ICC Note: 

The vicious attacks of Christians by  Boko Haram in Nigeria constitutes of burning people alive, mass beheading and mutilation. Others are victims of kidnapping. Considering the severity of these attacks, it is no doubt that thousands of victims suffer from acute Post Traumatic Stress  Disorder that require intervention and counseling.  According to the National Center for PTSD  symptoms of PTSD usually start soon after the traumatic event, but they may not appear until months or years later. They also may come and go over many years. The symptoms can  be debilitating, causing great distress, and interfere with  work or home life. 

11/30/2016 Nigeria (World Watch Monitor) – A trauma care centre is being constructed in northern Nigeria to support Christians who have suffered religiously motivated violence or abuse at the hands of Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen.

The centre is being built by Open Doors International, a charity which supports Christians under pressure for their faith. In April, the charity took a group of UK-based church leaders to visit the parents of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls and Christians in internally displaced people (IDP) camps – in Yola in the north-eastern state of Adamawa, and Jos in the central state of Plateau.

During the trip, the group met with Isaac*, a church leader who survived a Boko Haram attack. Isaac said he learnt that his name was on a Boko Haram list on Christmas Day last year. A few days later, the Islamists moved from house to house, killing everyone they encountered, but Isaac and his family escaped unharmed. When his 500-strong church was due to meet again a few days later, Isaac, his wife and the caretaker were the only ones there.

“As a shepherd, as a pastor, we don’t take pleasure in burying our members,” Isaac told the group. “I’ve seen orphans in the church and widows in the church. Whenever we see them, we feel bad, because we need to take care of them and we have no resources.”

In the video below, captured by Open Doors, another church leader, Rev. Ishuwa Abari, speaks about his family’s traumatic encounters with Boko Haram and how frequent attacks have affected his church: (Click ‘CC’ if subtitles don’t automatically appear.)

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