By Lloyd Mackey

THE FACE-TO-FACE examination of Eloise Bergen, by the suspects in the Kenya attack-and-rape case in which she was the victim, has left her traumatized to the point where she is not yet ready for media interviews on the subject.

That assessment came from her husband, John Bergen, in an interview with CC.com Tuesday, following the couple's arrival back in North America just days before. They had returned to Kenya in January, where they had been attacked last summer on the Kitale-area farm where they were working on housing and feeding projects for orphans and widows.

The return to Kenya "had a detrimental effect" on Eloise, said Bergen. "She has to pace herself. And I want to give her the space she needs," he added.

She has told her husband that he should answer for her, "for now," in media interviews.

Bergen said both he and Eloise had been subjected to the examinations by the suspects. Each took two or three minutes to ask such things as "Do you know me?" and "Do you know my name?"

He noted that neither he nor his wife were present during the examination of the other.

The Kenya trial of the several men accused in the attacks is an important legal quiver in the attempts by Kenyan leaders to bring to an end a "pandemic" of gratuitous rape against women in their nation.

That view came from Ralph Bromley, president of Hope for the Nations, the Kelowna-based Christian organization under whose auspices the Bergens have been working in Kenya.

"Attacks like this are rampant, in Kenya," said Bromley. "The post (2008) election violence (has created) a new acceptance of violence and rape.

"If perpetrators are let off, the message is that white people are up for grabs and rape is okay. It used to be that the expatriate community was safe.

"If they hammer them, however, there will be consequences for that."

The Netherlands government and others in the international community are watching the Bergen case, said Bromley, because, in another setting, five young Dutch women volunteers at a school had been raped and were left HIV positive.

Providentially, Eloise Bergen was left HIV negative from her attack -- a situation Bromley described as "an answer to prayer."

The Okanagan-based Bergens will be in California, Arizona and North Carolina for the next month, speaking in churches to raise awareness for organic food-growing projects in Kenya. Under their current format, Eloise will "speak for about six or eight minutes," while John will carry most of the presentation. And she is available after services for personal ministry to people, particularly women, who have responded to the message on forgiveness.

Those arrangements come through Darcy Bergen, their son, who lives in Phoenix.

And, on March 12, John is expected to undergo surgery in Calgary, to repair muscles and tendons in his left arm.

"A machete that cut my left hand and arm has left me so that I cannot open my left hand," he said. Doctors believe they can repair the damage through surgery, he added.

Following surgery, plans call for more meetings, this time in Canada, and a visit in late summer and fall to Kenya. There, Bergen said, he will try to take the message of forgiveness into Kenyan churches, particularly addressing the tribalism issues endemic in that nation's society.

"I sense a mandate to concentrate in this area," he said, noting that the agricultural work in which they have been involved is well-co-ordinated by an experienced Arizona farmer, Ryan Schumacher, who has pulled together an excellent group of Kenyans. They are working on properties in and near Kitale, some of which have been purchased through funds the Bergens raised this past fall in North America.

The July 9 attacks against the Bergens gained international attention last summer. Eloise was violently attacked in her home while taking a bath, in an episode which lasted close to an hour and included multiple sexual assaults. Meanwhile, her husband, John, was attacked with machetes, choked and left for dead. When Eloise was freed from her experience, she loaded her unconscious husband into their car and drove to a mission compound for medical help.

Since then, the Bergens have been in North America, spending part of the time healing from the attacks. Beyond that, as they became able, they spoke in many churches about their experiences and raised funds to support the agricultural and water projects in which they were involved.

Both through HFTN and assisted by their son, they have been speaking to churches and community groups about Kenya development needs.

As a result, said Bergen, they were able to take commitments of $50,000 for greenhouse and well-drilling projects back to Kenya, when they returned in January.

Interviewed by phone on January 24, John Bergen told CC.com the trial experience has been "scary." And the building of two new greenhouses, for growing vegetables with which to feed orphans, has been "exciting."

Bergen said the courtroom experience was "scary" because the men charged were "wild, waving their arms and threatening both me and the police. One picked up a wooden chair and threw it (toward the police)."

At that point, the suspects were escorted out for a cooling off period and, when they returned, were "well behaved."

But since there is no screening of people entering the court, Bergan said he and Eloise had wondered if court observers could menace witnesses by smuggling in guns.

The Bergens gave testimony in front of the suspects in mid-January, then, during a week-long court break, went to visit many of their former co-workers and projects in which they had been involved. They returned to court the week following.

During the court break, John returned to the farm where the attack took place.

"It was a strange experience to stand on spot where I had been strangled and beaten," he recalled. "I shared some very special moments with the farmer-tenant who had worked there for 30 years. He felt so bad, but I told him he did not need to apologize."

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Eloise was not with John for that visit to the farm, but went there immediately following her questioning by the suspects.

In the Kenyan legal system, it is considered important that suspects -- even those accused of violent crimes -- be permitted to aggressively question those believed to be their victims. Bromley allowed that such a procedure would seem foreign to people familiar with North American-style justice.

