A Mozambican citizen from the Muidumbe district in Cabo Delgado province shared her experience of suffering and fighting terrorism in front of Pope Francis and more than 200,000 people taking part in the 37th World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal.

Marta Luís, 18, orphaned by her father when she was seven, said she spent nights praying to God that nothing bad would happen to her and her family.

"In the northern region, where we lived, I heard about the terrorist attacks that were happening in other towns near our district, but we didn't imagine that we would also be attacked. On April 7, 2021, in the morning, terrorists attacked our village. We fled with the whole family into the bush. We stayed in hiding for four days," she said, quoted by Rádio Moçambique.

He explained that, faced with the uncertainty of further attacks, the routine was to spend the day in the houses and return to the bush at night. "When we heard that the terrorists had left, we went back home. We spent the day there and at night, out of fear, we went back to sleep in the bush."

Faced with new circumstances and almost no alternative, they found solace in prayer.

"We prayed a lot, asking God to deliver us from all evil and that the Lord would give us the strength to overcome that difficult time. We didn't sleep all night. We kept praying Hail Mary, Our Father, asking the Lord that the worst wouldn't happen in people's homes," she said, unable to disguise her emotions.

He further said that despite the April 7 attack, life in the village continued, however, the village was attacked again on October 31, 2021.

"This attack was bigger. We fled into the bush again. We were very hungry. The terrorists found us in the bush and shot us. They didn't do anything to our family, but we were very scared and ran away. With a lot of difficulty we managed to get to the province of Nampula where we were taken in by some relatives," he said.

The 37th World Youth Day has been taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, since August 1st and ends today, Sunday. During this time it has brought together more than 1.5 million pilgrims, including 25,000 from various countries, including around 600 Mozambicans.

Read the full speech below:

"My name is Marta, I'm 18 years old. I come from Mozambique, from Cabo Delgado Province, where we are facing a war that has been going on for five years. I'm from the district of Muidumbe in a region called Planalto do Povo Maconde. I used to attend the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, also known as the Nangololo Mission. I come from a simple, poor family. I lost my father very early, I was only seven years old. 

After my father died, we continued our mission: my mother with her four daughters. She studied at the community school and took part in the life of the parish, where she was an altar server and also took part in the meetings to be confirmed. In the northern region where we lived, we heard about the terrorist attacks that were taking place in other towns near our district, but we had no idea that we would also be attacked.

On April 7, 2021, in the morning, terrorists attacked our village. We fled with our entire family into the bush. We stayed in hiding for four days. When we heard that the terrorists had left, we returned home. We spent the day at home and at night, out of fear, we went back to sleep in the bush. 

We prayed a lot, asking God to deliver us from all evil, and that the Lord would give us the strength to overcome this difficult time. We didn't sleep all night, we kept praying Hail Mary and Our Father, asking the Lord that the worst wouldn't happen in people's homes. After the attack in April, we continued our life in the village, but on October 31, 2021, the terrorists struck again. 

This attack was very big. We fled back into the bush. We walked a long way without knowing what to do. We had no food or water. We were very hungry. The terrorists found us in the bush and shot us up. They didn't do anything to our family, but we were very scared and ran away. With a lot of difficulty we managed to get to Nampula Province, where we were taken in by some relatives. When we were in the bush, we prayed a lot. At no time did we lose our faith.

I asked God to help us and to remove all evil from the world and that the people who were causing this war would change their lives. The people of our villages are all scattered. We have been welcomed in the parishes where we have gone to live, but we miss our village very much and our customs, songs and dances. But in the midst of all the suffering, we have never lost faith and hope that one day we will rebuild our lives." (Speech taken from the Radio France International website)