Source: World Watch Monitor, April 13, 2015
The chairman of Garissa University College’s Christian Union, who survived the April 2 Al Shabab attack in which 148 students were killed, has pleaded for prayer for the physical and psychological healing of survivors.
“Please pray for us… Many saw sights too horrible to describe,” said 21-year-old Frederick Gitonga.
“Pray for me too. I need peace of mind, strength, and wisdom. I am struggling with dreams that cause me to snap awake, then [I] cannot get back to sleep. I find myself remembering the horror of that day. The sounds and smells come back clearly.”
Gitonga explained how he had been up late the night before the attack, praying for one of the students under his care, that they would be able to truly forgive someone a wrong. The next morning, that student was dead, along with the other 21 Christian Union (CU) members who had attended early morning prayers.
Gitonga said the only reason he is still alive is because he had felt too tired after his late night to join in with prayers that morning. Instead, he decided to go back to sleep, only to wake to the sound of gunshots.
“My roommates ran out, leaving the door wide open,” he explained. “I felt a strong urge not to run, but to stay put. As I hid under the bed, I could hear the gunshots and screams of fellow students. I could [hear] them lying to women that they should come out since their religion does not allow them to kill women. When they did, they were all killed. I know of no single Muslim who lost their life.
“After some time things went quiet, but I did not move.”
The next thing Gitonga remembers is hearing two attackers enter the room.
» Read full story. See also Kenya Mourns Students Killed While Praying.