Girl Who Escaped Boko Haram Captivity Meets Trump In White House

By Emmanuel Aziken

A Nigerian girl named Esther who escaped from Boko Haram captivity was among dozens of victims of religious persecution granted audience by President Donald Trump in the White House on Thursday.

Esther was held in Boko Haram captivity for three years. Esther and the other victims of religious persecution gathered around the president in the Oval Office and took turns to give brief summaries of their circumstances in their countries.

“Thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity to see you,” Esther said briefly as she shook hands with President Trump.

Most of them were from Middle East and Asia and included children of pastors and others who recounted how they were oppressed on account of their religious inclination.

Another victim from Pakistan told the president, “I can call myself a Muslim in the United States of America but not in Pakistan. Otherwise I’ll be punished,” the victim an Ahmadiyya Muslim from Pakistan said through a translator.

A Christian woman from Iraq said:

“When ISIS attacked us, no one protected us,” she said. “After 2003, we started to disappear from our area, from our homeland. When ISIS attacked us in 2014, they killed six of my brothers. They killed my mom. They took me to captivity with my 11 year old sister-in-law.”

Another woman from Iran also recounted another moving story to the president.

“My parents are pastors,” she said. “They’re Christian pastors. They’ve been arrested – all my family – my father, my mother, my brother. They are free on bail, awaiting the trial and long sentences.”

At one point a White House official tried to break the meeting on account of scheduled commitments for the president, but Trump moved by the narrations insisted on listening to more of the victims.

The victims were led to the White House by Pastor Paula White, a leading Pentecostal pastor in the United States.

Pastor White disclosed that thousands of the victims were invited from across the world to take part in an intiaive by the Trump administration to promote and protect religious freedom under the aegis of the Ministerial on International Religious Freedom

“We thank you President for being the leader, the courageous leader, to stand up not only in our nation but countries all around, for all faith of all people that we should have the practice and the right to practice our religion,” Pastor White said.

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