Mary Achai's Story
Mary
Achai was burned for Freedom
Click
Here to View a Photo Journal About Mary: Mary's Story: Walk
In Her Shoes
“When Mary’s oldest daughter reached
the age of 10, her captor decided she was old enough to sell
to another man who wanted a young virgin wife.”
- Kimberly Smith, President
One of my first questions to Mary was, “How old are you?”
She struck me as impossibly young to be the mother of 6 children.
I received the answer that I was becoming accustomed to hearing
during my interviews with the returning slaves but could never
quite reconcile. “I can’t remember.”
Neither can Mary remember exactly when her village in Southern
Sudan was invaded by the Janjaweed. But, she does remember
exactly where she was, what she was doing and what the Muslim
Slave Raiders did to her and her children.
Mary and her husband got separated during the terrible attack,
however, her children managed to cling to their mother. Mary
and her children were tied, beaten and then forced to leave
their village as it was burned to the ground. They walked
for many hours – herded by Janjaweed who were riding on horseback
keeping guns aimed at the back of the new slaves.
It was late into the night before they were finally able to
stop for what Mary hoped would be rest. She was wrong. As
soon as the Muslim Slave Raiders secured the area by tying
people down for the night, Mary and most of the other women
and girls were divided among the Janjaweed where they were
raped throughout the night.
In the morning, all captives were threatened and told to worship
Allah, as did their captors. Mary would not. Enough of the
captives did worship Allah that the Muslims did not seem too
dissatisfied for the time being. After ‘worship’, the journey
began once again in the same fashion as the day before.
Time became a blur; Mary is not sure how many days the journey
took between her village and the town near Khartoum, in Northern
Sudan, where she was eventually placed as a slave and forced
to ‘marry’ her captor.
In the beginning, Mary’s captor tried to force her to worship
Allah. She refused. He beat her, threatened her and even threatened
her children. Mary was faithful to Christ.
Over time her captor seemed to develop the attitude that he
didn’t care if Mary converted. Since he ‘owned’ her children
also, he shifted his focus toward her children. Each day he
sent them to a place where they were forced to learn of Allah
and to how to worship him. Out of fear, her children went
along with their captor.
When Mary’s oldest daughter was approximately 10 years old,
her captor decided that she was old enough to sell to another
Muslim man who wanted a young virgin. The original wife of
Mary’s captor (a Muslim woman) knew of her husband’s plan
and was troubled for the young girl. She warned Mary.
Motivated by the personal knowledge and experience of what
her 10 year old daughter would suffer, Mary decided it was
worth the risk to try to escape with all 6 of her children.
The original wife of her Muslim captor agreed to help Mary
and her children escape. While their captor was away from
home, Mary and her 6 children fled on foot.
When their captor returned and learned what had happened he
set out on horseback to reclaim his ‘property’. Knowing she
and the younger children would slow down the older children
and reduce their chance to escape, Mary sent her 3 older children
(who were old enough to run on their own) in one direction
while she kept her nursing infant and toddler. Mary also kept
her daughter at threat of being sold into sexual slavery with
her.
Although they had a significant head start, her captor caught
up with Mary for he was on horseback. When he found Mary lying
on the ground trying to hide herself in some desert brush
and protectively covering her children with her body, he circled
her many times on his horse firing his gun all around her
as he screamed, “Allah Akbar!” (Praise Allah!) Mary was terrified
and dared not move.
In the end, Mary’s once captor decided it was better to burn
them alive as punishment for her escape than to kill her quickly
with his gun. He set the bush around her on fire and rode
off satisfied that he had killed Mary – slowly with much suffering.
On fire herself, Mary struggled to drag her infant and toddler
from the flames. Her infant died before she could get out.
Mary crawled out of the flames dragging her toddler behind.
She laid on the desert floor for several days; she is not
sure exactly how many, as she drifted in and out of consciousness.
Mary’s infant and daughter died in the flames. Her toddler
was alive when they crawled out of the flames but died during
those days exposed in the desert.
