{"id":52599,"date":"2025-01-21T14:13:12","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T05:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=52599"},"modified":"2025-01-22T10:26:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T01:26:00","slug":"vomk-report-333","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2025\/01\/21\/vomk-report-333\/","title":{"rendered":"CONGO: A CHRISTIAN \u201cPARADISE\u201d DESTROYED BY ISLAMISTS SLOWLY RETURNS TO LIFE"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”52592″ img_size=”full” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”A village once considered Congo\u2019s \u201cparadise on earth\u201d because of work done there by Christian missionaries is slowly returning to normal after a series of bloody anti-Christian attacks carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a violent Islamist group, from 2019 to 2021.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left|color:%23111111″ google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” css=”” el_class=”headline”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]According to <\/span>Voice of the Martyrs Korea <\/span>Representative Dr<\/span>.<\/span> Hyun Sook Foley, n<\/span>o one in <\/span>the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) village of <\/span>Tchabi<\/span> expected trouble from Islamists.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cOver the decades, <\/span>Tchabi<\/span> had been a peaceful oasis in an unstable region,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cThe village had a hospital, a Christian school, a church, and a runway for airplanes, all built by missionaries who arrived at the mountaintop location in 1976.\u201d She <\/span>says\u00a0 <\/span>Tchabi<\/span> remained <\/span>relatively secure<\/span> throughout various violent conflicts, including a civil war that raged across the DRC in the 1990s.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]But <\/span>Tchabi\u2019s<\/span> peace was shattered in early 2019 when militants from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a violent Islamist group, <\/span>emerged<\/span> from the jungle to assault and abduct local Christians.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cThey took 40 people the first time, including four doctors and two staff,\u201d Lau <\/span>Babam<\/span>, <\/span>Tchabi\u2019s<\/span> village chief<\/span>, told Voice of the Martyrs<\/span>. \u201cThey spent two months in the bush, and then they let them go.\u201d But some of those abducted, he said, are still missing.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]According to Representative Foley, the ADF was <\/span>established<\/span> in the late 1990s as a rebel group fighting to overthrow the Ugandan government. \u201cOver time, the rebels moved across the border into the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), hiding in the dense jungles along the border. In 2018, the ADF pledged its allegiance to the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS) and openly declared its goal to eradicate Christians and <\/span>establish<\/span> Islamic law in the region.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”52593″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]She says that s<\/span>ince that time, ADF militants have regularly <\/span>emerged<\/span> from their jungle hideouts to kill and abducted thousands of Congolese<\/span>, especially Christians<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]I<\/span>n 2019, <\/span>a second <\/span>ADF attack<\/span> on <\/span>Tchabi<\/span> caus<\/span>ed<\/span> even more death and destruction.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cThe second time they came with a vision to destroy<\/span> things, to kill people, to burn things down,\u201d <\/span>said <\/span>Babam<\/span>,<\/span> who was away from the village at the time of the attack.<\/span> \u201cEverything they just destroyed<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d <\/span>Babam<\/span> told <\/span>Voice of the Martyrs<\/span> that t<\/span>he militants<\/span> killed <\/span>hi<\/span>s wife and six of his grandchildren,<\/span> vandalized his house and destroyed the baptistry inside<\/span> the village church.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]A doctor <\/span>working at the village hospital <\/span>who survived the attack<\/span>s<\/span> witnessed<\/span> some of the final, courageous words of the school\u2019s Christian principal. <\/span>According to the doctor, the <\/span>militants<\/span> told <\/span>the principal<\/span>, \u201cWe want you to be gone because the Christians are our enemies.\u201d But the <\/span>doctor said the <\/span>principal was unmoved. \u201cHe said his faith in Christ<\/span> will never change,\u201d the doctor <\/span>told Voice of the Martyrs<\/span>. \u201cThat is why they killed him.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Many people fled <\/span>Tchabi<\/span> after the second attack, but not everyone. <\/span>O<\/span>n the night of May 30, 2021, the ADF launched another assault on the <\/span>remaining <\/span>village<\/span>rs<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

\u201cThey came in with machetes,\u201d <\/span>Babam<\/span> told Voice of the Martyrs<\/span>. \u201cSome<\/span> had guns, but a lot just had machetes. They would shoot<\/span> somebody or cut them, and then they would burn them.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”52589″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Most of Tchabi\u2019s residents are beginning to return to the mountaintop village to rebuild their lives. In August 2023, front-line workers delivered a shipment of Bibles to Tchabi. More than 100 villagers received a Bible.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Some of the villagers, including a woman named<\/span> Gertrude, fled in the darkness. \u201cWe heard gunshots in<\/span><\/span> the night,\u201d she <\/span>told Voice of the Martyrs<\/span>. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know who it was, and we<\/span> ran into the forest.\u201d<\/span> She later learned that many of her friends had been<\/span> killed. \u201cOur things had been carried off, and the homes<\/span> were burned,\u201d she said. The ADF had killed 10 members<\/span> of Gertrude\u2019s family, including her parents. In total, 182<\/span> people were killed in and around <\/span>Tchabi<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]The militants also took hostages back<\/span> with them <\/span>into the jungle. <\/span>Babam<\/span> told Voice of the Martyrs that <\/span>about 30 people are still<\/span> missing.