Displaying items by tag: Asia

‘If anything happens to my pastor, I will not fear. I will take charge of his work and serve the Lord!’ This brave declaration was made by Samaru Madkami, aged 14, from Odisha State. He had good reason to expect his pastor to die, as Christians in their area face hostility and violence from extremists in the Hindu majority. Samaru’s father, a church elder, had received death threats. But it was Samaru himself who was abducted and brutally murdered by the extremists, not long after he had made his courageous pledge. He went missing on 4 June and his body was found two days later. The gang who killed him also tried to seize a cousin of Samaru’s but, being older and stronger, he managed to get away. ‘Samaru was a passionate Christian’, said his pastor, recalling how the boy had energetically shared the Gospel with other young people and children in the village.

India's home minister has offered 500 railway carriages for use as makeshift coronavirus hospital wards as New Delhi struggles to contain a spike in cases. Delhi has about 9,000 beds dedicated to Covid-19 patients among public and private hospitals, but a panel of experts has said that at least 15,000 beds will be needed by the end of June. The health ministry is reporting jumps in coronavirus infections nationwide. At least 55 journalists faced arrest, physical assaults, destruction of properties and threats for reporting on Covid-19 or exercising freedom of opinion during India's lockdown. It did not take long for the state and political activists to allege the journalists’ reports were prejudicial to maintaining national harmony. India has become the riskiest place in the world for journalists.

Xiao, the wife of Qin Defu, an imprisoned pastor, writes, ‘I am begging for prayers for my family and me. Defu has been in jail over six months.’ At first she received short phone calls from him but she has now not heard from him for over 70 days. She said, ‘My reasoning makes me believe he is alive, and God is with him. However, not hearing from him is like an enemy. It hurts me so much that I suffer every day. I just want to receive one three-minute call from him, but this apparently has become an extravagant hope. Dear God, please let me follow behind You, pulling on the hem of Your clothes, I know my weakness, so I am begging for my brothers and sisters to pray for me and Qin Defu. God, please, out of charity, give us mercy. We are so lowly we cannot bear it.’

Turkish prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for over 200 people accused of links to an outlawed group the government blames for the 2016 failed coup. Security forces are searching for 191 people, 181 of whom were active members of the air forces. Prosecutors also named suspects found on the messaging app ByLock which was used by followers of cleric Fethullah Gulen. Erdogan blames Gulen for the 2016 coup attempt that left 250+ dead and 2,000+ injured. Gulen, who lives in self-imposed American exile, denies involvement in attempting to unseat Erdogan. The latest arrests are part of a renewed push to suppress the group as parliament resumes debating a controversial bill boosting the powers of a neighbourhood watch force - Erdogan’s latest effort to tighten his grip on the country. The legislation would allow 28,000 watchmen to frisk citizens, demand identification, search their cars, and use weapons if needed.

Nepal has a constitutional obligation to guarantee press freedom, but over ten journalists have been threatened for their coronavirus reporting since late March. One victim of death threats is the manager of Radio Janakpur, threatened after his programme described the carelessness of a coronavirus tracking centre established by a local hospital. As he left his radio station he was accosted. He now feels ‘constantly under surveillance’ whenever he goes to Janakpur. A reporter for another radio station and website was accused of sowing fear and spreading fake news after he covered the case of a woman placed in quarantine. While the ruling party and regional officials try to control media coverage and intimidate reporters, the opposition Congress Party also threatens journalists. A website editor was told, ‘You could lose your life for writing such news’, after his site reported a politician for not cooperating in quarantining someone suspected of having coronavirus. 

Hong Kong citizens may be offered UK visas. Boris Johnson has opened the path to what he called one of the ‘biggest changes’ to our visa system, stating he is ready to offer a right to live and work in the UK to any of the nearly three million Hong Kong citizens eligible for a British National Overseas (BNO) passport. The prime minister’s offer would come into play only if China presses ahead with new security laws that strip Hong Kong of its traditional freedoms. Pray for him and Dominic Raab to be wise in all their relations and dealings with China. Pray for peaceful streets in Hong Kong, and for Chinese Christians to be unwavering and protected as they face their government’s current attitude.

130,000 internally displaced Rohingya trapped in detention camps in Myanmar have no future, with little access to land or livelihoods. They depend on foreign aid and die of treatable diseases due to limited healthcare. Shelters, built in 2012 to last two years, have deteriorated. Children only attend basic classes in temporary learning spaces. The authorities are using coronavirus response measures as a pretext to harass the Rohingya, who have told Human Rights Watch (HRW) that military and police forces regularly subject them to harassment and punishment at checkpoints. Police at a checkpoint made a woman do sit-ups for thirty minutes for not wearing a mask; she was then too exhausted to move. People must perform squats at checkpoints with their hands on their ears. HRW said, ‘The reality is dire. Oppressive and systemic restrictions imposed on those remaining in Myanmar may be indicative of ongoing genocide.’

Three women, charged with 'inciting prostitution' for not wearing veils, have been sentenced to 42 years in prison between them. Now, with Covid-19 cases confirmed in prisons across Iran, they are in more danger than ever. Monireh, Yasaman and Mojgan have done nothing wrong; thousands are calling on the head of the judiciary to release them immediately. As an act of peaceful protest, the unveiled women handed out flowers to female passengers on a Tehran metro train. They were filmed sharing their hopes for Iranian women on International Women’s Day. Days after the video went viral on social media, they were charged with sham offences including ‘inciting prostitution’ for promoting unveiling. Prisoners in Iran are at particular risk because they are unable to take the same social distancing and hygiene measures as those outside prison to protect themselves.

More than five years of conflict have left Yemenis hanging on by a thread, their economy in tatters, and their institutions facing near-collapse. The UN chief told a virtual pledging conference they needed to demonstrate solidarity with some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable in Yemen. Pray for UN workers to receive the funding to meet people’s needs in this staggering humanitarian crisis. Across the globe Covid-19 has halted economic activity and threatens social wellbeing. UNESCO says it is now coping with millions in extreme poverty. Pray for the UN to make wise decisions as it addresses the pandemic and mobilises the resources needed for a proactive recovery. In Africa it is addressing the ‘appalling impact’ of Covid-19 on minorities; the virus has a ‘disproportionate impact’ on racial and ethnic minorities, including people of African descent. Pray for human rights to be at the centre of coronavirus response.

Thousands have been killed amid ‘near impunity’ for offenders in the war on illegal drugs since 2016, the UN says. Its report levelled heavy criticism at President Rodrigo Duterte's government. His crackdown has been marked by high-level rhetoric that can be seen as ‘permission to kill’. Official figures show more than 8,000 people killed since he took office: other estimates put the figure three times as high. Most victims are young poor urban males, and police, who do not need search or arrest warrants to conduct house raids, systematically force suspects to make self-incriminating statements or risk facing lethal force. Duterte described the report as ‘a travesty’. Despite the many killings he remains very popular.