Quote:As Masai warriors guarded the Kenyan orphanage where sisters Brittanie and Aubrie Vander Mey and friend Jamie Cook worked, the three wondered how they would make it back to West Michigan.
They had planned to spend two months caring for orphans affected by HIV or AIDS at the Omwabini Centre in Kimilili, but post-election violence cut short their stay.
Newscasts told them the violence was coming closer each day to the orphanage, about 180 miles from Nairobi and 45 miles from Eldoret, where 35 people died when a church filled with women and children was burned last week.
Today, the women - Aubrie, 19, Jamie, 20, and Brittanie, 21 - were to return to Grand Rapids after a weekend rescue, reportedly with the help of Blackwater Worldwide personnel.
Dean Vander Mey, of Byron Township, Brittanie and Aubrie's father, said he credits their return to God's intervention and the private security firm.
"My daughter (Brittanie) told me today, 'Every town around us has been ripped apart,'" he said. "Their little town was the only safe town. ... I have to attribute (their safety) to the Lord."
Vander Mey said he learned of the conflict Dec. 28. He was enjoying a quiet weekend in his cottage up north when Brittanie called.
"She said, 'I'm OK,' and I asked, 'What are you talking about?'" he recalled. "'Haven't you heard the news?' she told me."
He learned of buses being stopped by militias, of corpses appearing on roadsides, of hundreds of Kenyans fleeing west, of stopped aid caravans, of the burned church, of the ethnic slayings.
The violence followed Dec. 27 elections. Kenya's electoral commission said President Mwai Kibaki had won the vote, but opposition leader Raila Odinga claims the election was rigged. International observers have said it was flawed.
The turmoil has left 486 dead and more than 75,000 people homeless, according to government figures.
"We didn't really realize the severity," Vander Mey said. "Then, I started to see how much mayhem was beginning to happen, and then it got very scary.
"They were right there, in the middle of that."
He also learned escape by car wasn't an option for the women, as militias made sure no one took the two-hour ride to Nairobi.
He pleaded for more safety personnel to be sent to guard the orphanage, but the young women were becoming increasingly nervous.
"They were scared, and I said, 'Honey, I don't know what to do.'" he said.
Vander Mey said he started calling government officials, congressmen -- whomever he could think of to get his daughters and their friend home.
"I was not getting whole lot of answers," he said. "They said, 'Stay safe; don't move.' I wasn't satisfied with the 'stay put.' That's what they were telling us: 'You're in harm's way, but don't move.'"
Hiring a helicopter wasn't an option. Vander Mey said he was told it would $20,000 to rent one for 30 minutes, and news stations and the Red Cross had already rented most of those available.
Vander Mey said he recalled relatives were friends with the family of Blackwater founder and Holland native Erik Prince and decided to give the company a call.
"They had internal contacts and everything," Vander Mey said. "They had people who could help."
He said Blackwater lined up a 10-person plane, rescued the women and other international workers and flew them to Nairobi. The three women then began the trip to Grand Rapids on Sunday afternoon.
Uganda -- not Kenya -- had been his daughters' first destination choice, Vander Mey said.
"I said, 'No, Uganda is not safe enough,'" he said. "I thought Kenya was much more stable. Nothing like this has happened there; it was a very safe place."
But he's not complaining.
"It's been a nightmare and a miracle," Vander Mey said.
...but, but, but it's Blackwater! They're a bunch of homicidal thugs, right?!
-b0b
(...cackles!)
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