Woman who survived 5 weeks in Boko Haram camp speaks for first
time
By
Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST News Service, who was born in
Nigeria
GWOZA,
NIGERIA (ANS – December 6, 2015) -- Mercy, a 22-year-old woman from
Borno State in north-east Nigeria, was abducted in June 2014 when Boko Haram
overran the small town of Gwoza where she lived. She speaks here for the first
time about her five weeks in captivity, where she was forced into a marriage,
made to watch multiple killings and felt compelled to submit to her captors’
demands to follow Islam.
According
to World Watch Monitor (https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org),
Mercy’s town of Gwoza sits at the foot of the Mandara mountain range on
Nigeria’s eastern border with Cameroon. In 2009, Boko Haram started moving into
the area and setting up camp in hills next to the village.
In
June 2014, members of Boko Haram overran the town and declared it an Islamic
caliphate. At least 100 people were killed in the attack.
Abduction
WWM
said that the insurgents arrived in Mercy’s neighbourhood in the middle of the
night. She and her father - her mother had died 10 years before - were at home
by themselves when they struck.
“Everyone
in the town ran to save themselves. My dad and I were separated. I don’t know
what happened to him. I think he died the same way many others died, because
they refused to deny Christ,” she said.
Earlier
in 2015,World Watch Monitor heard how Boko Haram members had shot Christian men
in their homesfor refusing to deny their faith. ( https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/2015/03/article_3784577.ht ml).
The
attackers burned down Mercy’s house before six of them marched her and four
other women into the hills, where a vehicle was waiting to take them to the
nearby town of Mubi, which had also fallen to the insurgents.
“All
the way there they kept threatening us. They told us if we did not obey every
command once we got to the camp, we would be beaten severely.” The intimidation
worked. No one moved or spoke a word, Mercy said.
Captivity
The
“camp” consisted of a few houses close to each other. “When we got to the place,
there were about 50 other women. I recognized many other Christians, who had now
become Muslims and were forced to undergo Islamic teaching.”
WWM
continued by saying that Mercy could only guess what was in store for her. “My
first day was like hell. I cried all day and all night. I prayed like never
before and asked God to give me courage.”
The
next morning, Mercy and the others were taken to a clearing for questioning.
They were asked to become Muslims and to marry Boko Haram members.
“The four
other girls were very scared and immediately agreed. I pleaded that they allow
me to remain a Christian, but my pleas fell on deaf ears. They beat me and told
me to never mention Christianity in the camp again. Then they told me that they
would arrange a husband for me.”
From
that day onwards, Mercy was forced to attend Islamic teaching along with the
others.
“We
were forced to attend prayers at 5am. After that, we were sent to amadrassa
[Islamic school]. There was only a short break. After we were given a little
food, we returned to the madrassa. They constantly told us to work hard for the
advancement of Boko Haram. In the afternoon we were dispersed to do our chores,
such as washing the men’s clothes.”
Arranged
marriage
“I
also received a husband a few weeks later,” says Mercy. She doesn’t want to give
details about the arranged marriage. All she says is, “Every single day came
with tears and fears for the unknown.”
WWM
said that one thing that Mercy cannot forget is the cruelty she was forced to
watch.
“I
witnessed constantly how Boko Haram members killed innocent people. Christian
men who were captured and brought to the camp were killed for refusing to deny
their faith. [It was like] the fulfilment of the [things written in the] Bible
played out in front of my eyes, as people died for their faith in Christ. But
others, including me, could not endure the torture and gave in to their
demands.”
Rescue
WWM
said that after Mercy had spent five weeks in captivity, and five days after she
was married, the government stepped up its campaign to retake Mubi. For three
days it engaged with the insurgents. The military also used fighter jets to bomb
the area and one of the bombs landed on the house where Mercy was kept. She was
the only survivor.
When
the insurgents fled, government soldiers combed Mubi and found Mercy in the
bombed compound with a broken leg. She was in terrible pain and crying for help.
The soldiers took her to the clinic, where she received first aid.
When
it was certain that Mercy would survive, she was taken to a displaced people’s
camp in Yola, a city 300km from Gwoza. Many Christians fled to Yola at the
height of Boko Haram activity, but Yola itself also recently became the target
of a deadly attack when, on November 17, asuicide bomber killed 34 people.
WWM
said that a church worker found Mercy during a visit to the camp and took her to
a local clinic, where she received additional medical care for her broken leg.
The church members paid for as much of the treatment as they could, and then
returned her to the camp.
“I
thank God for rescuing me. Many lost their lives after being forced into Islam,
but I am alive today.”
Killing
fields of Gwoza
The
Gwoza Hills close to Mercy’s home town were turned into a no-go area, with Boko
Haram increasingly using them to hide out, an anonymous source told World Watch
Monitor shortly after theNigerian government declared parts of north-east
Nigeria to be in a state of emergency in May 2013.
In
June 2013, the insurgents burnt down four Gwoza churches. By February 2014, half
of the Christian population had fled and church services could no longer
continue. Those who remained did so because they had nowhere to run or because
they believed the army would be able to protect them. But on 5 June, Gwoza was
turned into killing fields.
“They
came in Hilux vans [often used by the Nigerian army]. We all thought they were
the soldiers. They urged all of us to congregate at the center of the village,
but they began to shout ‘Allahu-Akbar, Allahu-Akbar’ [Allah is the greatest].
Then they began to fire at the people continuously for a long time, until all
who had gathered were dead,” an anonymous community leader told World Watch
Monitor.
WWM
stated that the attackers pursued and shot dead those who fled into the bush.
Hundreds died that day. Men and boys were singled out.
“Even
nursing mothers had their male infants snatched from their backs and shot dead
before their eyes,” said another community leader. The insurgents told the women
to bury their dead. When they were simply too tired to continue this, the bodies
were left decomposing in the streets.
The
Nigerian army bombed the area to dislodge the militants, but as soon as the
assault stopped the militants were back. On August 5, Boko Haram stormed the
town again at about 5pm. They had sophisticated weapons and an armored vehicle.
They massacred about 100 more people, mostly men.
“No
single church has been spared. All 178 were destroyed,” the source said. “They
also destroyed Christians' houses. An estimated 40,000 Christians fled to
neighboring towns like Mubi and Chibok. Around 3,000 sought refuge in the hills.
Gradually, about 2,000 escaped. Those remaining - about 1,000 people – waited
for the army to rescue them, but the insurgents got to them first. They were all
killed.”
Boko
Haram raised its flag over Gwoza and renamed it Darul Hikma – ‘House of
Wisdom’ in Arabic. Those trapped had two options: convert or
die.
“The
insurgents were finally driven out of Gwoza in March 2015. People have begun
returning to the town, but they are living among ruins,” concluded the World
Watch Monitor story.
Photo
captions: Mercy was abducted by Boko Haram and spent five weeks in captivity,
Nigeria Nov 2015 (World Watch Monitor). 2) Boko Haram on the attack. 3) Some 2.5
million people have been displaced by Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region since
2013 (Courtesy of Open Doors International). 4) Some of the displaced children
in Gulak Adamawa state. Christians in Gulak are caring for about 300 children
orphaned or separated from their parents because of Boko Haram attacks. May 22,
2014. (World Watch Monitor). 5) The inside of a worship auditorium of a church
destroyed by Boko Haram. November 2011 (World Watch Monitor). 6) Dan Wooding,
who was born in Nigeria.
About the writer:
Dan Wooding, 74, is an award-winning author, broadcaster and journalist who was
born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, and is now living in Southern
California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 52 years. They
have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK.
He is the author of some 45 books and has two TV programs and one radio show in
Southern California.
**
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