Day 3 - DIY
This one will be quick because tomorrow is a rough one.
As part of my volunteer work with OUR Rescue, I had been working on a case for several years to find a kidnapped Haitian American boy named Gardy. That case took me all over Haiti and even to The Dominican Republic. That’s why I thought it was strange that the area that I had come to presume Gardy was taken to, and was perhaps still living, was actually this very neighborhood that I had been taken to. Because of the security situation in Haiti, and particularly this area, the search for Gardy had largely stopped.
BTW - For clarity, the area we are being held in is called Grand Ravine. I was in Martissant when we were initially taken and then driven up into Grand Ravine.
Here is the exact place we were held. It’s the white roof building in the middle of the image.
It wasn’t safe enough in Grand Ravine to even have a local start asking questions about Gardy’s kidnapping. For that reason, perhaps only a few months prior, I had spoken with OUR Rescue leadership about approving a budget for a large cash reward for Gardy’s return.
So as I laid awake late into the night of Day Two, I marveled at the coincidence. As a devout Christian, I am always looking for God’s hand, even in trial. I believe that when we are doing our best to be on The Lord’s errand, even our trials are somehow for our good. Mary and I had been diligently prayerful before and during this trip. So certainly, my captivity must be for a reason. I wondered if perhaps the search for Gardy was the reason. I decided to try to help Chef Jeff understand the possibility of a cash reward for Gardy’s release. I wasn’t willing to pay a large ransom for myself, but perhaps we could find a win/win this way.
On the morning of Day 3 I explained this situation to my fellow captive Kervin. Not trusting my Kreyol skills to communicate the proposition sufficiently, I asked Kervin to explain this opportunity to Chef Jeff. When Chef Jeff came in later that morning, Kervin explained the opportunity to Chef Jeff. Chef Jeff dismissed it as simply an attempt by me to avoid paying the ransom. He reiterated that my only way out was to pay the ransom.
I was deeply frustrated.
Chef Jeff then tells me that he hasn’t been able to reach the Haitian guy that Bill provided to negotiate on my behalf. He’s disappeared.
I lost confidence in Bill and Bill’s guy and their ability and desire to help me.
That night, not knowing that my wife was assembling a powerful negotiating team on my behalf, I decided to negotiate with the kidnappers directly - big mistake.
Most of the time in our cell is quiet those first few days. We are all thinking through our situations. Thinking deeply.
That night, Friday night, I was thinking through negotiation strategies. Chef Jeff was demanding $2 million US. I knew that was ridiculous. I knew from his body language that Chef Jeff also knew that was a ridiculous number. I gleaned from the long timers that Haitians were paying somewhere between $1500 US and $50,000. I had been paying attention to ransom amount I could get from the press but Haitians all knew friends and family that had paid and could share real deal figures, so they were extremely helpful. I was still hoping to somehow not pay a dime to these animals but I was coming to grips with the fact that I might be out of bargaining strength.
It’s important to understand that the kidnappers have nearly all the bargaining strength. They can kill you, they can let you go, and they can make you uncomfortable indefinitely (think beatings etc.). Their standard trick is to make you and your family uncomfortable until they are convinced that they have extracted all of the cash your family, friends, church etc. could possibly come up with. Most of the ransom amounts I observed myself were odd numbers that made it seem like someone had gone through the couch cushions looking for loose change to please the kidnappers.
Our bargaining strength comes from cash, patience, and willingness to endure the discomfort of separation, torture and threat of death.
Time is typically on their side. They are not usually in a hurry so their habit is to plan to have you for 30 days or so. Most families pay multiple times.
I am aware of some of this as I lay awake, considering my moves for the next day.
Should I take on the negotiation myself?
It’s important to understand that I suffer from a certain degree of arrogance. That arrogance has served me well is business. It’s what fuels the optimism required to start an entrepreneurial endeavor. It’s what drives me today me to think that I can actually make a difference in Haiti!
The downside of that arrogance (amongst many other things) is that I can become a DIY guy when I aught not. It had not even occurred to me on Day 3, that Mary might be putting together a team of highly qualified experts who were preparing to lead my negotiations. Think of all you’d need in order to help me. You’d need to speak Kreyol, be a skilled negotiator, know about this gang and their specific tactics, style, capabilities. You’d need to know my finances, where our money is, how to get it, how much I’d be willing to pay or not pay - and more!
I am also a Haiti expert. There are not many of us. I have been working in Haiti for years. It’s difficult to acquire the knowledge and understanding about Haiti, it’s geography, it’s security, political and business environment. I could not imagine there being someone more qualified to handle my negotiations than me. Even if there was someone that was equally or more qualified, what are the chance that Mary was going to be able to somehow find that person? Zero!
A word about Doug:
Mary mentioned feeling inspired to call Doug on Day 1. Doug is an absolute titan of a man in all the ways that matter most. Joined the US Army after 9/11, West Point, former JSOC guy, mathematician, private equity guy, prioritizes his family and God - the whole deal.
We met about a year prior through a common friend. We hit it off immediately but we both have busy families so truly connecting takes time. We had done a few things together socially and he had called in some favors for me in Washington as I was trying to increase my personal influence regarding Haitian policy. I would certainly say that we were friends. I would even say that I hoped our families would, over time, grow to be closer friends.
So when I later learned that Mary called Doug first, I was not shocked. However, when she began to tell me about how he put all of his other business responsibilities on hold and focused on my rescue every single day, I was stunned.
Jumping ahead a bit, Mary will soon introduce you to a Haiti expert guy Doug found named Austin. I had no idea a guy like Austin even existed. Everything I am, Austin is and more.
I didn’t know any of this from my cell in Haiti. I didn’t know what Mary was becoming. I didn’t know how much she was learning and so quickly. I thought I was alone and had to do it myself.
I thought to myself “ If Bill doesn’t come through for me tomorrow, I’m going to have to negotiate on my own behalf”.
From Mary:
“My memory of these next few days are blurry, I’ve kept very good notes starting around day 6, before then I was still living in denial that this hell would last long enough to require notes and journals and and and...
I am in constant talks with Doug as he is vetting people his contacts find, Doug is incredibly careful about letting anyone talk to me that he hasn’t done extensive background checks on because the opportunity to take advantage of a scared wife in this situation is very high and in fact we had a few that did try, a story for another day. I spent a good amount of time with my FBI contact that day getting schooled in some of the harrowing stats around kidnapping in Haiti and what we could expect. Kidnappings were up 400% that year and the kidnappers had been getting bolder and braver as they continued to go unchecked in their crimes! Most victims and their families were paying 3-4 times before the gangs actually let them go. Most victims were held at least a month, maybe more. The idea of paying a big amount even though we were capable was about the worst thing we could do. Cash was the gangs main way of buying guns and continuing their terror not to mention whatever we paid raised the price for future kidnappings. My mind was constantly spinning on all of this and honestly trying to always do what I thought Jeff would want.
The FBI told me that they could only ever assist me in an advisory role and this was alarming to me on so many levels! What we see in the movies just isn’t the case. I was to find a negotiator and would need to find someone to take the money to the meeting spot and find a way to get jeff to a safe location before the embassy could ever step in, all of which were impossibilities to me at that moment! ”
