After being kidnapped abroad, Rotarian Julie Mulligan set out to live a more authentic life of Service Above Self.
A man dozes in his bedroom. It’s around midnight, quiet except for the gentle hum of the TV. The phone rings, jarring him awake.
“John?”
“Julie? What’s wrong?”
“You haven’t heard?”
“Heard what?”
“John. I’ve been kidnapped.”
Julie breaks down crying. Then a man’s voice comes on the phone. Sharply, he demands 100 million naira — or about US$700,000 — for her safe return.
“We’ll call back,” the man says.
He hangs up.
Nearly 16 years have passed since that phone call from northern Nigeria to a home in Drayton Valley, a small town nestled between two rivers in central Alberta. Julie Mulligan has reflected on the events of April 2009 many times. How they changed her and her family. How they continue to stir complex emotions. How they engendered a deeper understanding of the nature of forgiveness and of our interconnectedness.
“This is Julie Mulligan. I’ve been kidnapped. I’m being held somewhere in Nigeria. I’m not feeling well, and I probably have malaria. The kidnappers are sitting with me now. I need some contact information of Rotary members.”
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