{"id":33674,"date":"2020-12-05T13:05:26","date_gmt":"2020-12-05T04:05:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?page_id=33674"},"modified":"2020-12-05T15:22:04","modified_gmt":"2020-12-05T06:22:04","slug":"nl-01-2021","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/nl-01-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"ERITREA: High-School Senior-Year Lockdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”ERITREA” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center|line_height:2em” css=”.vc_custom_1607137265784{margin-top: 1em !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_text_separator title=”High-School Senior-Year Lockdown” color=”custom” el_width=”60″ accent_color=”#333333″ el_class=”line-for-40″][vc_single_image image=”33676″ img_size=”300X550″ add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” css=”.vc_custom_1607143892291{margin-bottom: 0.1px !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Sesuna is preparing for ministry work by studying at a VOM-supported Bible school in Ethiopia” font_container=”tag:h5|font_size:14px|text_align:center|line_height:1.4em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal” css=”.vc_custom_1607142725773{margin-top: 1em !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span><\/span>Are any of you evangelical Christians?\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sesuna<\/span>\u00a0looked nervously around the room at the other high school seniors who had just arrived for their mandatory military training. She knew several of them attended evangelical churches, which had been illegal in Eritrea since\u00a0<\/span>Sesuna<\/span>\u00a0was a toddler, but no one was admitting it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Then the instructor, clad in traditional military fatigues, began to parrot<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the government\u2019s explanation of why evangelicalism is wrong: \u201cIt is a belief system developed by the Americans to weaken Eritrea.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Sesuna<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>began<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>rise<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>her<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>feet,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the girls around her tugged at her clothing, trying<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>pull<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>her<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>back<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>down.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Her<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>friends knew<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>what<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>happens<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>admitted<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>followers of<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Christ<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>in<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>isolated<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>military<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>camp.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>high<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>school<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>seniors<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>in<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Eritrea<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>spend their senior year at a training camp adjacent to the massive\u00a0<\/span>Sawa<\/span>\u00a0Defense Training Center on the border with Sudan. They live in poor conditions and are<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>subjected<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>military<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>discipline,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>forced labor<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>most<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>probably,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>sexual<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>abuse.\u00a0<\/span>After six months at the training camp and another year of national service, students are assigned to either the civil service or indefinite military service. There are no other career choices. This compulsory service prompts thousands of Eritrean students to flee the country every year.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When the instructor called on\u00a0<\/span>her,\u00a0<\/span>Sesuna<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>boldly<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>stated,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>have<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>a<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Bible,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>I am<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>a<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>born-again<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Christian.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”Prisoner of Sawa” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center|line_height:2em” css=”.vc_custom_1607140995003{margin-top: 1em !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_text_separator title=”” color=”custom” el_width=”60″ accent_color=”#333333″ el_class=”line-for-40″][vc_column_text]After military guards led her to a cell,\u00a0<\/span>Sesuna<\/span>\u00a0lay on the dirt floor as prison officials discussed what to do with her. Some thought that since her parents followed the Eritrean Orthodox faith, she could be persuaded to abandon her \u201cheretical\u201d evangelical beliefs. But others thought her bold declaration of faith indicated that she could not be rehabilitated and should be taken to prison before she could influence other students.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Imprisonment at the military camp was not the first hardship\u00a0<\/span>Sesuna<\/span>\u00a0had suffered. Born to strict Eritrean Orthodox parents who divorced when she was young, she was raised in the home of an uncle and never felt wanted.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At age 14, she read the Bible for the first time as a requirement for volunteering as a Sunday school teacher at a Lutheran church. Through reading God\u2019s Word, she realized that much of the Orthodox church\u2019s teaching was not biblical. She then began attending an illegal evangelical church, as only four religious groups are legal in the country: the Eritrean Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Church, the Roman Catholic Church and Islam. Since 2003, the government has hunted down the leaders of unauthorized churches and arrested thousands of Christians. Many have remained in prison for decades.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Sesuna\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>relatives<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>learned<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>that<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>she\u00a0<\/span>had<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>started<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>an<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>informal<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Bible<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>study<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>at<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>her high school and had been expelled from school<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>as<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>a<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>result,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>they<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>beat<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>her<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>severely.