"People are dying every day and in most cases
with no one to give them a decent burial—they are left to rot; their homes and
properties looted."
Since 2009 and the start of Boko Haram’s
reign of terror in Nigeria, the Diocese of Maiduguri has been the worst hit by
attacks from the extremist Islamic group. The diocese covers most of the
territory comprised by the Nigerian states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, which
has been at the center of Boko Haram activities.
In the past five years, many of the local
Catholic community’s churches, rectories, schools, hospitals, shops, ordinary
homes and businesses have been damaged or destroyed. More than 80,000 Catholics
have fled their ancestral villages.
Thus far—though it is not openly reported by
most of the country’s media—the Nigerian armed forces have failed to protect
the civilian population. In the face of Boko Haram’s technical superiority and
resilience, soldiers have fled, while urging civilians to do the same.
A recent cease-fire agreement between the
government and Boko Haram proved very short-lived, with reports of Boko Haram
attacks and kidnappings in Adamawa.
As a consequence of Boko Haram’s almost
unchallenged takeover of many towns and villages in north-eastern Nigeria,
there are thousands Internally Displaced People (IDPs) living in caves or in
the forest. A number of IDPs have been taken in by friends and relatives in
Maiduguri, Mubi and Yola.
Thousands were able to escape to Cameroon,
where, however, they are facing very difficult conditions because of lack of
food, shelter and medication.
The IDPs and refugees are in urgent need of
water, food, clothes, shelter and medical care, Bishop Oliver Doeme of Maiduguri
told international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in an Oct. 25 interview.
“Given the political situation in the
country, the funds earmarked for the victims of terrorism very seldom reach the
actual people on the ground.”
“The Church has been making efforts to offer
as much help as possible. The Diocese of Maiduguri has given some relief
materials to over 1,500 IDPs and it has joined hands with the Yola Diocese to
assist those who have taken refuge there,” the bishop said.
He added that, “in the spirit of ecumenism,
we have even assisted refugees in Maiduguri who are mostly Christians from
other denominations.”
However, the prelate made it clear that the
local Catholic Church’s ability to respond is being taxed to the breaking
point: “We are in dire need of external assistance to help alleviate the
difficult situation of the refugees, especially of the children who, out of
school and vulnerable to diseases, face an uncertain future.”
Bishop Doeme said that "people are dying
every day and in most cases with no one to give them a decent burial—they are
left to rot; their homes and properties looted.”
The bishop added that people “have become
slaves and prisoners in their own homeland. Here is a government that cannot
safeguard the lives of its citizens.”
“Life has become so cheap that it can be
wasted any moment. We use to think that salt is the cheapest commodity in the
market place—life is cheaper now, especially in the northeastern part of
Nigeria."
The bishop stressed that both Muslims and
Christians have been affected by Boko Haram’s unrelenting campaign of terror.
But he added that there is "still a religious undertone to this whole
mess.”
“We might shy away from it and we may be
silent, unable to speak up—at least for now—against this push to Islamicize the
northeast and eventually all of Nigeria. But what we are witnessing in Adamawa
is a clear confirmation of the pursuit of this agenda.”
He continued: “many young people were
forcefully taken and conscripted into Boko Haram and are currently receiving
training in the captured [military base] in Limankara.”
“Women who could not escape were forced to
convert to Islam and married out to the terrorists; some of the elderly who
cannot escape are being killed—some are left to die from hunger and starvation.”
This is the fate of every single town or
village that has fallen into their hands. Killings, destruction, looting,
forced marriage, forced recruitment or conscription, forced conversion to Islam
and the mounting of their flags and declaration of Sharia law or the
Caliphate."
The bishop is gravely concerned about the
future, as it is utterly unclear when “Boko Haram will be flushed out of these
areas so that our people can come back home.”
“It is our prayer that it happens soon. But
no one knows when it will happen."
With photo of IDP’s cared for by the Diocese of
Maiduguri (© ACN)
Editor’s Notes:
Directly under the
Holy Father, Aid to the Church in Need supports
the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need.
ACN is a Catholic charity - helping to bring Christ to the world through
prayer, information and action.
Founded in 1947 by Father Werenfried van Straaten, whom Pope John Paul
II named “An Outstanding Apostle of Charity,” the organization is now at work
in over 145 countries throughout the world.
The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including
providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church
buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since
the initiative’s launch in 1979, 43 million Aid to the Church in Need Child’s Bibles have been distributed
worldwide.
For more information contact Michael Varenne at michael@churchinneed.org or call
718-609-0939 or fax718-609-0938. Aid to the Church in Need, 725 Leonard Street,
PO Box 220384, Brooklyn, NY 11222-0384. www.churchinneed.org
