Pastor Gotzen
imprisoned after meeting the
President
03.11.2007 (Asmarino Civic
Space) --
Globe trotting Pastor
Gerald Gotzen will never
forgot the day he shook
hands with the President
of Eritrea. It led to
him spending four days
locked in a tiny cell,
in near darkness and
with only a filthy
blanket to lie on.
The 65 year old
grandfather from Dalson,
Torquent (UK) has been a
frequent visitor to
Eritrea on the edge of
the Red Sea, since the
days when it was part of
Ethiopia and ruled over
by Haileselassie.
He arrived in Asmara,
its capital city with a
case full of Bibles
printed in the native
language.
Grerard was distressed
to find himself in a
country of fear with the
Marxist–style government
closing down evangelical
and Pentecostal churches
and imprisoning and
torturing its leaders.
He was particularly
concerned that his good
friend, the Patriarch of
the Orthodox Church,
Abune Antonios, had been
removed from his post
and was facing arrest.
It seemed a heaven-sent
opportunity when the
Eritrean President,
Isaias Afwerki, arrived
with his entourage to
have dinner in the hotel
where Gerard was
staying. After the meal
was over the Torquay man
introduced himself and
initially had a warm
reception.
“He shook me by the hand
and asked what he could
do for me,” Gerard
recalls. “But when I
asked his permission to
visit the Patriarch, his
mood changed and he said
“that is not possible.”
“From that moment I was
followed everywhere by
secret police and two
days later was arrested
and interrogated for
three hours. My passport
and air tickets were
taken away and I was not
allowed legal
representation or
contact with the British
Embassy.”
“I was taken to a prison
and put in a cell that
measured nine feet by 11
feet with a small, high
window above my head
that had 33 bars across
it, I know because I
counted them many times
during the four days
that followed.”
“There was no furniture,
not even a bed, only a
very old straw mat on
the concrete floor and
one smelly blanket. All
I was allowed to have
was a toothbrush, a
Bible and a Christian
book.”
“Breakfast consisted of
two hard rolls which I
could bounce on the
walls, with watery tea;
lunch was a bowl of
inedible cabbage soup,
and supper, two bread
rolls again. I was
allowed some bottles of
water, which I had to
buy.”
The prison was full of
young people, most of
whom were there without
trial or sentence,
because of their
Christian beliefs.
Gerald says their
encouragement and
particularly their
singing kept his spirits
up.
“It sounded like a
heavenly melody”, he
recalls. “when we
exercised together they
gave me fruit and kept
me laughing with their
fun conversation,
particularly about the
quality of our breakfast
tea. The joke was who
got the tea leaf that
morning?.”
“I have never prayed so
much in my life. A
previous occupant had
painted a small silver
cross on the cell wall
and at night, the moon
shone through that tiny
window, directly on to
it. It became the focus
of my hopes.”
His ordeal ended in the
early hours of Palm
Sunday morning when the
cell door opened, a
torch was shone in his
face and a voice said:
“Mr Gerald get up. You
are going to the
airport.”
When he arrived there
all his luggage and
money was returned and
he was deported.
“As I boarded the plane
I said to the police
officer escorting me:
“No matter what has
happened to me I still
love your country and
your people.” He was
visibly moved and shook
my hand.
“As I was flying back to
England I opened a
Christian newspaper and
it fell open at the text
for the day. It was from
Psalm 146:7 -`The Lord
sets the prisoners
free.’
“I have known Eritrea
for many years and have
always loved to travel
there. I don’t think I
can go back while the
present government is in
power, but I will raise
support for the
Christians in prison,
some of whom are being
tortured.”
