Calgarian pens novel on Lebanese prison
By BILL KAUFMANN, CALGARY SUN Friday, January 23, 2004
A Calgarian held for nearly two-months last year in hellish Lebanese prisons on suspicion of being a spy for Israel has chronicled his experiences in a new book. Rivers of Blessings, penned by Christian missionary Bruce Balfour, reaches back through two decades of Mideast odysseys, including the 55 days he spent in Lebanese prison cells where he witnessed the torture of countless prisoners. "The kidnappings, the tortures, the terrors ... the miracles and destructive atmosphere of that part of the world are all in this book," said Balfour. The 52-year-old was arrested July 10 by Lebanese authorities when he arrived to help with the replanting of that nation's biblical cedars. Balfour said he had help with the book from Israeli officials and has had numerous dealings with them over the years but denied again he was a spy. "We were friends and I was approached by them to be a courier but I refused, there was no way I was going to put other people and myself in danger," he said.
He was released in early September by the Lebanese after they found him not guilty of collaborating with Israel.
The book is expected to go into a second printing and will be available through the website freedom-ministries.org.