Kidnapping The Great Commission

May 2012 • Lockton Companies

david a. jonesVice President 805.660.1182

djones@lockton.com

L O C K T O N C O M P A N I E S

A version of this content, “Missionary Kidnappings on the Rise”, appeared in the May 2012 Edition of the Church Executive, www.churchexecutive.com and on www.christiannewswire.com, May 1, 2012.

The Sad Reality Today’s Missionaries Face

As politically charged, economically depressed governments across the world wage war on drugs and black market trades, criminals are quietly advancing the front of another lucrative, illegal industry. Kidnapping, including extortion and detention, is now a global epidemic.

Kidnapping as a business is so flush with profit that some countries’ law enforcement agencies, particularly in Mexico and Latin America, actually kidnap as a side source of income. Consequently, kidnappings in Mexico increased 317 percent since 2006, according to InSight. Latin America’s kidnapping business grew 20 percent last year, according to Chartis Insurance Company’s Crises Management Division in Philadelphia, while other hot spots are growing 15 to 20 percent annually.

In the last decade, kidnappers have expanded their sights beyond multinational corporate employees to missionaries from mission agencies, religious and higher education institutions, and church groups. Missionary kidnappings around the globe now account for almost half of reportable cases, a 100 percent increase over the last five years.

About the Author:David A. Jones is Vice President at Lockton Companies, the world’s largest privately owned, independent insurance and risk management broker. With more than 16 years in the industry, he also served as a risk and finance manager for various Fortune 500 companies. He holds an M.B.A. and the designations of Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU). David has been published in or contributed to more than a dozen international trade journals and professional magazines.

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The exponential increase in this class of kidnapping is a result of two factors. First, relief organizations are pulling out of dangerous regions where kidnappers sought many of their victims, thereby reducing income for criminal organizations and forcing them to target alternative income sources: missionaries. Second, authorities are increasingly abetting kidnappers’ business in weaker-

government countries like Haiti, Ecuador and Egypt (major mission fields), further enabling the malice of kidnapping.

Missionaries are easier targets than multinational corporate employees traveling on business for several reasons. First, obvious language barriers make missionaries more vulnerable, particularly when traveling without a translator or cultural liaison. Second, short-term missionaries travel with 90-day visa turnarounds. When coupled with deliberately slow court proceedings, unlike the United States’ Sixth Amendment guaranteeing a speedy trial, time is limited for court testimony against kidnappers, lessening or removing their criminal penalty that would discourage further kidnapping. Third, and most notable, a lack of comprehensive risk management training on how to act and react on unfamiliar foreign soil makes missionaries, particularly short-term commissioned missionaries, prime targets. In contrast, multinational corporations often send translators and cultural experts abroad with their traveling employees, as well as security teams to perform a full reconnaissance several months before an actual trip. Those same security teams then often travel with the multinational corporate employees.

Kidnappings of missionary children are also climbing at an unprecedented pace, with India leading the statistics for all types of child kidnappings. According to The National (July 8, 2011), 802 child kidnappings were reported in the first three months of 2011 in New Delhi, India, a 160 percent increase from 2008. In Colombia, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary guerilla organization which funds itself principally through ransom kidnappings among other things, finds children and teens are easier captures, according to missionaries of these FARC-laden countries. Ironically, kidnappers in Colombia are often children themselves when they first join the organization.

Hot Spots for Missionary Kidnappings

Warm Spots for Missionary Kidnappings

Mexico

� Mexico City

� Monterrey

� Ciudad Juarez

� Tijuana

Venezuela

� Maracaibo

� Caracas

� Border With Colombia

Colombia

� Barranquilla

� Medellin

� Sucumbios

Brazil

� Sao Paulo

� Rio de Janeiro

Central America

� Guatemala

� Honduras

� Nicaragua

� El Salvador

Africa & West Africa

� Somalia

� Nigeria

� South Africa

� Zimbabwe

� Ivory Coast

� Mali

South America

� Ecuador

� Peru

Asia

� Philippines (Jolo &

Mindanao)

� India

� Pakistan

� Afghanistan

Middle East

� Iran

� Iraq

� Egypt

� Source: C.V. Starr & Co., Inc. and Hiscox

May 2012 • Lockton Companies

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These militant groups do not necessarily study and strategically select their targets. They may view any missionary who has the ability to travel abroad as wealthy enough to extort. Furthermore, they may go after other types of assets when cash is not readily available. In fact, in a recent kidnapping in Colombia, according to Colombia Reports, armed men pursued a fisherman’s boat and fishing equipment. Also, Somalia pirates continue their aggressive campaign in pursuing cargo, evident by the recent hijack of the Italian cargo ship Enrico Levoli. Pirates sought caustic soda used for paper and textiles as valuable plunder to leverage ransom from Marnavi, an Italian shipping company. Finally, from a well-known case in October 1999, a missionary to Togo West Africa was brutally murdered only for his truck.