Bromley and a Kenyan physician, known only as Dr. Zachary, met with the Bergens as soon as they arrived in Kenya, to let them know of the gravity of the situation surrounding their case, and to prepare them for the trial ordeal.

Nevertheless, "the cross-examination was brutal, so was quite traumatic for (Eloise)," he added.

She was able to identify two of the suspects. One, her husband said, was recognizable because of his height and because he was "the only one who spoke good English."

Bromley declined to predict how long it would take for a verdict in the case, but it could be months, at least. The next step, for which the Bergens will not be present, would be the police testimony and forensic evidence.

He also pointed out that when the Bergens returned to Kitale and its environs, where they had worked until last summer, they were under "armed guard and beefed-up security" for their own protection.

Meanwhile, though, two of the "exciting" aspects of returning to Kenya were to see the new greenhouses and a successful well-drilling project.

"The greenhouses will be used to grow hundreds and hundreds of tomatoes and other vegetables for the orphans," said Bergen. "And the new well (at another location) came in at just 70 feet. We were fortunate to hit an underground stream so close to the surface."

Food and water are most important in Kenya right now, Bergen told CC.com. "The country is in a drought season, right now. Ten million people are on the verge of starvation."

Commenting on the healing process after the attack, Bergen said Eloise had come back very strongly, considering the ferocity of the attack.

And he said "God came into my space in such a major way," when he awoke in the hospital last July.

Part of the healing process, he maintained, was "to keep the poison, anger and bitterness out of the system."

As they consider what their major challenges will be in the future, Bergen said "the culture here is different. We want to teach the people of Kenya how to overcome tribalism." There are 42 major tribal groupings in the country.

"And how to forgive, as Christ and the Father forgive, instead of taking up arms," he added.

On the practical side, they want to drill more wells and develop a village for 200 orphans. The wells help in the combating of widespread cholera and typhoid, through the provision of clean water. For the foreseeable future, they expect to divide their time between North American speaking engagements and returns to Kenya to help facilitate the projects in which they are involved.

Bergen said readers wanting to keep updated on their activities can do so at Bergen's Mission, a website set up by their son, which includes links to major media stories about the couple.

Related stories:

Canadian couple attacked in Kenya planning to return home next week
A missionary couple from Vernon, B.C. who were brutally beaten in Kenya will come home next week, despite wanting to continue their work in the African country. John Bergen, 70, and his wife, Eloise, 65, were beaten with clubs and slashed with machetes and Eloise was repeatedly raped during a night attack last week that put them in a Nairobi hospital in serious condition.
Canadian Press, July 17

Missionary couple decides to return to Canada
A sigh of relief. That's what Robyn McGough says the long-awaited family reunion will be like when her in-laws return to Canada from Kenya following a brutal attack from which they barely escaped with their lives. John and Eloise Bergen were beaten and assaulted by intruders armed with machetes and clubs who broke into their farm near Kitale last week. They've been recovering in Nairobi and have decided to come back to Canada, Ms. McGough said from her home in Chestermere, Alta.
Globe and Mail, July 17

Missionary couple en route home
A Canadian missionary couple still recovering from a violent assault on their farm in Nairobi is heading home. John and Eloise Bergen are expected to arrive in Calgary this evening, after a multi-day British Airways flight from the Kenyan capital through London, England, said the president of Hope for the Nations, the charity they're affiliated with.
Globe and Mail, July 28

Family members cry out as Canadian missionaries attacked in Kenya return home
Two elderly Canadians who were viciously attacked in Kenya earlier this month returned to Canada on Monday night, met by about a dozen family members and supporters. Wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the word "Believe" on the front, many were in tears or cried out as missionaries John Bergen, 70, and his wife, Eloise, 65, were brought off their flight from London to Calgary in wheelchairs. Both were still visibly bruised from their ordeal.
Canadian Press, July 29

Missionaries home after Kenya horror
Two Canadian missionaries who were nearly killed in Kenya returned home Monday evening with words of forgiveness for their attackers. Still bearing visible scars and seated in wheelchairs, John and Eloise Bergen arrived in Calgary to a joyous, tearful group of family members.
Calgary Herald, July 29

Colleagues prepare to carry on couple's mission
Bob Rowe says he has no fear of travelling to the same area in Kenya where two Canadian missionaries were viciously assaulted and left for dead earlier this month. Rowe is part of a six-member group planning to leave for the rural community of Kitale on Sept. 26 to establish a new orphanage just north of the area where John Bergen, 70, and his wife Eloise, 66, were attacked.
Calgary Herald, July 31

Missionary faces alleged attackers at rape trial
A Canadian missionary who was attacked in Kenya last summer said her detailed court testimony about the violent sexual assault has helped her heal. Nine men appeared in a Kenyan court this week, charged with the brutal attack on Eloise Bergen and her husband John during a home invasion on July 9.
CanWest News Service, January 15

February 12/2009