June 2017 Persecution Magazine

Feature Article
Rescuing a Lost Generat
ICC classroom in refugee camp
“They killed many
of my friends. As
we ran, they burned
our houses, schools,
churches, and all our
means of livelihood.
We couldn’t return.”
-ELIZABETH, CHRISTIAN SURVIVOR
OF FULANI ATTACK
I
was at home, while my
three young children were
at school [when Boko
Haram] invaded my home
in Gwoza, Borno State…I
escaped and found my children
near the schoolhouse.
With only the clothes on
our backs, we left our
home behind.”
- Elizabeth, attacked by Fulani
militants in Nigeria
This is Elizabeth’s story, but
tragically, it is representative of
the hundreds of thousands of
Christians whose lives have been
disrupted by Boko Haram and the
Fulani militants of northern and
central Nigeria.
Since the turn of the century, these
Islamic terror groups have killed
30,000 to 50,000 people, the majority
of which are Christians, not to
mention the hundreds of thousands
they have turned into internally displaced
persons (IDPs) within their
own country.
They have left a huge trail of
death and destruction behind them
as they have sought to establish an
Islamic state and push Christians out
of northern and central Nigeria.
In fact, Boko Haram alone has
become the second most lethal
terror group in the world, killing
14,000 since 2009 and trailing
only the Taliban.
Both groups kill innocent men,
women, and children, with the
majority of their victims being
Christians, but the Fulanis attack
and destroy entire Christian villages
so survivors can never return home.
Elizabeth highlighted two common
Fulani tactics in her story about
her village’s attack, “They were
screaming and yelling while shooting
their guns. They killed many of
my friends. As we ran, they burned
our houses, schools, churches, and
24 PERSECU ION.org
JUNE 2017
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN