How Covid-19 has made persecution
worse for Christians: World Watch List 2021
It is, of course, the story of the
year 2020. A global pandemic, hospitalising and killing millions. But there is
another story to be told about the Covid crisis – and that is the way the virus
is being used against the persecuted church.
Christians in Myanmar receive
Covid-19 aid provided by you; in Asia alone during the pandemic, your support
has directly helped 283,000 Christians
It’s been one trial after another for
Aarti – and, as with many Christians across the world, Covid-19 has brought
another.
Aarti – whose name we’ve changed –
gave her life to Jesus a few years ago, along with the rest of her family. At
the time they were one of four families in the village to become Christians,
much to the anger of fellow villagers. In India (10 on the World Watch List),
everyone is expected to be Hindu.
“The other villagers were furious and
together tried to force all the families to convert back,” Aarti recalls. “Due
to the constant pressure and threats, the other three families could not
resist.” Thankfully, Aarti and her family stood firm by strengthening and
comforting each other.
“God showed His favour through you,
and our needs were met."'AARTI'
But tragedy was not far around the
corner. Within a short space of time, Aarti lost her husband and two sons. The
grief for Aarti – and her daughter and four grandchildren – was immense. And
this on top of ongoing hostility from villagers. “With continuous taunts,
struggles and opposition, life was a misery.”
When Covid-19 reared its head, and
the family were denied government aid, things seemed to go from bad to worse.
But it’s here that you came alongside Aarti and her family, providing vital
food aid.
“God showed His favour through you,
and our needs were met,” Aarti shares. “I thank the brothers for travelling
this far and blessing us with groceries in our hour of need. God showed mercy
to Naomi in the Old Testament and He has done the same for my family. All glory
to God.”
Christians often overlooked in the
distribution of government aid
Sadly, Aarti’s story is not unusual.
In India, about 80,000 of more than 100,000 Christians receiving aid, with your
help, reported to World Watch List researchers that they were
dismissed from food distribution points. Some were told that ‘your church or
your God should feed you’.
Unemployment is high amongst
Christians in India, more so than any other religious group. Christians are
often from the Dalit caste, which is among the lowest in India’s caste
hierarchy. Many of those who do work are daily wage labourers, but this
industry largely ground to a halt due to lockdown. Consequently, aid
discrimination has left whole Christian families destitute and in desperate
need of help.
It’s a problem not confined to India.
Far from it. In southern Kaduna, Nigeria (9 on the World Watch List), families
from several villages said they received one sixth of the rations allocated to
Muslim families. “We were happy when the government announced food aid for the
poor,” said Rose, whose husband, a pastor, was killed by
Fulani militants. “But we were left out. We received none of that food.”
Elsewhere, in places like Sudan (13
on the World Watch List), Myanmar (18), Vietnam (19), Bangladesh (31), Nepal
(34), and across Central Asia and North Africa, Christians in rural areas have
been denied aid. Sometimes this is by government officials, but often it’s by
village heads and committees. There have been reports of food ration cards
being torn up or waved away.
These startling reports reinforce how
costly following Jesus is in many countries. Converting to Christianity from a
majority faith not only alienates believers relationally from spouses,
families, tribes and communities, it gives them little to fall back on when
income suddenly stops. Last year, Open Doors sought to raise awareness of this
issue through our #LastInLine campaign.
Stopped services halts income for
church leaders
You’ll likely have been affected by
the closure of churches. For many church leaders across the world, who don’t
receive salaries but rely on donations, closures have been especially worrying,
threatening their very livelihoods. Leaders from places including Egypt and
Latin America have, because of stopped services, reported a drop in donations
of some 40 per cent. This inevitably also impacts the humanitarian assistance
churches can offer people, both inside and outside the church.
"This pandemic made our
situation challenging, as we have no church gathering and no income."'ROHAN'
One affected leader is Rohan from
India. His name – which we’ve changed for security reasons – might be familiar
to you. After Rohan’s church building was burnt by Hindu extremists, you helped
fund its rebuilding. And your support has again been vital in the wake of
Covid-19.
“This pandemic made our situation
challenging, as we have no church gathering and no income,” Rohan shares. “But
praise be to God because you called us and asked about our condition. We are
thankful for the groceries. Indeed, I am grateful to God for the team for
standing with pastors like me in our hour of need and strengthening us with
your presence.”
How else has pandemic made life more
difficult for Christians?
Another impact of the pandemic is the
increase in intimidation towards Christians. Many converts, without the respite
of work, education and outside interests, have been locked down with family
antagonistic, even extremely hostile, to their faith. Among the Top 10
countries, the number of women reporting psychological violence has increased.
To worsen matters, contact with other believers has reduced. There’s also been
a rise in the kidnapping, forcible conversion and forced marriages of women and
girls.
"Covid, in effect, has put
another weapon into the hands of persecutors."HENRIETTA BLYTH, CEO OPEN
DOORS UK & IRELAND
Christians have even been accused of
causing the virus. In Colombia (30), the traditional animist beliefs held by
some indigenous communities means they believe that converts to Christianity
are the source of all plagues and diseases. Leaders of such groups believe that
expelling Christian converts from their communities will help to put an end to
the coronavirus. This has increased persecution, in some cases leading to
Christians being imprisoned as way of expelling them from the community.
It’s a similar story in Somalia (3),
where the violent Islamist group al-Shabaab said coronavirus was spread ‘by the
crusader forces who have invaded the country and disbelieving countries that
support them’.
There have also been cases of
Christian health workers facing discrimination in the distribution of
protective equipment (PPE). Thankfully, your support has stepped in to provide
this essential equipment.
And sometimes, such as in an incident
in Sri Lanka, coronavirus was the pretext for police to visit Christians’ homes
to investigate church members and activities.
Your support is helping the church to
shine
It’s not all bad news, however. Some
Christians in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America have said
that the pandemic has meant there’s been less pressure to engage in local
rituals and festivals.
It’s also given opportunity for
Christ’s light to shine in the darkness. In India, one family who received aid
from you said, “Seeing our neighbour struggling, we plan to share some with them
too.” And in Sri Lanka, your generosity enabled one
church leader to reach out to his local community. It’s softened
hearts – including the police who have previously opposed the church’s work.
Elsewhere in Sri Lanka, your help meant a church could give aid to those who
just a few months earlier had attacked them. They were deeply touched and asked, “Why did we do so
much against them?”
And of course, your remarkable
generosity has fed and supported thousands of Christians, in many cases saving
them from starvation. In Asia alone, 283,000
believers have been helped and reminded that their global church family is
standing with them.
Your prayers and support remain as
vital as ever
In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Open Doors UK
and Ireland CEO Henrietta Blyth summarised how the pandemic had exacerbated
persecution against Christians: “Covid, in effect, has put another weapon into
the hands of persecutors, so it has made life infinitely more difficult for
Christians suffering already.”
With the virus continuing to wreak
havoc across the world, your prayers and support for our persecuted family
during this time remain as vital as ever.
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