While the vast majority of kidnappings are financially motivated, ideological and political agendas motivate too. In South Korea in 2007, The Christian Post reported Taliban militants seized 23 South Korean short-term missionaries from a bus traveling to an Afghanistan hospital. The Taliban were leveraging South Korea’s withdrawal of 200 personnel from Afghanistan.

Earlier that same year, the Deseret News reported four missionaries were abducted while serving in Nigeria. Nigerian separatists used this kidnapping and others like it to protest for a greater share of Nigeria’s oil revenue for Nigerians.

According to CAAC-MRPO in 2005, 80-90 percent of kidnapping cases go unreported. This is often due to fear of police connivance. (The average payout of those unreported cases is only a few thousand U.S. dollars.) The average ransom for reported cases is $62,071, but settlements often are 10-20 percent of the original demand. Negotiations require experienced negotiators and ample information. If the ransom is small and late, the kidnapper may be discouraged from kidnapping again.

Most missionary-sending organizations have strict policies against ransom payments to discourage appearing as a bank for criminals. Furthermore, in some countries, like Colombia, ransom is not permitted, and organizations that pay ransom will be banished from the country. Organizations that do pay ransom as a business decision typically do so quietly within their organizations and unbeknownst to their members

These militant groups

do not necessarily study

and strategically select

their targets.

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for reasons of protection. Some agencies’ stance on not paying ransom, like that of the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (ABWE), serving 70 countries, affords some protection to its members simply because the militant groups know ransoms will not be paid by the organization. This public knowledge is often enough to discourage kidnapping. Glenn Priddy, director of finance services and former missionary for ABWE, who now serves on ABWE’s crises management team, said, “We are blessed an adverse event like kidnapping hasn’t occurred to my knowledge at least for the last 20 years.” Notwithstanding, Priddy continuously refines the agency’s critical response policies and maintains contracts with outside consulting agencies in the event a kidnapping does occur.

Missionaries Can Manage Their Risk

The vigor that missionaries have for their pursuits propels them directly into harm’s way, often into areas that are off-limits to relief aid organizations. Consider missionaries Nathan and Lindsey Breyer of Reading, Pennsylvania, who left for Colombia in early 2012 with their two toddlers. When asked if they feared for their family’s health and welfare, they responded, “If it happens, it is because God allowed it. Missionaries’ faith in the field is tested constantly; without faith in God’s sovereign plan for us and our children, we cannot effectively share God’s unlimited grace. The kidnappers may, in fact, be our mission field.”

Limiting Your Risks

Approximately 200 kidnapping cases, including non-missionary-related, occur annually in Colombia, according to Control Risks. In the first six months of 2011, Columbia’s kidnappings increased 30 percent, according to InSight. The Breyers learned, though, that kidnapping can be prevented, according to the counsel of 11 other families in Colombia, their sending agency,

and security experts. Understanding the dominant religion of a country, and whether that country is war-torn or controlled by an extremist group like the FARC, and being smart about the environment is critical to survival.

“Travel with a group, and wear clothing local to the host country removed of U.S. trademarks,” said the Breyers. Conceal all monetary transactions. Reduce information about oneself, and keep conversations short and brief, unless with a trusted party or authority. The Breyers added, “Most Americans look American despite their attempts to fit in. It is imperative travelers be aware of their environment, police buildings, public forums, and others watching them.”

Despite being extremely vigilant of their surroundings, missionaries still succumb to the hazards of foreign countries. Phil Snyder of Zeeland, Michigan, was abducted in Haiti during a mission trip for GLOW Ministries in 2005, the Holland Sentinel reports. Snyder planned to return to the U.S. with a Haitian child for eye surgery. Snyder, the child and his father were ambushed on a public road by kidnappers. They shot Snyder in the shoulder and abducted the party. The initial ransom was $300,000, but the kidnappers settled for a lesser undisclosed amount, returning Snyder to Michigan five days later. Snyder, knowing the risks and experiencing a kidnapping firsthand, still traveled to Haiti two times within seven months following the incident. The risk of kidnapping for most missionaries is considered par for the course.

