In an interview with ACN, Clement Usoo, 65, described witnessing the massacre of members of his family at the hands of Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria. / Aid to the Church in Need-USA
Washington D.C., Feb 16, 2023 / 14:15 pm (CNA).
Clement Usoo, a 65-year-old Christian Nigerian farmer whose family was massacred by Fulani herdsmen in 2019, shared his story in a testimony published Wednesday by Aid to the Church in Need-USA (ACN).
Usoo described what transpired on June 1, 2019, in an interview with ACN. He and his brother, he said, were on their way to a nearby farm when they heard gunshots and screaming coming from their village.
Hoping to save their family, Usoo and his brother immediately ran back. As they approached their home the sounds of violence and agony grew louder.
“I rushed inside and saw my son’s head in one corner of the room and the rest of his body in the center,” Usoo said. “I was confused; I quickly took his head and placed it on his body. I cried and shook the body, to see if God would have mercy and bring him back to life — but that never happened.
“I was about to run out of the room; four Fulani herdsmen ambushed us. They grabbed me, and one of them shot me in the chest, while another slashed my hand with a machete. I was also stabbed in the back.
“They grabbed hold of my brother and mother, tormenting her, telling her to watch them slaughter her son. One of them had an AK47 and shot my brother, who died instantly. My mother could not hold back her pain and collapsed,” Usoo said.
“On seeing that, I fell unconscious, and the attackers thought I was dead and left. Soon after they left, villagers began to collect all the dead bodies for mass burial; that was when they found out I was still breathing. They rushed me to the hospital, where I spent a few months,” Usoo told ACN.
When he left the hospital, Usoo was told four other relatives had been killed in the attack.
With his remaining family, Usoo left his home village to seek shelter in an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp known as “Guma Camp.”
IDP camps in Nigeria are known for extreme hardship and poverty. At Guma Camp, his wife and three more of his children died.
“Whenever I remember the loved ones I have lost, it is very hard. My son was my breadwinner, and he is gone. I always feel sad,” Usoo said.
According to the reports of survivors like Usoo, attacks by Fulani herdsmen on unarmed and unsuspecting villages have become more common in recent years.
The Fulani, a radically Islamic nomadic people, have been responsible for a series of attacks and massacres on Christian farmers going back to at least 2016.
As recently as October 2022, 71 Christians were reportedly massacred by Fulani herdsmen at St. Michael Catholic Church in Nigeria’s Benue state.
According to ACN, Fulani herdsmen attacked 93 villages in Benue state, killing 325 farmers in 2022.
“Fulani attacks on farmers in [Nigeria] are too numerous to be counted,” Usoo said. “The most upsetting part of this is that the government is not doing anything to stop the attacks. It almost seems as if there is a plan to kill all the Christians here.”
Aid to the Church in Need is a pontifical foundation that provides pastoral and humanitarian assistance to the persecuted Church around the world. Visit churchinneed.org to learn more about ACN in the USA.
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Vatican City, Feb 19, 2021 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- A Vatican cardinal on Friday congratulated the new leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church on his election and said he hoped that relations with the Catholic Church would “continue to grow.”
A view of the separation wall between Israel and the Palestinian Territories from behind a window in the Comboni Sisters’ house in East Jerusalem. / Credit: Marinella Bandini
Jerusalem, Feb 17, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
The Comboni Sisters have been living on the border of East Jerusalem since 1967. Running along the border of their property is a wall, constructed by the Israelis in 2009, dividing the village of Bethany/al-Eizariya — renowned as the site of the resurrection of Lazarus. The sisters’ residence remains on the Israeli side, while the church and the tomb of Lazarus are on the Palestinian side, on the other side of the wall.
“For us, the passage from Scripture that says ‘in Christ the wall of separation between peoples has been broken down’ is very powerful [Eph 2:14], especially when there is a physical wall in front of us that clearly indicates this separation,” Sister Anna Maria Sgaramella, provincial councilor and coordinator of the Middle East Zone for the Comboni Sisters, told CNA.
Sister Anna Maria Sgaramella, provincial council and coordinator of the Middle East Zone for the Comboni Sisters. Credit: Marinella Bandini
Sgaramella arrived in Jerusalem for the first time on Sept. 26, 2000. The very next day, the second intifada — a major uprising by Palestinians against Israeli occupation — erupted. She witnessed the siege of the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where she taught theology.
Later, she was transferred to Egypt, where in 2011, she witnessed the uprising known as the “Arab Spring.”
Since 2013, Sgaramella has permanently returned to Jerusalem and now faces another long and bloody conflict. “I have always been struck by the deep sense of hope and determination to move forward among the Palestinian people. With this war, I see it weaker; people are more exhausted,” she said.
