Jemal and his family in Ethiopia were forced to flee when Islamist militants attacked. Their home was ransacked and their businesses burnt down. 

“In just one hour, they destroyed everything,” says Jemal*. “In a single day, they turned everything to ash.”

Jemal will never forget the day that Islamist radicals attacked his village in Ethiopia. The day he lost his home, his livelihood and his safety. But though that day was a shocking escalation of violence, it wasn’t the beginning of the persecution.

“A very good life”

Jemal and his wife, Fatima*, grew up as Muslims. When they were young parents, they encountered Jesus and made the life-changing decision to follow Him. Like most converts from Islam in Ethiopia, they faced some opposition from their families and Muslim neighbours, but it wasn’t severe. They had a strong faith community, and were thankful for their day-to-day stability and blessings.

“We had a very good life,” says Jemal. “My whole family and I go to church and worship God.” His woodworking and steel manufacturing businesses were flourishing, and his customers included both local Christians and Muslims. Life was peaceful.

That started to change when visiting Muslim clerics began sharing radical messages at the local mosques.

Economic exclusion

“The clerics began by isolating us,” Jemal remembers. “They told the community not to talk to us. They made the community afraid by saying, ‘Whoever talks to them or sits with them will not have a proper burial ceremony.’” This was a very serious threat, since your burial site is particularly significant in Islam.

For the first time, Muslims began to avoid Christian businesses. “They isolated the Christians from the Muslims,” says Jemal. “They told Muslims in my town, ‘Don’t buy anything from them but let them buy from us. If you buy from them, they will become richer.’”

Economic exclusion is often used as a weapon to marginalise and impoverish Christians in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The hope is to pressure Christians – particularly Christian men, who are most commonly the financial providers for their families – to either convert to Islam or leave the area. Last year, at least 7,100 shops or businesses belonging to Christians in sub-Saharan Africa were attacked, destroyed or forced to close during the research period.

This was hard enough. But the persecution was suddenly about to escalate.

“No Christian home was safe”

As tensions continued to grow between the Muslim and Christian communities, the local authorities intervened – but, rather than bring peace back to the town, it had the opposite effect. The extremists were furious – and it provided the spark to light the fire that was to consume the whole community.

“They began the attack on Monday night,” Jemal says. “By Tuesday, they even tried to kill me.”

At first, Jemal wasn’t sure what to do. “My sister, also a Christian, begged me to leave my belongings behind,” he remembers. “I wanted to stay and protect my house and business, but we had to leave and we found refuge in a Muslim’s house. Because no Christian home was safe.”

The kindness of Jemal’s Muslim friend showed there was still friendship in the community, even though the radical Islamists tried to obscure it with their hatred and violence. It was a gesture Jemal would remember through the rest of the ordeal.

Hundreds forced to flee

On the second day of the ambush, the arson began. “Mobs of people went from house to house, singling out Christian homes and businesses, destroying whatever they could find and setting it on fire,” says Jemal. “In a single day, they destroyed everything I owned and had built up over the years.”

At least 215 homes of Christian families were destroyed. Hundreds of people lost their means of livelihood, and at least 375 families were forced on the run. Jemal’s home was ransacked and his businesses were burned down. He had nothing left.

The attackers hoped that this financial ruin would shame the Christian men into giving up their faith. “They believed that, after our property was destroyed, Christians would convert to Islam,” says Jemal. “They did not want Christians to remain in the town. Their goal was to eliminate Christianity.”

But they didn’t reckon on Jemal’s faith.

Overwhelmed

Jemal knew he wouldn’t turn back from following Jesus – but, displaced and distraught, he was extremely anxious about the future for his family. His mind was racing with questions. “What work can we do in the future? Where can we live? How can I feed my children?”

