Returning unharmed after spending five days in the heart of a clash between French troops and residents of the Ivory Coast, Roscoe Howard, an associate secretary of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, and also secretary of its North American region, t
Returning unharmed after spending five days in the heart of a clash between French troops and residents of the Ivory Coast, Roscoe Howard, an associate secretary of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, and also secretary of its North American region, told his story to colleagues at the church’s headquarters on Nov. 15. Howard said he appreciates both God’s protection and the kindness of others in the midst of crisis.
“I learned something about humanity” during the experience, Howard said. “In a crisis, there are people who help each other.” He added, “The Lord did protect us.”
Howard was one of several Adventist world church executives attending business meetings in Abidjan when fighting erupted. Other regional church leaders—remained in Abidjan for a few more days before being evacuated to their home countries.
According to Howard, the siege of their hotel, which eventually became a command post for French Special Forces troops, had its origins on Nov. 6, following an earlier confrontation between Ivorian military and French peacekeeping troops. Nine French peacekeepers and an American civilian died when the Ivorian military attacked. France retaliated with an air strike that wiped out the tiny air force of the Ivory Coast.
Believing that retaliation was the initial wave of an effort by France to depose the country’s government, thousands of residents poured into the streets, protesting French actions and looking for French people to harm. Howard watched the swelling crowd of protesters approaching the hotel, in a line that stretched back to downtown Abidjan. The presence of French troops provided guests additional protection. Howard was able to capture scenes of the uprising using a camera built into his cell phone.
While Howard, Ray Wahlen, special assistant to the world church treasurer, and Goodwill Nthani, an employee of Adventist Risk Management’s office in Zaire, were at the Intercontinental Hotel in Abidjan, Gerald Karst, a general vice president of the world church was staying with friends in another part of the city. Karst, was evacuated and is now in Johannesburg, South Africa on church business. Also evacuated via airlift was Erkki Haapasalo, former president of the church in Finland, who had just been installed as regional president for the church, based in The Gambia.
Howard said a succession of miracles enabled him and Wahlen to leave the strife-torn country. First, a French soldier got the men on a list for evacuation, and then room was found on an American Embassy-chartered plane. When embassy staffers said they needed U.S. $350 each, in cash, for Wahlen and Howard to fly out, someone whom Howard had never met before offered a quick loan.
The regional Adventist leaders assembled in Abidjan and, though restricted in local movement, were able to complete their annual business meetings. The church compound remained in part because it sits about 70 feet (approximately 21 meters) from the presidential palace, which locals zealously guarded.
The effects of a five-day confinement eased when Howard and Wahlen’s flight to Accra, Ghana, lifted off from Abidjan. “I’ll continue to pray for that country,” Howard told an Associated Press reporter after arriving in Accra.
In 2002, an estimated 8,300 Seventh-day Adventist Christians worshipped in 43 congregations in the Ivory Coast.