Mary’s sons who had run in the opposite direction met up with
a Dinka man and older boys who listened to the children’s
stories. The man agreed to go back with Mary’s children to
look for their mother. They found Mary unconscious.
This Dinka man cleaned Mary’s wounds as best he could and
helped her to survive. However, without adequate medical help,
Mary’s severe burns could not heal properly.
The skin on her arms closed over with her arms bent at a 90
degree angle, therefore, she is not able to straighten them
or move them from that position.
After a few months of healing, the man helped Mary to get
to her home village and look for her husband. The news was
not good. The report Mary was given was that years ago, when
she and her children were first taken as slaves, their husband
and father set off into the desert looking for them. He has
never been seen or heard from again. Mary does not know if
he died in route or was captured himself.
Mary remains vibrant in her faith and has no regret about
not denying Christ to save her flesh. When asked how she could
remain so strong in the face of such torture, she simply says
in a quiet, humble voice, “I didn’t believe in Allah.” She
is, however, concerned for her children and states that they
have been through so much that they aren’t sure what to believe.
Mary attended our Discipleship classes for women and beamed
with joy each day. Her children, never having been able to
attend school before, were overjoyed to come to Vacation Bible
School to learn, laugh and play with the other children.
Mary’s biggest problem now is that, due to her inability to
move her arms, she cannot provide a living for her family.
Typically, the released slaves who cannot find their husbands
(which is the norm) remarry so that they are part of a family
working to survive together. Due to her debilitation, Mary
has no hope of being chosen as a wife.
Near the end of our stay, one of our American team members
had a vision for having the Sudanese Christians make small
crosses (from the local tall grass used for thatching and
rope) which we could sell in the U.S. as a ‘micro-business’.
Then it came to us, Mary! This is a job that Mary could sit
and do as it requires very little movement.
Our entire team took up a love offering to build a Tukle (Sudanese
home: mud hut with grass roof) for Mary and her children.
Their new home is close to our school so that her children
can attend school and be fed. Another of our team members
offered to sponsor Mary.
Each quarter when James flies to Nairobi to send his report
and collect the next quarter’s support, he will bring out
the completed crosses to ship them to the U.S. from Nairobi.
Follow up:
I spent two months with Mary and the other former slaves on
that trip. A few months later I returned to visit Mary. I
was amazed to learn that she had been taking the money that
she earned through cross making to share with other former
slave women in similar situations as she had been. No one
had taught her about tithing or sharing. No one had expected
her to share her meager earnings. She had done so freely out
of love.
Through
partnerships with Voice of the Martyrs and Bethany Kids, we
were able to medi-vac Mary to Kijabi, Kenya where Dr. Dick
Bransford performed surgery on both of Mary’s arms. The surgery
was a huge success. As a result, Mary now has 90% mobility
in her arms.
I went to visit Mary again while she was in the hospital.
It was amazing to have Mary run to me with her arms flapping
in joy! For the first time, Mary was able to truly embrace
me; we both cried.
Through conversation about Mary’s return to Sudan, I asked
her what she or her children might need. I wondered if she
would ask for clothing or some essential item for her children;
they have only one set of rags which they wear every day.
Mary said, “I don’t have a Bible. I couldn’t read it even
if I did since I don’t know how to read. Still, I know Jesus
has been with me all the way! But I want to know more about
Him. Please teach me and the other women more about Jesus.”
Mary
has become a leader to Christians, Muslims and women who have
lost all hope in any religion through this unholy ‘holy war’.
Her desire is to start a Bible study with these women.
- Kimberly
Smith, President
Click
Here to buy Mary’s Crosses
Through the Make Way
Partners Slave Repatriation Ministry, we provide loving care,
discipleship, food, jobs and a home. It cost about $1,000
per former slave to provide this care including building them
a home. Please consider sponsoring a former slave or widow
or find partners to share in the support with you.
CLICK
HERE to sponsor a former slave
or widow today!
