wfn.org | Sierra Leone bishop may leave country temporarily

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Feb. 3, 1999	Contact: Linda Bloom*(212) 870-3803*New York
10-21-71B{065}

By United Methodist News Service

The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries is trying to arrange for
Bishop Joseph Humper and one of the agency's directors, Abraham Sellu, to be
temporarily moved from Sierra Leone.

The Rev. Laurence Bropleh, an executive with mission personnel, said on Feb.
3 that the board is trying to help the bishop, his two children and five
dependents reach Conakry, Guinea. Because of the rebel threat on the roads
outside Freetown, the only safe way of travel is by helicopter to Longi,
Sierra Leone's international airport, and then by airplane to Guinea, he
explained. Sellu and his family, who came out of hiding Feb. 2, also are
seeking to temporarily leave Sierra Leone.

Rebels invaded Freetown on Jan. 6 and battled troops from ECOMOG, the West
African defense force, before being forced out. But some have remained in
Freetown, according to Bropleh, by mingling with ordinary citizens, making
them difficult to flush out.

The situation "continues to hold the people hostage, even though there seems
to be a semblance of freedom," he said. "There is calmness in Freetown, but
there is no peace. The tension actually has intensified."

Although many are homeless after the rebel invasion, "the bishop reports
that all of our pastors are safe," Bropleh said. Two United Methodist
churches in the capital were able to hold short worship services on Jan. 31.

During the invasion, the United Methodist episcopal residence in the Kissy
section was partially burned and four vehicles there were stolen. Humper
escaped only with the clothes on his back and his travel documents. He
reported that rebels captured him several times but he was able to negotiate
his release and finally was rescued by ECOMOG forces on Jan. 23 from a
mosque where he and others had been hiding.

Sellu had gone into hiding in the basement of an unfinished house after a
gun-toting rebel commander threatened to set his house ablaze on Jan. 6,
according to Bropleh. The Albert Academy, a high school for boys where Sellu
serves as headmaster, was slightly damaged. 

Throughout the conflict, United Methodists in Sierra Leone have retained
their hope, according to Bropleh.   "Their faith has not been shaken.  They
believe in the God of Exodus - the God of promise and the God of
possibilities."

Immediate needs in Sierra Leone are food, medicines and temporary shelters.
The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is collecting donations
through Advance No. 181205-1, Sierra Leone emergency relief. Checks can be
dropped in church collection plates or mailed to UMCOR at 475 Riverside Dr.,
Room 330, New York, NY 10115.

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