Preparing for the Worst

Even after following all the best practices, abduction may occur, and missionaries’ reaction to the situation can often save their lives. In Gavin De Becker’s best-seller “Gift of Fear,” he speaks of unconscious awareness. One’s mind will sense danger before the body actually processes

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a threat. If a threat is overlooked or the subsequent response too slow, De Becker suggests instinct will feed directions faster than one’s mind can think about a response behavior. Immediate cognition will keep the body calm, or cause the abductee to connect with the abductor on a personal level until a moment of flight or fight can occur. De Becker says, “Listen to your intuition. Listen to the wisdom that comes from having heard it all (from TV news or magazine articles) by listening to yourself.”

Fortunately, it is rare an abduction results in the death of the victim. In fact, most deaths related to abduction are due to an attempted rescue. South and Central America kidnappers tend to treat their religious hostages better, given the religious culture of the countries. The same holds true for Mexico, where only 8 percent of kidnappings end in fatality, according to Clayton Consultants , Inc. Shockingly, “some hostages are even respected and treated better than members of the abductee’s insurgent group of criminals, who believe their actions are unpardonable in the eyes of God compared to a missionary’s work for the same God,” said Luke Hibshman, a youth pastor and short-term mission leader in Geigertown, Pennsylvania, with High Point Baptist Chapel. “This paradigm is not applicable to countries in Asia and the Middle East, where death is far more likely for religious proponents,” adds Hibshman.

Protecting Assets and Providing Relief to Victims

Reliance on the local embassy, the FBI and the sending organization’s crises management teams are often not enough. Kidnap, Ransom, Detention, and Extortion insurance (K&R) is one popular insurance product that provides services and expense reimbursement for most kidnap, extortion and detention situations. The underwriters of this insurance product who have seen

a crescendo in applications over the last eight years are now seeing a spike in requests for coverage. The sudden increase is due to recent high-profile lawsuits that have underlined sending organizations’ responsibility for adequate protection, information and response to a kidnapping.

The insurance not only reimburses the insured for the ransom amount, but also provides expert negotiating strategists, security consultants and interpreters, all which may cost an average of $85,000 per incident, according to Lloyd’s of London. Additional risk management services offered are qualified counselors and medical rehabilitation facilities for when victims return stateside, as many have medical, cosmetic, psychiatric and dental impairments. The coverage also provides defense and indemnity to church and mission agencies from family or estate lawsuits. Finally, in addition to health, consultant and repatriation costs, the policy provides loss of income or receipts resulting from the incident. It is not uncommon for sending organizations to maintain their moral position of not paying ransom, yet uphold their legal duty of care and stewardship, thus purchase the nonransom coverages and services provided by the policy.

A K&R policy’s ransom amount limit typically is determined by the person or sending organization’s net worth, since the policy only reimburses ransom paid and will not front the ransom demand. In some cases, banks will provide loans if the church or mission agency is deemed creditworthy. The premium starts around $1,000 and is based on net worth of the insured, location, profile and loss experience. K&R insurance is affordable, particularly considering there are many expenses, including medical, evacuation, public relations and security consulting, included in the coverage. “It is common sense to have a policy,” says Logan Payne, a former missionary who now works for a global risk

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management firm in Los Angeles. “Insurance coverage can offer more than mere financial compensation for the deaths and injuries of staff members; it can provide an exceptional opportunity to establish a proper security management system under a coherent, rational and economical framework,” according to the Harvard Human Rights Journal Vol. 19, 2006 .

Since the mere knowledge of an insurance policy is a lure for any militant group, it is imperative that the insurance policy be kept private. “This could frustrate parents of their humanitarian teenagers, not knowing there would be such a policy to assist in the event their child was abducted on a mission trip to a country like Peru,” says Hibshman. “At the same time, the parents of these teens have identified with the risks themselves and wouldn’t encourage their child to travel to an unsafe place if they didn’t feel God was in control, or if they didn’t consider traveling there themselves,” adds Hibshman.

An insurance policy is no substitute for applying good judgment, listening to intuition, and staying abreast of all potential risks in the host country. Be aware that crimes of opportunity will happen and prepare a response ahead of time for when an incident occurs. Wise missionary-sending organizations manage their risk best through the following:

� Research the political climate often.

� Understand the religious tolerance of the host country thoroughly.

� Determine the need for an insurance policy to assist with expenses and expert services.

Managing kidnapping risk is a continuous process. A short-term, first-time missionary or a 30-year veteran should continually assess threats, vulnerabilities and consequences, taking appropriate action to reduce or to eliminate those risks, while staying vigilant to their host country’s cultural changes.

Kidnap and Ransom Insurance Recommended as Missionary Kidnappings Increase, Says Author in Church Executive Magazine (Editor: Ron Kenner)

PHOENIX, May 1, 2012/Christian Newswire/Missionary

kidnappings are on the rise, says insurance company vice

president David A. Jones, and churches and ministries

are advised to consider taking out kidnap and ransom

insurance.

