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As troops from France and Chad enter the last major city in northern Mali, critical Christian aid efforts have been hampered by a climate of violence and instability. ‘I wish I knew what is going on,’ says Laura Delaney, medical coordinator with Medicines for Mali. Her organization works closely with Blessings International to deliver medical aid and access to clean water to poor villages in the south. She intended to deliver vital medicines but plans changed after a Frenchman was abducted near Bamako. Access to communication is spotty in the villages they serve. ‘The sad part is people don’t know what’s going on, except that we’re not coming. They fear we will not come back, but we reassured them we will return when it’s safe. It’s heart-wrenching not to go, medicine is in short supply'; she said. Meanwhile 1,800 Chadian troops secured Kidal in northern Mali, and French troops are holding the Kidal airport so that more forces can land.
Pray: for this and other agencies attempting to reach difficult areas with much needed aid. Pray also for the innocent villages caught up in this conflict. (Ps.22:19-22)
More: http://blog.godreports.com/2013/02/medical-mission-diverted-from-mali/#more-2843
‘I ask Algerian authorities to find a solution to save my life.’ Was the video plea sent this week to the Algerian government by a hostage in North Mali. He was identified as an employee of the Algerian consulate in Mali's northern city of Gao. See: Last week Jihadists cut off the hand of a thief in accordance with the new Islamic law in Mali. See: Persecution Watch reported the strict sharia law is victimising Christians, women and other vulnerable groups. A Christian leader who fled from northern Mali said, ‘all the Christians have left Timbuktu because of the Sharia law and the presence of people linked with Al-Qaeda.’
Pray: for God to pour out his mercy on the countless villages, cities and towns in Northern Mali living in fear; pray also for His intervention in the different power dynamics, affiliations, ideologies and motivations that are rising in Mali. (Ps.56:3)
Armed conflict and food shortages have driven 400,000+ from their homes after April’s coup d'état left a government once considered a model of African democracy in shambles. Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist groups controlling an expanse the size of France are implementing a strict and destructive version of Sharia law. The international community said the situation is ‘a potential threat to international peace and security’. See: Valerie Amos the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator is visiting the area to assess this ongoing humanitarian need and draw attention to the severe food and nutrition crisis affecting people in Mali, including 175,000 children at risk of severe malnutrition. During her meetings with Government officials and humanitarian partners Ms. Amos is exploring ways to strengthen humanitarian operations and improve access to the north of the country. She will also call for urgent funding to scale up operations in the south, where the majority of people suffering the effects of the food and nutrition crisis live.
Pray: for God in His mercy to enable wise and effective distribution of food and medical aid to every area in need at this time. (Ps.57:1)
More: http://www.zimbio.com/Baroness+Amos/articles/vnYQz83IhEH/UN+HUMANITARIAN+CHIEF+VALERIE+AMOS
Christians had enjoyed widespread freedoms in Malian society, including allowing foreign Christian missionaries into the country. But the situation dramatically changed with the 2012 capture of the northern part of the country by Tuareg separatist rebels and Islamist fighters. However, French troops have launched a military operation aiming at stopping the advance of Islamists from their bases in the north to the South. The French intervention started on Friday, Jan 11 with air strikes, and had enabled the Malian troops to regain control of the central town of Konna, occupied by Islamists the day before. Since then, French warplanes have been bombing Islamists’ positions in Timbuktu, Gao and elsewhere in the North. Military authorities said France would double its commitment of troops to the country to about 1,500. More than half of Mali has been controlled by rebel groups, some with links to al-Qaeda, since April 2012. Many of the displaced Christians are anxious because they don’t know whether some of their family members are alive or dead.
Pray: that the French intervention will not cause Malion citizens to suffer but rather allow Mali to return to peaceful cohabitation between various religious groups. (Eph.12:13-14)
More: http://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/english/country/otherafrica/article_2012420.html
The military junta that seized power promised to hold a national convention to determine the country's future. Meanwhile international pressure to restore civilian rule continues. The military leaders, who overthrew Mali's democratically elected president, will invite the political class and all civil society representatives to decide what path to take ‘in a consensual manner, democratically and in all freedom, Capt. Amadou Sanogo, the junta leader, said onTuesday. Mali has a history of controversy surrounding presidential elections. Rebels have been given until Monday to hand over power or face sanctions of:- closed borders except for humanitarian purposes, - denied access to neighbouring ports - freeze regional bank accounts - suspend participation in cultural and sporting events. Historically Mali has been more threatened by tribal insurgencies than by terrorist threats and has been one of the largest recipients in the region of military training and assistance from the United States.(see this weeks INSIGHT article)
Pray: the changes and turmoil will peacefully bring about economic favour in this devastatingly poor country. May the Mali have confidence in their leaders. (Job 5:9-16)
More: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/04/world/africa/mali-unrest/index.html
Government forces collapsed in the north following the coup, allowing separatist and Islamist rebels to seize control of the country’s three northern regions. Around 215,000 people have been displaced from their homes, many of them crossing into Burkina Faso and Mauritania. Many Christians have sought safety in Mali’s capital, Bamako, where they are being fed and sheltered by a network of churches. A Barnabus Fund contact in Mali reports that churches in the towns of Gao and Timbuktu were destroyed in the takeover, with the congregations abandoning their homes and fleeing south. ‘Horrible crimes have been made against the population – massacres, rape of women, obligation to wear the veil, chasing Christians,’ the source reports. The plight of refugees was being compounded by the existing food crisis in the Sahel which has seen the cost of basic foodstuffs double.
