NEWS FEATURE

African brother stabs African brother in Vienna

By Uzoma Ahamefule

Out of kindness and brotherhood, Johnson Daniel who is an asylum seeker from Liberia nearly lost his life in a very painful manner in Vienna, Austria. The way he narrated how he had cheated death was like one of those fairy tales called "Tale by Moonlight", or what one read and saw on television that happened during the Liberian war on the streets of Monrovia.

How Johnson Daniel got saved from the hands of this person he called “monster”, George Edward, and the 10 times stab that gave him a big major operation on his stomach and over 12 painful stitches at almost every part of the body except his face, between his two legs and his head, remains miraculous.

Considering one of the stabs on the right hand side of his stomach that pierced through to the left hand side, the knife used in this cruelty cannot be anything less than 25 or 23 cm long.

Hear Johnson Daniel tell his horror:

“I am Johnson Daniel from Liberia. It was on July 26^th, 2012 around 1:00 am while I was on my way to a club with a friend that I met these two African brothers who were about to fight because of electronic gadgets and I tried to make peace. I heard their complaints and told one of them, George Edward, to give the other person the gadgets who I believed was the rightful owner, George Edward took offence.

He asked me; why must I intervene in a case that does not concern me? I told him that we were all African brothers and that I could not be here and watch him intimidate a fellow African like that. He became very angry and told me to leave the scene which of course I refused. He brought out a hand glove and as he was putting it on, I thought that maybe he wanted to box me or something like that but I did not know that he had a kitchen knife in his trouser pocket.

He brought out the knife very fast and stabbed the other guy and when I saw this I ran. He immediately abandoned the other guy and started chasing me and at a point I fell down. It was at this juncture while on the ground that he started stabbing me any place he could lay his knife on. I was shouting for help and crying to God if that was the way He wanted me to die. But my God heard my cry and had mercy on me because I did not know where I got the strength to push him away and with this little space I now stood up and started running again.

“Before I stood up and while I was running, I was so scared and thought that I would die because he had stabbed my stomach twice. It was horror as blood pumped out from every part of my body especially from the stomach where it was running like a pressured water pump that was punctured. While I was running using my hands as plaster to protect the blood from running out with much pressure, my speed reduced.

It was also dawning on me that I might die because this monster who was determined to kill me was getting closer and closer and sadly I did not even know where I was running to or how long I could carry on because I was getting weak. It was horrible. But miraculously, as soon as I was able to cross the other side of the road there was a stationed ambulance and immediately this monster saw this ambulance he ran back. I ran to the ambulance, knocked at their door and fell down and that was all I could remember until I woke up after about two days in the hospital with a major operation on my stomach and stitches all over my body including my right side buttock.  

“I was stabbed 10 times and according to doctors, if the ambulance had not been there at that point that I had fallen down I would not have survived.

“The Police came to me in the hospital with a picture which I confirmed to be the person that had stabbed me. Now I am afraid because he told people after the incidence that he wanted to kill me and that is why it is very important for me that this guy is not allowed to walk freely in Vienna. I cannot live in the same city with him” he concluded.

George Edward has since been arrested and he is now cooling off in “Landesgericht” prison, in Vienna, Austria. 

As Johnson Daniel who could pass as the luckiest man on planet on this day is thanking his God for surviving such attempted murder, he unfortunately may have lost his little right finger that is now stiffly bended and disfigured and may not be straight again unless through an operation. And he is also not walking normal and cannot stand straight perhaps because of the many stitches especially the big major operation on his stomach.

Under the pitiful and sad condition of Johnson Daniel, it seems unfortunately that he is still under the threat of deportation because his asylum application has been rejected.

Who can help him? I wish Johnson Daniel the best of luck.