More than a year after the radical Boko Haram militants attacked his village in Nigeria, killing 23 Christians—with one of the militants leaving him for dead after slashing his face with a machete—13-year-old Danjuma Shakura has become the embodiment of the Christian virtue of forgiveness.
The attack cut out his right eye and left an ugly scar on his face, Mission Network News reports.
But despite the cruelty of the attackers, Danjuma told the Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) organisation that he has forgiven them, adding that they must have acted the way they did because they had never known the love of Jesus.
Danjuma said he is not blaming God for the pain he suffered. In fact, he said his faith in God has grown even stronger. "God continues to guide and protect me," he told VOM.
He recalled the tragedy that befell his village on Jan. 28, 2015 when more than 1,000 Muslim militants belonging to the Boko Haram movement burned their houses and killed Christians.
One of the militants used a machete to slash his face. Danjuma fell unconscious. The survivors of the massacre believed he was among the dead and started preparing his grave. But before they could move his body, he woke up screaming. Villagers rushed him to the hospital and he was saved.
The wound on his face was deep and the doctors didn't give him much of a chance to survive.
But more than a year later, through the miraculous power of God, Danjuma is alive and well to bear witness to God's grace.
He said he could still vividly remember running for his life, seeing fellow villagers being mercilessly killed and their homes torched. He said he could still remember the pain he suffered from the first strike of the machete on his face.
But despite all these memories, he said there is no bitterness in his heart.
He has learned to use a walking stick to find his way around and will soon be attending a school for the blind. He is also set to undergo surgery as doctors will try to repair the damage done on his eye.
Christians outnumber Muslims in Nigeria –51 percent to 43 percent, according to the Joshua Project.
Boko Haram has slaughtered thousands of Christians in Nigeria and neighbouring African countries and displaced more than 1.3 million believers.