Pray: for those providing homes, corn, rice and medicine to hundreds of Christian refugees to know God’s enabling power and provision. (Ps.111:5)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christians.forced.to.flee.northern.mali/29746.htm
A 15-year-old girl has been sentenced to eight months of house arrest and 100 lashes in the Maldives. Many in the international community are concerned about the use of Sharia law to inflict such punishment, in this case against a minor. While the girl is Muslim, there could also be troubling implications for anyone who secretly converts to Christianity, an act that is forbidden in the Maldives. Hilary Whiteman of CNN reports that the girl confessed during a court hearing to charges of fornication, having engaged in consensual premarital sex. She is also the alleged victim of sexual abuse by her stepfather, an allegation legally unrelated to her case. She has been given the choice of receiving the lashings now or it can be postponed until she turns 18. CNN was told that though the government considered the teenager to be a victim who should not be flogged, it was unable to intervene in the judicial process.
Pray: for the girl and for a more reasonable justice system, pray also for protection for the handful of believers in the Maldives living in fear of the government, their families and communities. (Ps.25:12)
More: http://www.opendoorsusa.org/pray/prayer-updates/2013/03-March/Maldives-Teen-Faces-100-Lashes
After Saudi Arabia, the Maldives is the only nation that claims a 100-percent Muslim population. The Indian Ocean archipelago has more than 70,000 expatriate workers representing several non-Islamic religions, including Christianity, but those who intermingle must exercise caution. ‘If you engage any Maldivian in a discussion on Christianity and the person reports it to authorities you can be in trouble.’ said a source who requested anonymity. ‘A Maldivian youth studying in Sri Lanka became a Christian recently but when his parents came to know about it they took him away. We have not heard from him since then.’ According to President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom no religion other than Islam should be allowed in the Maldives. Public practise of the Christian religion is prohibited. In 1998 all known Christian foreigners who were suspected of missionary work were expelled and some indigenous Christians were arrested. Christian missionaries are not allowed. The collective identity of the people of the Maldives is Islam. Pray: for Christians to be wise and more intentional in sharing God's love with their Muslim neighbours and fellow workers. (Jas.2:24)
Maldives is no 6. on Open Doors World Watch List of countries that persecute Christians, and the top item on the Maldives list of border control’s prohibited items is ‘religious materials offensive to Islam’. Every citizen has to be Muslim and the government views itself as the protector and defender of Islam. Churches are forbidden, evangelism is banned and believers hide their faith from their families. Last October a foreign Christian teacher was deported after police found a Bible in his house. Yet there are underground pastors in this beautiful holiday destination. They have incredible drive, stamina, and they can survive and grow in any environment, bringing life wherever they go. Please pray for the few indigenous Christians to have courage amidst the secrecy. Many young people seek education outside the islands. Pray that they would have the opportunity to hear the gospel. Maldivian society contends with huge social problems of drug and alcohol abuse, marriage breakdown and child abuse. Pray that people will discover God’s forgiveness.
Pray: for God to protect, encourage and anoint the underground pastors to bring about change in the islands. (Is.2:1-3)
More: http://www.worldwatchlist.us/world-watch-list-countries/maldives/
Police in the Maldives deported Shijo Kokkattu, an Indian teacher, for having a Bible in his house – confirming fears that repressive religious laws are being enforced in the island nation. He was detained for a fortnight, charged with preaching Christianity, then sent home after a police raid on his house. There had been hopes that religious restrictions introduced under the former dictator would not be enforced under President Mohamed Nasheed who is considered to be a progressive Muslim. But new regulations were published in the Government's gazette last month signalling a renewed commitment to enforce legal bans on the 'propagation, display and expression' of any religion other than Islam. Violation of the Act is punishable by imprisonment of up to five years, banishment or house arrest. Foreigners found to be proselytising are to be deported.
Pray: that the Maldivian authorities will yield to calls by World Evangelical Alliance, Compass Direct and others for greater religious freedom. (Ps.74:18-19)