Yulianna and Eddy

Yulianna and Eddy's village of 1,500 in North Maluku was a regular target for attacks by the jihad militia. At first the attacks were small but recently they had increased in scale. The villagers had grown weary of these assaults and would flee to the church building to seek protection. The walls of the church were pitted with bullet holes. It became a common sight to see the women and children running to the church for shelter. The men tried to defend their families from the jihad attacks.

One day in mid-June everything changed for these village saints. A jihad attack was launched that day and to the disbelief of the villagers, the 180 Indonesian Military soldiers assigned to their community to keep peace joined the assault against the people.

The church again became the place of refuge for the women and children. Yulianna and her children fled to the church as in previous times. While looking out the window she saw the Indonesian Military soldiers and believed they were there to protect them. She went out of the church and approached the military soldiers now in the streets of the village. It didn't take long to see that the soldiers were not there to help them, but had joined the jihad militia. Taking her children, she ran toward the jungle. Gunshots were flying all around them. One bullet hit her in the left forearm. She fell to the ground but her family helped her to safety. Three Christian Indonesian soldiers joined 27 others to stop the attack upon the village. They not only saved the lives of Yulianna and her children but many others as well.

This village had suffered the death of nearly 500 people. Before the end of this attack, during which Yulianna lost her arm, another 254 women and children were slaughtered inside the church building. Several bombs were used and the village is now leveled. The house of worship, which was once filled with songs of joyous praise, was now in ruin. The village survivors now reside in refugee camps in Halmehera and North Sulawesi.

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