He and his family were taken in at a church compound in a nearby town, alongside almost 30 other families. It was a safer environment, but the physical conditions were hard – he had to sleep on the floor in a small, bare room with 12 other men for two months, and his daughter had a newborn. Seeing his family in these conditions deeply impact him, and he knew it couldn’t be a long-term solution. It didn’t answer the questions he couldn’t keep from his mind. “It was a tough moment for me,” he says. “I was overwhelmed and paralysed. It deeply affected us psychologically; we were very afraid and anxious.”

One of the things that hurt most was that the attackers were men Jemal had known for years. “We were born and raised in the same village,” he says with great sorrow. “We were family; we had shared meals and lived together. It truly made us feel heartbroken.”

How violence affects men

This brutal incident isn’t unique to Jemal’s village. “The violence in East Africa is increasing,” says Fikiru*, an Open Doors research expert for the area. “Christianity is growing fast in our region, and these adversaries feel that they are losing ground. So they want to stop Christianity by persecuting.” It’s why Open Doors’ Arise Africa campaign is so vital, to respond to this crisis.

Persecution impacts men and women in different ways, Fikiru explains: “Men know that whenever there is a persecution incident, they will be the first target. The attackers know that, if they attack men, they will deny the family the breadwinner. And they will make an impact on the leadership, as well as the fellowship, of the church.”

He adds: “When I meet some of these persecuted believers, they are really emotionally impacted. If they are not able to defend their family, they feel as if they’re disappointing their friends, their colleagues.”

Forgotten by the world?

Last year, Pastor Barnabas made a memorable clarion call that ‘nobody is talking about this’. Fikiru hears the same, time and again. “The world does not pay enough attention to East Africa. It seems the persecution of Christians is forgotten,” he says. “When we speak to them, they always say to us that the most painful situation is not the persecution incident itself. Rather, it’s the misunderstanding they face from the church.

“I met a pastor recently. He asked, ‘Are we still in the hearts of minds of believers around the world, praying for us?’”

Supporting Jemal

With the gifts and prayers of Open Doors supporters, local partners in Ethiopia are able to show believers like Jemal that they have not been forgotten. When Open Doors partners heard about the violent attack on his community, they rushed to respond.

“Praise God, we didn’t die from hunger and thirst,” Jemal says. “The ministry responded promptly from the outset of the tribulation by providing food supplies.”

But it’s clear from Jemal’s experience that immediate aid – though vital – is not enough. Traumatised believers need spiritual and practical support for the long-term. When they saw the psychological toll the attack had on Jemal, local partners also invited him to receive Open Doors trauma care. It’s helped him begin healing: “It has greatly benefited me,” he says. “I had completely given up. But God can restore what is lost.”

“I really love this ministry”

Jemal also received new machinery and materials to restart his woodworking and steel manufacturing businesses. “We did not have any other means of surviving if the ministry had not bought us that equipment,” he says. “This ministry helped us to stand on our feet. You helped us feed our children. I really love this ministry and I wish to express my profound gratitude. May God bless you all!”

Knowing that people are praying for him around the world is a source of great joy and encouragement. “It makes you happy,” he says. “You say, ‘Oh, I have people of my own! We have family through Christ. We are of the same Father.’”

Stop the violence. Start the healing.

Despite the horrific persecution Jemal has experienced, he now has hope for the future. “Our God is the God of hope. He is a God who can do everything. Because of that, I am joyful,” he says. “Through all of this, my faith has grown stronger.”

Jemal needs long-term support and he knows there are millions of Christians in Ethiopia and the region who are clinging to Jesus in the face of persecution – and who also, desperately, need our help. The Arise Africa campaign aims to stop the violence and start the healing for these vulnerable believers.

“Let your aid stand by these people,” Jemal implores. “It takes a day for them to be hungry or thirsty. One Christian can be medicine for another Christian.”

Violent attacks in sub-Saharan Africa are increasing, leaving more and more of our brothers and sisters needing our support. Please don’t look away while the church is burning. Your gift and prayers today can help hope arise from the ashes.

* names changed for safety reasons

Source: Open Doors

Photo: pxhere