<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong><em>Ahead of the International Day of Remembrance
 ;and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism,
 ;marked annually on 21 August</em></strong><strong><em>, the United Nations,  ;committed to supporting people who have been
attacked, abducted, injured or traumatized by acts of terrorism in the world</em></strong><strong><em>,  ;travelled to Chad and the Far North region of
Cameroon in West Africa to interview people who have personal stories to tell
about how terrorism has shattered their lives.</em></strong><strong><em> 24 years old Fati Yahaya  ;and
mother of two, in this piece, tells her story  ;as made available to OpenLife  ;by African Media Agency, AMA</em></strong><strong><em></em></strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Fati Yahaya, who is 24-years old, comes from the village of
Koghum in the north-east of Nigeria. She and her two young children were taken
by armed insurgents in 2015 and spent three years as their prisoners. She has
been living in Minawao, a camp for Nigerian refugees in the Far North region of
Cameroon, since June 2018.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Boko Haram came to my village Koghum in March 2015. It was a
Wednesday evening at around 10pm and we had just eaten food. I was at home with
my 80-year old father-in-law and two young daughters, Aissatou and Helle.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">They asked about my husband and when I told them he was not
there, the fighters burnt the houses in the village and then forced us to
accompany them on foot to Doghoade mountain, which was about 33 kilometers
away.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">At times, they beat us and called us infidels who do not
want to practice religion. Sometimes they would take me away from my
father-in-law and lock me in a room. Once I was held for three days in a locked
room without food and water.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Three years of suffering</strong></p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I spent three years with these men, three years of
suffering. I was not raped but I was beaten many times if I failed to follow
their instructions, for example not looking the men in the eye. Some people
were beaten to death, others died of hunger. I lived in fear that I too would
be killed.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">That is how we lived with them. God helped me and saved me
from the suffering.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I was helped to escape by an old woman who had the trust of
the men. I left with my two daughters, but my father-in-law stayed behind. We
walked for two days in the rain and finally made it across the border to
Cameroon and then to Minawao camp.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Today, I and my children are safe in this camp, but
sometimes I dream of those men coming to find me and that frightens me. And
sometimes my children ask, “where are those men who beat and tortured us?”</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">And If they see police officers with guns here in the camp,
they get scared, and so I tell them, they should not be afraid. We can sleep
peacefully here; there is no sound of guns, no killings, no brutality and we
receive food.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">My daughters now have peace of mind and play joyfully with
other children. I pray that they can go to school and be educated. Maybe, one
day one of them could become a doctor. That is my hope.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">. </p>

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