboraguen on the road. But we were so exhausted we decided not to do these two little miles that separated us from the road and to sleep on site. Arabs of the camp welcomed us with lots of fresh & sour milk, and water. They also prepared a meal us to eat, and we spent the night there. The morning at six o'clock, we continued to the highway at Tiboraguen. At nine o'clock, a bus arrived from Douentza, and we took it to go back to Timbuktu.
We learned later that the vehicles were taken across the river at a ferry point and moved out into the desert for use by the bandits and Islamists.
That's what happened.
I thank God for his great compassion and protection he has given me during this very difficult day. I saw the hand of God at work through the support of each of my brothers and sisters who have not ceased to pray for me for our liberation and our return home. Thanks to each of you for the brotherly love shown in this situation, and for the living & brilliant testimony to those living outside.
I would like to assure your dear brothers and sisters that I did not take any unnecessary risks in this case. I have not tried to play the hero. I put myself in God's hands who I know will not abandon me. I lived this day as a test to pass. Indeed the previous week, all our pastors were at Sévaré for a workshop with the Open Doors ministry. I was left alone to provide teaching at the church. God put on my heart the following topics "Christian in a World of Hatred" for Bible study Thursday, "God Takes Care of his Children" for the prayer meeting, and "Build a Strong Christian Life on Christ, the Rock of our Faith" for the message Sunday.
When these bandits led us, I said in my heart, now is the time to put into practice what I have taught others! I was worried for a moment saying that if these bandits turned us over to the jihadists I might have trouble, because in my bag there was my Bible, my passport and identity card on which I am identified as a pastor. But this anxiety was quickly spent as I realized that our captors were "small" Arabs from Timbuktu area and all spoke Songhai. A lady next to me asked me if they're not going to kill us; I told her that no one was going to be killed. I began to pray and ask God to help us. God gave me the opportunity to reassure my fellow prisoners that nothing will happen to us, and God has been good for us. We were very tested, but we are alive and in good health, thank God.
Here is the list of what I lost that day: a computer, an Acer tablet, an xTera external hard drive, two digital voice recorders (the last was given to me just a month ago by the Rev. Nouh Yattara), two USB drives (30 GB and 16 GB), and radio, and all my money.
GOD BLESS YOU.
PASTOR Abdoulaye.
*NGO = Non-Governmental Organisation, aka "charity" in the USA terms.
*Azawad = short-lived self-proclaimed independent state in the north of Mali run 2012-2013 by the Islamists and some Tuaregs.
ici in French:
« C’est ça l’Azawad »
« Tant qu’on ne nous donnera pas des emplois dans les ong, personne ne sera en paix. Nous on vous prend vos biens aujourd’hui, d’autres viendront qui vous prendrons vos vies avant de de vous dépouiller de vos biens »
Ces mots sont ceux du chef du groupe armée qui nous ont enlevé.
Une heure plutôt, ce lundi 13 octobre, à environ 45 km de Tombouctou sur la route Tombouctou-Douentza, une land cruiser surgit de la brousse à notre gauche et nous prend en chasse. A son bord quatre individus armés nous intiment l’ordre de nous arrêter en tirant un coup de feu. Ces individus (tous de jeunes arabes entre 16 et 19 ans pour les plus jeunes et 30 et 35 pour les plus âgés. Seul le chef de groupe a pris le soin de cacher son visage derrière son turban ; les trois autres opèrent a visages découverts. Ils sortent du véhicule armes au point, nous font descendre de nos deux voitures puis nous font monter dans une fourgonnette (comme celle de TNT). Ils reprennent ensuite le chemin par lequel ils sont arrivés. Ils rouleront pendant plus d’une heure de temps en s’arrêtant toutes les 15 minutes pour se consulter. Ils s’arrêtent enfin dans une vallée entre des arbres. Ils nous demandent de descendre de la voiture et de nous asseoir par terre. Ils commencent alors à fouiller les voitures de fond en comble, ouvrent les sacs en vidant leurs contenus par terre. Ils commencent ensuite à nous fouiller un a un, prenant tout ce que nous avons comme argent. Ils récupèrent tous les téléphones portables, les ordinateurs (en tous cas tout ce qui est électroniques). Nous demandons à leur chef de nous laisser au moins nos puces de téléphones, ce qu’il accepta. Il accepta même de nous rendre nos effets personnels (excepté les ordinateurs et les téléphones). Avant de nous abandonner sur place, ils nous remettent un bidon d’eau de 4 litre et une bouteille d’eau minérale.