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI truly learned what it was like to be an evangelical believer that day,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The officials at\u00a0<\/span>Sawa<\/span>, after deciding not to return\u00a0<\/span>Sesuna<\/span>\u00a0to her classmates, locked her in the women\u2019s prison, where she shared a tiny room with 15 other women in vile living\u00a0<\/span>conditions.\u00a0<\/span>The prison was constructed of tin buildings that were freezing at night and boiling hot during the day. And the women had to eat with their hands, sometimes off the floor, suffering from malnutrition, poor hygiene, disease\u00a0<\/span>and little to no medical treatment.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They were permitted to go to the bathroom<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>only<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>once<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>a<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>day,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>at<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>6<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>p.m.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>The guards,\u00a0<\/span>fearing that some of the women\u00a0<\/span>might attempt an escape, took them outside in a line and watched them. Some of the guards behaved so inappropriately that\u00a0<\/span>Sesuna<\/span>\u00a0stopped going to the bathroom. Consequently, she ate and drank very little, and she became ill.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Every week, she was dragged to an interrogation room, where prison officials spent hours trying to get her to recant her faith. Once they even brought her schoolmates into the room to persuade her. \u201cI knew all I had to do was deny Jesus and I would have been free,\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Sesuna<\/span>\u00a0said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When\u00a0<\/span>Sesuna<\/span>\u00a0became so ill that\u00a0<\/span>she\u00a0<\/span>could<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>no<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>longer<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>move,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>guards<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>lifted<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>her limp<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>body<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>took<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>her<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>infirmary. She was so weak, however, that she fell off the bed and broke her back in three places. Prison officials then took her to a hospital in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, for surgery, making it clear that she would return to the prison when she recovered.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”Tomorrow\u2019s Ministry” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center|line_height:2em” css=”.vc_custom_1607141072496{margin-top: 1em !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_text_separator title=”” color=”custom” el_width=”60″ accent_color=”#333333″ el_class=”line-for-40″][vc_column_text]Disowned by her family and facing a lifetime of military service or<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>imprisonment,\u00a0<\/span>Sesuna<\/span>\u00a0decided to flee<\/span>\u00a0Eritrea. After her discharge from the hospital, she crossed the border into neighboring Ethiopia instead of returning to the military prison. But her situation there wasn\u2019t a great improvement. She was assigned to the worst of four Eritrean refugee camps in Ethiopia, and her Muslim roommates often hit her and stole her rations. <\/span><\/p>\n

Depressed,\u00a0<\/span>Sesuna<\/span>\u00a0considered returning to Eritrea.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In time, though, she began to attend\u00a0<\/span>an\u00a0<\/span>evangelical service in the camp \u2014 it\u00a0<\/span>was\u00a0<\/span>the first time in her life she had been able to worship<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>openly \u2014 and she even began to teach Sunday school\u00a0<\/span>again.\u00a0<\/span>Then,\u00a0<\/span>after\u00a0<\/span>a church leader met her, he recommended\u00a0<\/span>Sesuna<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>for a place at a VOM-supported Bible school near the refugee<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>camp.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Currently in her first year of studies,\u00a0<\/span>Sesuna<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>now rents her own room and stays at the school while classes are in session.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWhen\u00a0<\/span>I first came to the Bible school, I\u00a0<\/span>was\u00a0<\/span>thinking\u00a0<\/span>I knew many\u00a0<\/span>things,\u00a0<\/span>that I had knowledge,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThen I came here and realized I know nothing. But that is challenging me and helping me to know the Lord more. God is preparing me for tomorrow\u2019s ministry.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While her difficult upbringing and lack of family support could have been debilitating,\u00a0<\/span>Sesuna<\/span>\u00a0views it as<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>preparation for her future ministry<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cGod has removed the human beings in my life so I don\u2019t depend on them,\u201d she said, \u201cand it helps me to be strong.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Having endured many\u00a0<\/span>trials\u00a0<\/span>in her young life,\u00a0<\/span>Sesuna<\/span>\u00a0remains\u00a0<\/span>keenly focused<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>on<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>eternity. \u201cI know the world will pass away one day,\u201d she said. \u201cBut if we have the Lord, we have everything.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][vc_column][\/vc_column][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”ERITREA” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center|line_height:2em” css=”.vc_custom_1607137265784{margin-top: 1em !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_text_separator title=”High-School Senior-Year Lockdown” color=”custom” el_width=”60″ accent_color=”#333333″ el_class=”line-for-40″][vc_single_image image=”33676″ img_size=”300X550″ add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” css=”.vc_custom_1607143892291{margin-bottom: 0.1px !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Sesuna is preparing for ministry work by studying …","protected":false},"author":581,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-33674","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"campaignId":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/33674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/581"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/33674\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}