I was raised in Surinam, in a very strict family, and was abused by my father from the age of seven. I would be heavily beaten whenever I went out to play football and came home five minutes late. Sometimes the beatings would be with a belt, and other times with an electric cable. One time when I was 14, I was badly whipped. I was made to sit with my knees on graters that are used to prepare food, while holding a heavy weight. That hurt like crazy! Several times my father would wait until I got in the shower, and then he would come in and whip me. If he thought I was being disrespectful, he put hot pepper in my mouth.

I was never allowed to choose my own hairstyle, and was forced to walk around school with a big “afro”, which no one had at that time. I would always try and hide. My parents never gave me any toys, even though they had enough money to buy them. I begged my parents for a Nintendo, or any other kind of toy. All my friends had toys, so that made me upset. I started stealing toys from stores, as a result. I know that is no excuse, but the seeds had already been planted in my heart by then.

My bad behaviour at school was well known. I can remember being expelled from three different elementary schools, because I would pick fights and cause trouble. When I attended technical school, it only got worse. I got into lots of mischief and was involved in house burglaries and started smoking joints. I would go to school with big packs of money in my pocket, from what I had stolen in the burglaries. I ended up getting caught for it all and appeared in the newspaper, as part of a big gang. Needless to say, I was an embarrassment to my parents. I carried a lot of resentment, pain, rejection, and felt terrible on the inside.

I even went as far as telling my friends to break into my parents’ house. We broke in and stole from them, as payback for when my father ran at me with a knife. As we were stealing things, I had the chance to kill my father, but chose not to, and made a run for it instead.

Everything went from bad to worse when I left home. I was involved in serious criminal activity, which led me to have a gun in my possession most of the time. I wouldn’t think twice before using a weapon. I ended up getting a prison sentence of two years for a robbery I committed. In prison in Surinam you were put in a cubicle with 18 people. I was lucky that I came from the streets, because it taught me how to handle those types of people in there. They knew not to mess with me or they would have a problem on their hands.

I was eventually sent from Surinam to Holland by my mother, in hope that things would get better for me. They paid for my ticket and sent me off. However, seeing as my heart hadn’t changed at all, the outcome in my life would always be the same.

I was born in the Netherlands, and Rotterdam was my hometown, but somehow I ended up in Amsterdam. My lifestyle hadn’t changed and within a month, I was on a plane back to Surinam, but this time, smuggling illegal pellets which I swallowed. I did this back and forth from Surinam, Aruba and Curacao several times. Each time carrying the smuggled pellets in my belly. It was a very risky job, because if any pellet snapped in my belly at any time, it would be instant death! So, after a while, I managed to recruit other people to do this work for me.

In 2005, I met my wife, and in 2006 we had a baby daughter together, and then a son in 2009. We would argue a lot, as I would have other relationships outside of my marriage. During this time, I worked as a security guard for prostitutes, however, people saw me as being a pimp, and my wife and I separated in 2009 as a result.

I was taking my kids to a party day one day and something crazy happened. I was driving, when suddenly another car hits us. It was so bad that the ANWB pole went through the roof of my car, and my son fell into a coma instantly. We immediately went to the Amsterdam Medical Centre and my son was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit. He was left paralyzed on his left arm and leg and he also had brain damaged.

One week before this car accident, I was at home with a friend who was from the underworld, who had recently committed his life to Jesus, but relapsed into drug use again. He brought a Bible with him and we started reading it together. It made me feel so good, that I immediately went down on my knees, opened my heart to Jesus, and stretched out my hands towards Him. I asked for the forgiveness for my sins, and a feeling of love shot through me, something which I had never experienced before. I hadn’t known love before then, but as soon as Jesus touched me, I was instantly filled with love. I even asked Jesus to take away the addiction I had for hash. At that very moment, on 14 July 2012, I was set free from that addiction!

A week later, I was standing in the ICU, looking at my son on a ventilator. My wife and I went outside to get some fresh air and shared the story with a friend we had run into. That friend asked a pastor to come and pray for our little son. When the pastor came to pray for him, he told my wife; “God is going to let you know, when your son wakes up from his coma.” That same night, the nurse came to my wife and told her that our son had woken up from coma and called out for his “mommy”. My son was still paralyzed, and he couldn’t move his legs. I put my hands on his leg and said; “Gervano, in Jesus’ Name you’re going to be able to kick a ball again.” At that very moment, his leg went up in the air and his arm could move again. He was healed instantly from the paralysis and the brain damage.

Since this happened, I have become a very radical Christian. I testify about God’s goodness everywhere I go. He has completely turned my life upside down, and because of the change in my life through Jesus Christ, I have been able to restore my relationship with my father, forgive my father and asked for his forgiveness. I can now sincerely say that I love my father very much.