Pakistani Christian Acid Victim Starts Over in US
ICC Note:
We’ve reported on this before, but we are glad that Aftab is getting help and starting over. Severely persecuted for her faith, she still chooses to forgive. “That’s what is the difference between those people and me. As a Christian, the first thing I was taught is to forgive,” Aftab said. She’s graduating and just got engaged. Our hearts are with you.
By: Charlene Israel
5/24/2012 Pakistan (CBN)–
After paying a brutal price for her faith in Pakistan, Julie Aftab now has the chance at a new life in the United States.
At the age of 16, her life changed when she was brutally attacked after refusing to renounce her faith in God.
“I had no teeth, no cheek. I didn’t have my eye,” Aftab recalled.
Her attackers threw battery acid on her face and poured it down her throat. Aftab survived, but it wasn’t over. She was poisoned while recovering in the hospital and then later shot.
Later, a price was put on her head, all because she is a Christian.
“That’s what is the difference between those people and me. As a Christian, the first thing I was taught is to forgive,” Aftab said.
A benefactor brought her to the United States where she underwent extensive surgery to repair the damage done by the battery acid.
Aftab was then connected with Catholic Charities, a ministry that provides help for people regardless of religious, social or economic background.
“I told them, ‘I don’t have any money. I need help,'” she said.
In the past 19 years, Catholic Charities has helped more than 3,000 refugees become U.S. citizens.
“They are amazing human beings who’ve done and survived so much that I can’t imagine hearing the stories,” Catholic Charities attorney Rebecca Koford said.
Now, Aftab is about to have a fresh start as well. Although she still suffers some health challenges from the acid attack, she said she’s thankful for the path God has led her down.
“Some people say there are no angels; there is no God. [But] I see it right here, right now,” she said.
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