I have been closely following the European refugee crisis due in part to my regular teaching of mission courses in the UK and around the world. Two years ago I visited the refugee camps in Calais, France, where I met refugees from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, Iran and many other countries (see update) who were seeking entry into the UK.

Months before visiting Calais I had run into Ismahan, a friend from Ethiopia living in Paris. She had visited us at Tierra Nueva back in 2009 before moving to France. It was then that I connected her to a church in Paris where we have close ties. When I saw her I told her about my plans to visit Calais and asked if she had any contact with East African refugees in France.

Ismahan became distressed and told me that her 15-year-old brother was being held captive in Libya and was in grave danger of being killed. She shared how her brother had paid a trafficker to bring him from Ethiopia to Europe. In Libya he’d been captured by pirates, who were demanding $12,000 ransom. She asked if I would accompany her to a part of Paris where there were lots of refugees. She hoped to find someone who might know how to effectively get ransom money to the traffickers to secure her brother’s release.