How young Ali escaped Boko Haram captivity, leaving behind his sisters

BUY AND SELL @ marttle.com

– Thousands of boys have been kidnapped by Boko Haram and forced into battle

– One of such boys is Ali, who was abducted by the insurgents after the terrorists attacked Bama where he lived

– After some time, Ali found the courage to escape from the insurgents but was unable to flee along with his sister who was too scared to escape

– Ali found an uncle who agreed to look after him in a camp for those displaced from his village

Ali is receiving psychosocial care through school in the camp aimed at healing the trauma of his time with the insurgents

Boko Haram began a military campaign to impose Islamic rule in northern Nigeria in 2009. The conflict has claimed the lives of over twenty thousand people, with the displacement of another two million.

In carrying out its war against the Nigerian government, Boko Haram has kidnapped and enslaved thousands of women and children. The case of the Chibok schoolgirls who were kidnapped by the terrorists is known world over, but very little is being told of the boys constantly kidnapped by the insurgents and forced into battle.

READ ALSO: How a young girl, Yagana, survived after being abducted by Boko Haram

The account of Ali is one of thousands of such boys who have been abducted by Boko Haram as part of the on-going conflict in northeast Nigeria.

Ali is one of thousands of such boys abducted by Boko Haram.

According to UNICEF, Ali used to live in Bama before he was captured by Boko Haram insurgents. His days prior to his abduction were happily spent going to the Islamic school and playing football with his friends when classes were over.

However, things changed for Ali after the terrorists attacked Bama one day while he was at school. While fleeing from the gunshots he came across the horrific site of the lifeless bodies of his father, his grandfather and his two brothers.

Gripped with fear, he managed to find a hiding spot under a bed. His safety did not last long as Boko Haram came from house to house, finding him and dragging him away.

READ ALSO: FOCUS: Nigeria’s teenage girls forcefully abducted by Boko Haram

Ali was one of several Boko Haram captives forced to walk to a neighbouring village where they were imprisoned in mud huts. Sad and frightened the young boys had no idea where they had ended up or what was going to happen to them.

After some time, Ali found the courage to escape, slipping away while there was a gathering of troops who were momentarily distracted. Ali ran to find his sister who was being held by Boko Haram in a different part of the camp. She was however, too scared to go with him, they had threatened to kill anyone who tried to flee.

As he ran, Ali came across an old woman who was able to show him the way back to Bama. Once they returned to their village they were detained by the Nigerian Army who wanted to assess their association with Boko Haram and were able to provide him with some medical care.

After Ali was released

from army care, he returned home to discover his mother had also died not long after his village had been attacked. Alone once again Ali found an uncle who agreed to look after him in a camp for those displaced from his village.

But Ali’s stay in the camp did not offer him escape from the trauma that pervaded his dreams as he still thinks about all the things that have happened.

Also, the stigma of his association with the insurgents is inescapable as people accuse him of being a spy and bringing a threat to camp life. But undaunted by such accusations, Ali has become comfortable retaliating against people who make such accusations.

Although he is back in school and has hopes of becoming a businessman, all Ali really wants is to return to the life he had before the conflict.

READ ALSO: UNICEF: Boko Haram Use of Child Bombers Up 200% in 3 Months of 2017

He misses his parents and three sisters who are still being held by Boko Haram in the bush. He doesn’t know if he will ever see them again but thinks they will be reunited and live together when the violence ends.

Ali is also receiving psychosocial care through school in the camp aimed at healing the trauma of his time with insurgents and building resilience for camp life.

Ali found the courage to escape, slipping away while there was a gathering of troops who were momentarily distracted.

The Boko Haram insurgency has displaced thousands of families with many living in IDP camps as the army tries to put a lasting solution to the problem. While relative success has been achieved in displacing the terrorists from their stronghold in Sambisa forest, pockets of violence are still being recorded in other places.

Ali’s account is one of thousands of boys who have seen their childhood cut short by conflicts in the northeast.

In February 2017, UNICEF executive director, Anthony Lake, disclosed that Boko Haram recruited about 2,000 children in 2016 and used them as child soldiers, according to the UN Children’s Fund report.

Speaking to global leaders in Paris on the anniversary of the Paris Commitments to end the use of children in conflict, the UNICEF chief said estimates indicated that tens of thousands under the age of 18 were being used in conflicts worldwide.

IN the ZENITHBLOG.com video below, Senator Muhammed Hassan has narrates how he nearly died in a Boko Haram attack:

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