Il était 13 heures quand ils nous quittèrent ; nous nous mimes immédiatement en marche pour essayer de trouver un village, hameau ou campement. Nous marchâmes ainsi de 13 heures jusqu’à 20 heures pour arriver a un campement arabe situé à deux km de tiboraguen sur la route. Mais on était si épuisé qu’on a décidé de ne pas faire ces deux petits km qui nous séparaient de la route et de dormir sur place. Les arabes de ce campement nous accueillirent avec beaucoup de lait frais et caillé. Ils nous apportèrent de l’eau. Ils nous préparent aussi à manger. Nous passâmes là la nuit. Le matin dès Six heures, nous poursuivîmes notre route pour rejoindre la grande voie à tiboraguen. A neuf heures, un bus arriva de Douentza, nous l’empruntâmes pour rentrer à Tombouctou.
Voilà ce qui s’est passé.
Je rends grâce Dieu pour sa grande compassion et la protection qu’il m’a accordé au cours de cette journée très difficile. J’ai vu la main de Dieu à l’œuvre grâce au soutien de chacun de mes frères et sœurs qui n’ont cessé de prier pour moi jusqu’à notre libération et notre retour à la maison. Merci à chacun de vous pour l’amour fraternelle manifesté dans cette situation, témoignage vivant et brillant pour ceux du dehors.
Je voudrais vos assurer chers frères et sœurs que je n’ai pris aucun risque inutile dans cette affaire. Je n’ai pas cherché à jouer les héros. Je m’en suis remis à Dieu qui je sais ne m’abandonnera pas. J’ai vécu cette journée comme une épreuve à passer. En effet la semaine précédente, tous nos pasteurs étaient en atelier à sévaré avec Portes ouvertes. Je suis resté seul pour donner l’enseignement au niveau de l’église. Dieu à mis sur mon cœur les thèmes suivants « chrétien dans un monde de haine » pour l’étude biblique du jeudi, « Dieu prend soin de ses enfants » pour la réunion de prière et « bâtir une vie chrétienne solide sur Christ, le rocher de notre foi » pour le message du dimanche. Au moment où ces bandits nous amenaient, j’ai dit dans mon cœur, voici venu le moment de mettre en pratique ce que j’ai enseigné aux autres!
Un moment j’étais inquiet en me disant que si ces bandits nous remettaient aux djihadistes je pourrais avoir des difficultés car dans mon sac, il y’avait ma Bible, mon passeport, et ma carte d’identité sur lesquelles je suis identifié comme pasteur. Mais cette inquietude est vite passé dès que je me suis rappelé que nos ravisseurs étaient tous de 'petits' arabes de Tombouctou et qui parlaient tous songhay. Une dame à côté de moi m’a demandé s’ils ne vont pas nous tuer, je lui ai dit que personne ne sera tué. J’ai commencé à prier et à demander à Dieu de nous secourir. Dieu m’a donné l’occasion de rassurer mes compagnons de captivité que rien ne nous arrivera et Dieu nous a été favorable. Nous avons été très éprouvés mais nous sommes en vie et en bonne santé, Dieu soit loué.
Voici la liste de ce que j’ai perdu en cette journée : un ordinateur, une tablette acer, un disque dure externe d’1 Tera, deux dictaphones numériques (le dernier m’a été offert il y’a un mois par le pasteur Nouh Yattara) deux clés USB (30 GB et 16 GB) et un poste radio plus tout mon argent.
QUE DIEU VOUS BENISSE.
PASTEUR Abdoulaye.
