Page 11 - Voice of the Persecuted Christians - Jul-Sep 2023 - 123

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home in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, and as a result they came to know Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord.
Christian, whose story we told in January’s Voice magazine.
never entered my mind to do so,’ she says, as she looked back on what that decision would come to mean.
‘We were there about four months. It was overcrowded and we struggled
to get enough food for everyone. They were asking again and again when we would renounce our faith.’
The security forces imposed a variety of what Aster calls military-style punishments on the young women, including carrying heavy loads of firewood from the bush back to the prison camp.
Aster and Azieb, who were identical twins, were always very close. They even came to faith in Christ together. Having been brought up in the Orthodox Church they were given
The sisters were then taken, with about 20 other Christians, to the Mai Serwa prison, where they were locked in shipping containers – scorching
hot by day and freezing cold at night. It was at Mai Serwa that Aster and Azieb met Twen, another imprisoned
When that didn’t work they began beating them with whips made from lorry tyres. ‘The first time three of us were called. It was dark. It was about 8 pm and we were taken to the woods.
a Bible by a visitor to their parents’
Continued on p14
Aster feels like she has been given an extra life because she did not die in prison
a prison at Adi Abeto, near Asmara.
About seven months later the sisters were moved to another prison, near the Red Sea coast. ‘It was a very hot place and the conditions were even worse! We were not allowed to wear shoes and it was so hot the floor burned your feet.’
Like all young Eritreans they had to complete a term of national military service, which took them all over the country. Around that time they began seeking out Christian fellowship and eventually joined the Kale Hiwot Church. Azieb was soon appointed
Aster recalls the conditions: ‘They wouldn’t open the door during the day and the window was very small. We were allowed out at 6am to go
as an evangelist, and was sent to the small town of Adi Tekelezan, to do outreach work, while Aster became involved in prayer ministry at the home church. Gradually Aster began travelling with her sister.
‘It was so hot the floor burned your feet’
to the toilet in an open field. Lunch was at 4pm and consisted of very watery lentils and very stony bread, which didn’t taste very good at all! For breakfast they would pass tea and some bread through the window.
In 2002 Azieb was arrested and briefly detained for worshipping with a group of about 100 Christians. She was released a few weeks later. But it was in 2006 that their lives were to change forever. The twins attended a celebration for a married couple who had been through a number of relational difficulties but who now wanted to celebrate their reconciliation. There were just over 30 people present.
‘Everything about it was bad: the food, the overcrowding; and it was always very smelly. The container itself was rusty and gave off an awful smell when it was hot. Whenever someone was ill, they didn’t get proper treatment.
‘The security forces were always spying on us and they knew this was
a gathering of Christians,’ said Aster. ‘They arrested everybody – including even children and some who were new Christians. We were all taken to the local police station.’
‘They continued to pressure us to renounce our faith and, one by one, people did so and were leaving. It was all very difficult. We tried to encourage each other. We tried not to ask, “Why God?”; we tried to help one another to remain faithful.’
A few non-believers who had been at the celebration were released after
a couple of days, while others were released if they were prepared to sign a statement renouncing their faith. Aster and Azieb were among those who refused to comply and as a result spent about three months in police cells. From there they were taken to
One prisoner, a doctor, signed the security forces’ form. He was then asked to convince others to sign, too. ‘But it is very clear in the Bible that if we follow Jesus Christ we will be persecuted – so we were ready for that,’ Aster said.
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