Written by Jeffrey S. Ram, Toronto, Canada November 1, 2021
International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP 2021) will be on Sunday, November 7. Churches globally will pray for the estimated 300 million Christians who suffer high to extreme persecution because of their faith. Pray that this international prayer movement becomes a practical action movement to stop the persecution.
ONLY POLITICAL ACTION AND ECONOMIC SANCTIONS CAN PROTECT THE CHRISTIAN MINORITIES
Christian minorities are victims of violence, attacks on churches, pastors, churchgoers, abductions, rapes, sex slavery, and murders. Unfortunately, many governments of Christian majority western nations have friendly relations with the evil governments that encourage and support violence against the Christian minorities. The Christians and churches of these nations should lobby their governments to stop military and development aid to the culprit nations and impose trade sanctions against them. Prayers are not enough. Strict action is needed to stop the Christian minorities' persecution.
TIGRAY, ETHIOPIA: THE CHRISTIANS OF TIGRAY ARE BEING STARVED
BBC World Service reported that on July 23, 2021, the aid deliveries of food and other humanitarian supplies were suspended along the Afar route by the UN World Food Program (WFP). The delivery vehicles going to Tigray were attacked presumably by the Ethiopian army. The BBC further reported that according to the UN-backed Integrated Phase Classification (IPC), the international famine classification authority, 400,000 people were facing a catastrophic hunger level. The IPC also stated that four million people of Tigray, Amhara, and Afar needed emergency assistance.
The Tigray region has been blockaded for more than a year. Services including electricity, banking, and telecoms remain cut off.
However, international aid officials are reluctant to declare a famine in Tigray despite this widespread starvation and people dying of hunger. Till today there is no relief for the people of Tigray. Famine has not been declared to provide massive food aid, nor has any action taken against the Ethiopian government. Read details at:
Related: Tigray: Ethiopian government admits Mekelle airstrike
October 18, 2021
INDIA: VIOLENCE AGAINST THE CHRISTIANS HAS INCREASED
On October 26, 2021, three human rights groups- Association for the Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), United Against Hate, and United Christian Forum (UCF)- released their fact-finding report on the increasing violence against Christians in India.
Christians faced 305 incidents of violence in 21 states during the past nine months, but the police had registered only 30 complaints. Women suffered the most in the targeted violence, with 1,331 suffering injuries.
On October 1, at a rally in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district attended by Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, Swami Parmatmanand, a prominent Hindutva leader, urged Hindus to behead Christians.
Violence against Christians and false cases against Christians for allegations of conversion increased in India since BJP, led by Prime Minister Modi, won the national and many provincial elections in 2014.
In the Open Doors USA's 2021 World Watch List of countries where Christians face persecution, India is the 10th worst country globally. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended the State Department label India as a "country of particular concern." Nevertheless, President Trump presented Prime Minister Modi the highest degree Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit award on December 21, 2020. Read details at:
PAKISTAN- THE MISOGYNIST MINDSET OF SOCIETY AT LARGE
Aurat Foundation recorded 2,297 cases of violence against women from 25 districts in 2020. In a report titled "Violence against women and girls in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic," it said: "Punjab reported the highest incidents of murder, rape, suicide, acid burning, kidnapping, domestic violence, child and forced marriages, dowry and inheritance, while Sindh had the most cases of honor killings." The report specified that 624 out of 2,297 reported cases were murder, suicide, and honor killing. The report added: "This statistic alone is sufficient to establish the misogynist mindset of society at large."
According to the 'Global Gender Gap Report 2021' published by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Pakistan ranked 153rd out of 156 countries on the gender parity index. Pakistan ranked seventh among eight countries in South Asia, only better than Afghanistan. Read details at:
MYANMAR: THE CHRISTIAN MAJORITY CHIN STATE IS THE TARGET OF THE MYANMAR’S (BURMESE) ARMY AFTER THE COUP
The people of Chin state are offering stiff resistance to the military takeover of the government of Myanmar. In response, the military is attacking the civilians. The Burmese army killed Baptist Pastor Cung Biak Hum in Thantlang, Chin State, in September. On October 13, the army burnt down the entire Rialto village and a Baptist church. The army set 13 houses on fire and vandalized a Baptist church in New Thlanrawn village of Falam township on October 16.
The Burma Human Rights Network, supported by over 100 organizations, requested United Nations to organize an international coalition to stop the violation of religious freedom in Myanmar. In their letter, the Network and others urged worldwide arms embargo and economic sanctions against the military government and requested more humanitarian aid.
According to a U.N. report on October 19, the number of displaced people in Chin state increased to 21,420 and thousands more joined from the urban areas of Mindat and Kanpetlet townships. The U.N. estimated that 3 million people needed urgent assistance and protection in Myanmar after the military coup. Read details at:
PLEASE PRAY FOR THE WORLD CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY TO TAKE STRONG ACTION AND STOP THE PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIAN MINORITIES.
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