A view of the separation wall between Israel and the Palestinian Territories from the terrace of the Comboni Sisters’ house in East Jerusalem. The wall, constructed by the Israelis in 2009, runs along the border of their property, dividing the village of Bethany/al-Eizariya in two, believed to be the site of the miracle of the raising of Lazarus. The sisters’ residence remains on the Israeli side, while the church and the tomb of Lazarus are on the other side of the wall. Credit: Marinella Bandini
There are currently six Comboni Sisters in Jerusalem and each is involved in a specific ministry. They usually come together for morning Mass and evening vespers as well as for meetings and reflection. Their community house is open to religious individuals seeking periods of study or discernment and serves as a center of spirituality for both the congregation and the local Church. The sisters host educational workshops and spiritual exercises as well as welcome pilgrims.
The Comboni Sisters in Jerusalem in a recent photo at the Jordan River. The Comboni Sisters’ community in Jerusalem currently consists of six sisters and each is involved in a specific ministry. Credit: Photo courtesy of Sister Anna Maria Sgaramella
Sgaramella shared with CNA what it’s like to live on the border.
“With the construction of the wall, we found ourselves in the middle, between Palestinians and Israelis,” she explained. “The Palestinians attempt to bypass the wall — especially to pray at the Dome of the Rock — while the Israelis try to repel them in an endless game.”
“Being in the middle is a physical position that has also become a spiritual one,” Sgaramella continued. “We had to reflect and decided to ‘stay in the middle,’ between these two peoples, to serve as a bridge between them. By placing ourselves in the middle, we listen to the injustice faced by the Palestinians and also to the fears of Israeli families.”
For this reason, the religious community has chosen to maintain a small presence in the Palestinian area. Two sisters reside in an apartment beyond the wall, about 100 feet from the Comboni Sisters’ residence.
The exterior of the Comboni Sisters’ house in East Jerusalem where the Comboni Sisters have been living since 1967. Credit: Marinella Bandini
“We desired to stay and share the lives of those people and accompany the small remaining Christian community there. Every time they need to reach the community, they have to travel 18 kilometers [about 11 miles] passing through the Israeli checkpoint,” Sgaramella explained.
The sisters do not do this simply in the spirit of altruism, explained Sgaramella, who is also involved in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. “We understood from the beginning that being in the middle comes at a cost. It often means getting hit from both sides. On one hand, there are stones and Molotov cocktails from the Palestinians that land on our property; on the other hand, we are under the smoke of tear gas launched in response by the Israelis,” she said.
One incident happened the night of Oct. 6, just hours before the Hamas attack on Israel. Some Molotov cocktails landed on the synthetic grass in the part of the property that houses the kindergarten, causing a fire — the signs of which are still visible today. The fire destroyed the grass, playground equipment, and blackened the recently painted wall.
The exterior of the kindergarten, housed on the Comboni Sisters’ property. In the background is the separation wall that was erected on the edge of the Comboni Sisters’ property in 2009.
The kindergarten is a work that the Comboni Sisters have been carrying out since their arrival and today it serves as an important point of connection with the surrounding community. This significance has grown, especially after the construction of the wall.
“The presence of the kindergarten has never been questioned, neither with the wall nor with the war,” said Sgaramella, who is the director. The kindergarten is attended by approximately 40 children, all of whom are Muslims, divided into two classes. Formally, it is under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Ministry of Education. “It is a project that meets the needs of the people; furthermore, episodes of violence never occur during the day when the children are present,” she added.
Sister Anna Maria Sgaramella of the Comboni Sisters talks with the children in one of the kindergarten classes hosted at their home in East Jerusalem. The presence of the kindergarten has never been questioned, said Sgaramella, the director. Credit: Marinella Bandini
Every morning, the children begin with a prayer. “We tell the parents right from the start,” Sgaramella explained. “It’s a prayer of thanksgiving for what God has created, for the day, for life, a blessing for parents, neighbors, friends, and also for children who suffer. We pray for peace in the world and in this country.”
Regarding the families, she shared: “There is great trust and respect. They usually choose to send their children here, especially for moral education and English-language instruction.”
Most of the children come from East Jerusalem, but some also come from al-Eizariya. One of the two teachers, Nihal Hashmime, who is also the vice director, has to pass through the checkpoint every day to get to work.
“With the war,” the sister told CNA, “we faced some educational challenges because initially, some children were absent. The work we do with them is to impart certain values, such as peace, friendship, love, and respect for differences.”
Play is also an important aspect. “Children here do not find toy weapons, and they are not allowed to bring them from home,” Sgaramella said.
“Our attempt in education and all other activities is to break down this wall that leads to seeing the other as an enemy,” Sgaramella said. “Sometimes it is difficult to recognize the universality of salvation. We know that Jesus died for everyone, but in certain conflict-ridden contexts, it is challenging to acknowledge the other as a brother. Personally, the field of teaching theology provides me with the space to build bridges among believers. Because in every religion, there are sincere believers seeking truth.”
Students at the Polytechnic University of Turin built the satellite that launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on June 12, 2023. / Credit: Holy See Press Office
How does God guide us to walk in righteous paths?
1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
Hebrews 13:16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Galatians 6:10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Galatians 6:3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
This is how God wants the believer in Him to live.