“As governments across the world wage war on drugs

and black market trades, criminals are quietly advancing

the front of another lucrative, illegal industry. Kidnapping,

including extortion and detention, is now a global

epidemic, growing 15 to 20 percent annually in hot spots

such as Mexico, Venezuela, Columbia and Brazil,” Jones

writes in the May issue of Church Executive, a business

magazine on leadership and management in larger and

megachurches.

“In the last decade, kidnappers have expanded their

sights beyond multinational corporate employees to

missionaries dispatched from mission agencies, religious

and higher education institutions and church groups,”

Jones reports. “Missionary kidnappings around the globe

now account for almost half of reported cases, a 100

percent incase over the last five years.”

Jones is a vice president with Lockton Companies,

a privately owned, independent insurance and risk

management broker. He says that missionaries are easy

targets for a number of reasons. “Obvious language

barriers make missionaries more vulnerable, particularly

when traveling without a translator or cultural liaison,” he

says.

“Most missionary-sending organizations have strict policies

against ransom payments to discourage appearing as a

bank for criminals,” Jones says. “Organizations that do pay

ransom as a business decision typically do so quietly,” he

says, noting that the vast majority of kidnapping cases go

May 2012 • Lockton Companies

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unreported.

The Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, that

serves 70 countries, “affords some protection to its

members simply because militant groups know that

ransoms will not be paid by the organization,” Jones says.

“This public knowledge is often enough to discourage

kidnapping.”

Relying on the local embassy, the FBI and the sending

organization’s crisis team are often not enough, Jones

says. “Kidnap ransom detention and extortion insurance

(K&R insurance) can provide protection and relief to

victims,” he says. “The insurance not only reimburses

the insured for the ransom amount, but also provides

expert negotiating strategists, security consultants and

interpreters, all of which may cost an average of $85,000

per incident, according to Lloyd’s of London,” says Jones.

Jones does say that an insurance policy is no substitute

for applying good judgment, listening to intuition, and

staying abreast of all potential risks in the host country.

For the Church Executive article to go to:

churchexecutive.com/archives/missionary-kidnappings-on-the-rise

Christian Newswire

Sources:

Graham, Ronan.“Report: Kidnappings Increase Over 300% in Mexico”. InSight, August 8, 2011. www.havoscope.com/black-market/human-trade/kidnap-and-ransom

Chartis Worldsource Private Kidnap and Ransom/Extortion

Chamberlain, Gethin.“One Family’s Anguish Amid India’s Child Abduction Epidemic”. The National, July 8, 2011. www.havoscope.com/black-market/human-trade/kidnap-and-ransom

Vu, Michelle.“Taliban Re-Extends Deadline for Korean Christian Hostages”. The Christian Post, July 23, 2007. www.christianpost.com/news/taliban-re-extends-deadline-for-korean-christian-hostages-28572

Moore, Carrie A.“LSD Church Pursuing Release of Kidnapped Missionaries.” Deseret News, February 27, 2007. www.deseretnews.com/article/print/660197574/lds-church-pursuing-release-of-kidnapped-missionaries.html

Wilder CIC, Trey & Lipton, Brett. “Top 10 Kidnap Rated Countries with Ransom Stats.” Castle Rock Global Insurance, Castle Rock Global, Corp. Citizens Action Against Crime (CAAC) and the Movement for the Restoration of Peace and Order (MRPO)-cited by Castle Rock Global Insurance. 3 Apr. 2008. www.castlerockinternational.com/news/casualty-insurance/kidnap-ransom-extortion/104-top-10-kidnap-rated-countries-with-ransom-stats

“Response to Broker Briefing, January 20, 2011.” Control Risks. Power Point slide 6

McDermott, Jeremy “Kidnappings on the Rise is Columbia: Rebels Target Oil Workers.” InSight, august 5, 2011. www.havoscope.com/black-market/human-trade/kidnap-and-ransom/

Gonsior, Jeremy. “Kidnap Recap.” Holland Sentinel, January 7, 2009.

Garcia, Roel & Walton, Beth. “Former Captive to Bring Child Home.” December 4, 2005. Garcia, Roel. “Return to Haiti.” June 16, 2006.

De Becker, Gavin. The Gift Of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us From Violence. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1997. Pages 74-75

Clayton Consultants Inc. “Kidnapping Spikes.” MexicoRiskFlash. September, 2008 Page 1

Bruderlein, Claude & Gassmann, Pierre. “Managing Security Risks in Hazardous Missions: The Challenges of Securing United Nations Access to Vulnerable Groups.” Harvard Human Rights Journal/Volume 19, 2006 pages 90-91.

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