We met a 15 year old Iraqi boy in Damascus named Zaid. He and his family immigrated to Syria from Baghdad. The family are Christians and while living in Baghdad Zaid was kidnapped by a radical Muslim group. The kidnappers called Zaid’s father and demanded a $60,000 ransom.  His father insisted that they were a poor family with no money. They told him that the pope was their father and that he could get the money from him.

For 17 days they held Zaid, he wouldn’t say what it was like, either he was too shy or it was too painful to recollect. The father was able to raise $30,000 probably by selling everything possible and then borrowing more into debt. He met the captors two and a half hours outside of Baghdad in the very rural area where they were holding Zaid. They asked him for the money, he said “Show me my son first.”  From the back of the truck they lifted up his head by his hair to show Zaid’s face to his father. The ransom was paid, and Zaid was returned to his family. One month later they fled to Syria.

In 2006 Zaid had to travel back to Baghdad to renew his visa.  On the return trip the bus had an accident and flipped over. Zaid’s whole right arm was crushed as well as his face. He has a non-functioning prosthetic arm and had to have two facial reconstructive surgeries. The church in Damascus paid for one of these surgeries and provides Zaid with post trauma counselling, as well as helps with the needs of the family.

Sitting and listening to his story my heart hurt, I mean seriously HURT.  This poor boy! How could life be any harder on him? Only 15 and he’s already endured more suffering than most people in their life!  I ask God why, why his whole arm, why his face, why did he have to go through this terror with the kidnappers?
Why is life easy for some, and SO hard for others?  I wonder about Zaid’s life, and wonder if he will turn bitter and resentful, I suppose he has more of a right to it than most.  Will he turn to forgiveness and love? The harder of the two choices for sure. I believe and I pray for him to turn to the second because I know that the greater the suffering someone has gone through the greater his capacity to love, because he’s just that much closer to understanding the suffering and the price that was paid for own life.

Zaid is a son, a son of the King.  Even if I forget him, which will be difficult, even if he is shunned the rest of his life because of the scars on his face, he is NOT forgotten by the father. I can’t imagine the love and compassion the Lord has for Zaid for enduring so much as a believer.  Surely a great reward awaits him.

Zaid

Popularity: 1% [?]