Becoming the Enemy

The phone rang one evening in our house in San Jose, Costa Rica. I was lying in bed reading a book to Angie, who was at that time three years old. At the other end of the line was the familiar voice of a key Miskito leader in the armed resistance that had been fighting against the Nicaraguan government, a person who had become a close friend in the previous year.

“John Paul,” he said. “I have some difficult news. I have been informed by a very good source that there is a plan to kidnap your daughter. They want you out of the country.”

Even now, I can still feel the shiver, the blood draining from my face, and the pounding of my heart.

“What are you talking about?” I responded, my drying mouth struggling to stammer intelligent words…