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Before they disappeared into the jungle, the ADF fighters <\/span>vandalized <\/span>Tchabi\u2019s<\/span> church building<\/span>,<\/span> smashing everything inside and covering the walls with excrement. They also destroyed the school, looted the <\/span>hospital<\/span> and burned many homes and buildings<\/span>, according to witnesses<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Although 90% of people in the DRC<\/span> identify as Christians, church leaders<\/span> in the country <\/span>view Islam as a growing threat. \u201cIf the<\/span> church is not strengthened, Islam will be<\/span> everywhere,\u201d a pastor who trains and<\/span> sends Congolese missionaries throughout<\/span> the country<\/span> told Voice of the Martyrs<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]In the aftermath of the attack, the Congolese government and the United Nations (U.N.) deployed soldiers to protect the village, but it remained mostly uninhabited for the next two<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>years. However, Representative Foley says that once the soldiers had sufficiently secured the area, Tchabi\u2019s residents began to return. She says some set up temporary shelters on the primitive runway, since nothing remained but the gutted shells of their burned homes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”52588″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”In a violent campaign to establish an Islamic caliphate in the region, the ADF has kidnapped and killed many Congolese, destroying their homes and churches.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]In August 2023, front-line workers delivered a shipment of Bibles to Tchabi, landing on the rough runway that hadn\u2019t been used in three years. \u201cAt one end of the runway was a large<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>camp of U.N. peacekeeping forces, while at the other end was a mass grave where many of the villagers had been buried after the ADF attacks,\u201d says Representative Foley.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Waiting inside the church were 103 villagers who had received two days of spiritual care for grief and emotional wounds caused by the deadly attacks. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Everyone in attendance had lost relatives in the attacks<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley. She says most had also lost <\/span>nearly <\/span>all of<\/span> their material possessions, including their Bibles, when they fled <\/span>Tchabi<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Before receiving their Bibles, some of the villagers<\/span> performed <\/span>a short drama <\/span>about what had happened to them. <\/span>In addition to re<\/span>–<\/span>enacting the attacks, most survivors drew<\/span> pictures of what they had experienced. One drew a picture of a<\/span> pastor being killed inside a church.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

\u201cMany are struggling with the fact that when [the attack] took place, they actually saw with their own eyes their parents being killed, being slaughtered,\u201d <\/span>Hedeli<\/span>, a Christian counselor<\/span>, told Voice of the Martyrs. She <\/span>traveled to <\/span>Tchabi<\/span> to <\/span>minister<\/span> to those traumatized by the attack. \u201c[<\/span>T<\/span>hey] are finding healing to their heart wounds when they are able to actually draw what has happened<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Gertrude drew a picture of her family fleeing for their lives. She had stayed in the jungle for days before taking refuge in a neighboring country, but she found no peace there either. \u201cThere was anger, there was <\/span>pain<\/span> and we weren\u2019t able to speak,\u201d she<\/span> told Voice of the Martyrs<\/span>. \u201cThere were bad dreams, no appetite. In our dreams we would just dream of running and people being killed, butchered.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”52587″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Gertrude and others who endured the attack recently turned their experiences into drawings or theatrical skits. The activities helped them process their trauma and move toward spiritual and emotional restoration.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Gertrude told Voice of the Martyrs that she had been hesitant to return to Tchabi, with even small decisions in her life made difficult by her constant fear. \u201cFor example, I really need to buy plates. But if I go and buy these plates, I am constantly thinking, \u2018Ah, maybe I will buy them and then [the ADF] will come\u2019,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She told Voice of the Martyrs that her request is for prayer as she continues the healing process. \u201cPray that we will be able to forgive and that faith will come, and that we won\u2019t have to worry about something like that happening again,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Babam said forgiveness has had a great effect on his spiritual healing. \u201cIt touched my heart knowing how to forgive our enemies,\u201d he told Voice of the Martyrs.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another survivor echoed Babam\u2019s gratitude. \u201cThe Lord,\u201d he said, \u201chas not forgotten his people.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”52592″ img_size=”full” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”A village once considered Congo\u2019s \u201cparadise on earth\u201d because of work done there by Christian missionaries is slowly returning to normal after a series of bloody …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":52591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vomk-report"],"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":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52599"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52608,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52599\/revisions\/52608"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}