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Egypt’s Dark Secret A tragic look into the rising trend of kidnapping, rape, and forced conversion of young Christian women in Egypt.
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INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
AUGUST 2016
Your Dollar$ at Work Shirts and Sweaters to Victims of Boko Haram Kids Care
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t is difficult to argue that Nigeria is not one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian. In addition to the ever-present threat of violence led by radical Fulani herdsmen, Christians in Nigeria must also be wary of the Islamic insurgency group Boko Haram. This violent terror group has ravaged Christian communities throughout Nigeria and has also spilled over into surrounding countries. As a part of their seven-year reign of terror in northern Nigeria, Boko Haram has displaced more than 1.3 million Christians. These Christians are left without a place to call home and without the guarantee of safety elsewhere. In an effort to keep their families out of harm’s way, roughly 600 Christians relocated to an Internally Displaced People (IDP) camp in central Nigeria. In these camps, although a far cry from the comforts of home, families are safer from the threat of Boko Haram than in their villages. Often, some of the most tragic stories come from the little ones – from the children. Some of these families have been living in IDP camps for more than two years, without an end in sight for many. Unfortunately, many children have not had the proper attire to keep them warm during the cool winters. In order to protect these children from the elements, ICC stepped in to provide shirts, sweaters, and hats to all 298 children in this particular IDP camp. Thanks to ICC’s generous donors, these children will be warm during the upcoming winter months. The director of the IDP camp reported, “There has been no group that did what ICC did.” ICC counts it as a blessing to have been given the opportunity to serve these young brothers and sisters in Christ.
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INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
AUGUST 2016
Gifts to Newlyweds
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Suffering Wives
hile working in the fields, Bibi, a young Christian woman, was abducted by two Muslim men. The men kept Bibi in captivity and repeatedly raped her. They also forced Bibi to sign a document, claiming that she converted to Islam. After two weeks, Bibi’s family was able to negotiate the return of their daughter. They immediately moved from the village. In rural Pakistan, women are valued for their virginity, making instances of rape devastating. To ensure Bibi’s safety, her parents quickly arranged a marriage with a Christian man. Since the marriage was rushed, the couple did not receive any wedding gifts. With help from its donors, ICC provided traditional gifts necessary to help the couple successfully begin their new lives. Bibi’s mother thanked ICC, saying, “ICC is a hope for the hopeless and a great help for the helpless.”
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Goat Business for Family
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Community Rebuild
n order to find work, two Christian brothers, Wasfi and Fahmi, decided to travel to Libya. On their way, the brothers were kidnapped and murdered by ISIS. Wasfi and Fahmi were the primary breadwinners of the family; thus, their deaths left their family and their widows in a financially devastated position. After the deaths of the brothers, their widows and remaining family members needed a new way to support themselves. ICC purchased the family a flock of 36 goats. The family can either use the goats to produce milk and cheese or they can sell the goats for meat. Sabry, the brother of the two martyrs, stated, “We thank ICC very much for the genuine love they have shown to us by caring for us, purchasing the goats for us, and praying for us.”
Support in Benue
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Community Rebuild
n February of 2016, radical Fulani herdsmen invaded Nigeria’s Benue State. During the massacre, hundreds were brutally murdered while as many as 7,000 more were displaced. For days on end, these militants stormed villages, destroying homes and farmlands in the process. Reports poured in of villages being destroyed one after another. This crisis was yet another reminder of the larger issue of Christian persecution in Nigeria at the hands of Fulani herdsmen. Immediately following the attacks, ICC travelled to Benue to document the aftermath. Not only did they verify information on the ground in order to ensure proper media reports, they received firsthand testimonies from those who were in Benue at the time. Most importantly, ICC’s staff was able to encourage these believers in the midst of incomprehensible tragedy.
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Your Dollar$ at Work
Bee House Businesses
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Community Rebuild
n Muslim-dominated areas of Ethiopia, it is extremely dangerous to be a Christian who once followed Islam. One particular group of 20 Christian families was forced out of their community due to the constant persecution. In addition to losing their community, these families also lost their jobs as their old sources of income were tied to their Muslim faith. The Christian group’s pastor, who also happens to be a bee expert, decided to construct a bee house to produce honey to sell. With the help of donors, ICC was able to purchase 20 new bee boxes and the necessary equipment to support this group of Christians. This new business venture will allow the group to increase honey production so that they can financially support themselves. The pastor reported, “We are very grateful to God for you and thankful for help to us.”
Household Items and Food Community Rebuild
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hile her husband and family were attending a funeral, Sara, a deaf and mute Christian woman living in Pakistan, was attacked and raped at gunpoint. Sara and her family registered a First Information Report (FIR) with the police against the rapist, Muhammad Umar. Although Umar’s relatives pressured Sara and her family to drop the charges, they refused. Sara and her family were expelled from the village. Umar and his relatives continue to look for the family, threatening to harm them. After learning of the situation, ICC began working with Sara and her family to help ensure their safety. With the help of its donors, ICC provided the family with food, some necessary household items, and a security deposit for a rental house. ICC also provided a year of schooling for the children. Sara’s husband thanked ICC, saying, “This assistance was more than we could hope for and we will never forget it.”
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INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
AUGUST 2016
Your Dollar$ at Work
ICC Repays Debt for Family
A Tools for Mechanic Shop
Suffering Wives
lice, who was widowed in 2009, began work for a Muslim family to support her four children. Alice was payed a meager salary, forcing her to borrow from her employer whenever her family had an emergency. Eventually, her debt grew to 40,000 PKR ($380 USD). Alice was able to share the Gospel with her employers and eventually lead them to
Christ. Unfortunately, when the other family members heard about the conversion, they raped her and demanded that she leave her employer’s house. When Alice gave notice to her employers, they required that she repay her debt. With the help of its donors, ICC repaid Alice’s debt and helped her to establish a small business. Alice expressed her gratitude for ICC’s help.
