Word: burnham
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Gracia and Martin Burnham were working as missionaries in the Philippines when they were abducted in May 2001 by the terror and kidnap gang known as Abu Sayyaf. More than a year later, Philippine soldiers swooped in to save them, but Martin and another hostage, Ediborah Yap, were fatally shot during the ensuing firefight. Now home in Kansas, Gracia has found herself in the cross fire again over her memoir, In the Presence of My Enemies. Even before the book was released in the Philippines, reports emerged that Burnham charges a Philippine soldier with firing the shot that killed...
...Burnham tells TIME she wrote the book to answer questions about her time in the jungle and to honor her husband, "who got me through the ordeal." Her critics, she believes, did not read the book, in which she qualifies collusion talk as what she heard from her captors and other hostages, or what she thought in moments of despair. She says the book shows "what rats the Abu Sayyaf were," and that they "are to blame for the whole thing," no matter who shot her husband. Otherwise, she asserts, "I told the story...
...terror. Bush wanted to reward Arroyo for pledging her support after Sept. 11, and Arroyo's military was plainly ill-equipped to track down Abu Sayyaf, which had snatched more than 100 hostages in recent years and still held three captive, including American missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham. Instead of giving U.S. troops carte blanche, Arroyo welcomed their offer of training and military aid. On June 7, a Philippine patrol found the hostages, but Martin Burnham was among those killed in the rescue attempt. Later that month, soldiers cornered gang leader Abu Sabaya, who was apparently shot while trying...
...must strongly disagree with TIME's characterization of the Philippine troops' assault on the Abu Sayyaf kidnapping gang as a "debacle" [WORLD, June 17]. While the deaths of two of the three hostages are tragic, one, American Gracia Burnham, was able to return home to her children. And that occurred thanks to decisive action by our Philippine allies. Had the Philippine government decided to take a more passive course, all three kidnap victims would ultimately have been killed when they no longer served Abu Sayyaf's political ends. Now the path is open to exterminate what is left of that...
...shields," according to Teodosio, who debriefed the Scouts. The bandits returned the army's fire, but it isn't yet clear how the hostages were hit--whether they were caught in the cross fire or targeted by Abu Sayyaf for execution. The army is preparing an official report. Gracia Burnham reportedly characterized her husband's death as "God's liking...