Community Rebuild
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any Christians in Iraq remain displaced from their homes due to the actions of ISIS and are forced to live in Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps across the country. These families often have to leave behind their tools and their businesses, leaving them without the means to support themselves. Thus, these families are dependent on international aid. To help normalize the lives of these Christians, ICC has begun initiating small businesses with displaced Christians in Iraq. One of the beneficiaries was forced to flee from Baghdad after being kidnapped twice by Muslim radicals. He left behind his job as a mechanic and has struggled to find work ever since. With the help of its donors, ICC was able to provide this displaced Christian with the tools that he needed to start up a mechanic shop. These tools will also help him with his current job, as he previously had to rent tools to do his job. He was very thankful for the help that he received from ICC.
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Persecution Preparedness Training
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Community Rebuild
astors and Christian workers in rural areas of India, particularly those in the Mahbubnagar district, suffer additional persecution because they are often unaware of the law and of their own fundamental rights. To help these Christians gain a better understanding of how to use the law and understand their constitutional rights, ICC implemented a training program called the “Persecution Preparedness Training.”
This program served 25 rural pastors, explaining how to file a First Information Report (FIR) and what constitutional rights are guaranteed to Christians. One beneficiary stated, “I did not know that the FIR is my basic right. On a number of occasions, I was not permitted to file [an] FIR in the police stations.” Pray for more training in persecuted regions.
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A CELEBRATION MARRED WITH THE BLOOD OF SAINTS By William Stark
“I never go to public parks, especially on religious festivals...I feared terrorist attacks and the unsatisfactory security arrangements at public places.” At approximately 6:30 p.m. on March 27, 2016, a suicide bomber from an offshoot group of the Pakistani Taliban attacked Gulshan e-Iqbal Park where many Christian families were celebrating the Easter holiday. As a result of the attack, over 70 people, mostly Muslims, were killed and over 300 more were wounded. Sonia and her family were among the Christians celebrating Easter in the park when the suicide bomber attacked. Sonia narrated the events that still haunt her: Hundreds of people were enjoying the evening, chatting with friends, families and couples. Children were playing cricket, others enjoying the swing, some were eating, dancing and
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doing whatever they wanted. I was standing near a cafeteria, holding my three-month-old son, when I felt something hit me like a pistol bullet at my back. It was not a bullet, but the shrapnel from the bomb. There was an unbearable big bang, the power cut, the smoke, the smell, the crying and shouting. There was blood and human bodies everywhere. At once my husband, who was also bleeding due to injuries on his hand, rescued me from the scene. People were crying for their beloveds and the injured were calling for help. Shahid Masih, Sonia’s husband, remembered escaping the carnage of the bombing, “I saw human bodies hanging on the swings and on the
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INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
AUGUST 2016
The people of Lahore mourn the loss of their family members in this brutal, unexpected attack.
“I saw human bodies hanging on the swings and on the ground like slaughtered animals.” – SHAHID MASIH, SONIA’S HUSBAND
ground like slaughtered animals.” “We thank God that we did not lose anyone from our immediate family,” Sonia added. “However, two people among our relatives were killed.” Following the attack, the spokesperson of an offshoot group of the Pakistani Taliban claimed that Christians were the target and that the group would commit more acts of terror against Pakistan’s Christian population. This bombing marks the second deadliest attack on Christians in Pakistan’s history, following the suicide bombing of All Saints Church in Peshawar in September 2013 which claimed the lives of more than 130 Christians. The attack on Gulshan e-Iqbal Park comes only a year after two churches in a majority Christian neighborhood in Lahore were attacked by suicide bombers from the same offshoot group of the Pakistani Taliban. In 2015, there were also church bombings in Youhanabad around the Easter holiday,
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making it two years in a row that Pakistani Christians have had to endure an Easter marred by terrorism. ICC is helping the Christian families whose breadwinner was either injured or killed in the park bombing. Among these families is Sonia’s family. Before the bombing, she worked at a beauty salon in Lahore and earned much of her family’s income. Now, due to the injury to her back as a result of the bombing, Sonia can’t stand for long periods of time and had to quit her job at the salon. On the day which we remember that Jesus conquered death, the most joyous occasion in history, Pakistani Christians are being slaughtered. Two years in a row, Easter Sunday has been stained with the blood of the saints. Christians in Pakistan now experience Easter on a different level than Christians in the West. For too many families, Easter is a day to remember two sacrifices. Our Lord’s and that of their loved ones.
Supporting a Community in Need In response to this devastating attack on Pakistan’s Christian community, ICC called on its donors to help relieve the suffering of those affected by the bombing. In total, ICC’s donors provided $27,500, allowing us to assist the Christian families affected by the bombing on multiple fronts. We found that 21 Christians, many of whom were children, had been killed in the bombing and another 45 were seriously injured, requiring hospitalization. Initially, we provided food aid and transportation aid to and from the hospital for the families of those Christians seriously injured in the bombing. As this stabilizing effort was made, we designed and implemented an academic support program for Christian children who had a family member killed in the park bombing. In the end, ICC was able to provide a year’s education for 23 students in need. Sohail Pervaiz, Shahzaib Pervz, and Kinza Pervais, three students now being supported by ICC, said, “Our father is a laborer; he works hard to take care of our schooling. Our brother, Wagas Masih, used to help our father in his work. After our brother died, we considered quitting school in order to help our parents. We are glad to have ICC here so that we can now continue our schooling. We are grateful for ICC’s timely assistance in providing for our schooling.”
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