Zprávy HCJB 20.3.2008 |
| Zprávy HCJB 20.3.2008 |
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5 let po invazi jsou iráčtí křesťané znepokojení, ale doufají |
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| Na dnešek (20. března) připadá páté výročí vstupu USA do války s Irákem. Na začátku tohoto období křesťané pád Saddáma Husseina podporovali, ale nyní se cítí být pod nepřátelskou křížovou palbou. Pouhý den po objevení pohřbeného těla chaldejského arcibiskupa Puluse Faraj Rahho se v severním Iráku objevily nové únosy a během velikonočního týdne i další vraždy křesťanů. „Během Svatého Týdne je našim lidem vyhrožováno, jsou unášeni a zabíjeni,“ řekl arcibiskup chaldejské církve Luis Sako v Kirkúku. Jeden duchovní řekl, že nebezpečí je v Mosulu dost velké, aby zde účinně zamezilo oslavě letošních Velikonoc. „Abychom se chránili, můžeme zavřít všechny naše kostely v Mosulu a všude říkat, že s takovou situací nesouhlasíme,“ řekl dominikánský kněz Nedžíb Michail. „Nebo můžeme všechny svátky držet a pak se možná dočkáme pár bomb nebo útoků.“ Podle Open Doors válečné násilí způsobilo odchod mnoha Iráčanů, čímž se počet místních křesťanů snížil z Říká se, že za posledních několik let bylo svou víru zabito asi 500 iráckých křesťanů včetně kazatelů. Ještě víc křesťanů zahynulo v důsledku kriminální činnosti, při bojích a únosech pro peníze. Bombové útoky na křesťanská náboženská zařízení jsou během celé poslední doby běžné, zvláště v oblasti Mosulu v severním Iráku. Podle deníku The International Herald Tribune mnoho mladých Iráčanů říká, že ztrácejí iluze o muslimských náboženských vůdcích a z jejich víry a modliteb nemají dobrý pocit. Toto rozčarování se za poslední dva měsíce potvrdilo při rozhovorech se 40 mladými lidmi z pěti iráckých měst. „Nenávidím islám a všechny ty kněze, protože omezují naši svobodu na každý den, a protože jejich příkazy jsou pro nás příliš těžké,“ řekla Sara Sami, studentka na gymnáziu v Basře. Když to takhle půjde dál, mohlo by to vést k oslabení politického vlivu náboženských vůdců v Iráku a vést k vývoji, který by byl opačný v porovnání s ostatními zeměmi Středního Východu, kde náboženská zanícenost mládeže stoupá a kde náboženství jako jednotící ideologie nahradilo nacionalismus. Zdroj: Compass Direct News, Mission Network News, New York Times, Religion Today, Evangelical News |
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Všechny zprávy v angličtině |
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| ALBANIAN CHRISTIAN RADIO STATION REACHES OUT AFTER EXPLOSION Sources: Mission Network News, BBC News Albanian authorities evacuated 4,000 people from an area near the capital city of Tirana after a nearby weapons depot blew up. The blasts began Saturday, March 15, and continued for 14 hours, killing at least five and injuring 240 while raining artillery shells down on nearby villages and destroying more than 300 homes. The explosions came while teams were working to destroy excess ammunition stockpiled since Albania’s communist past. Enkelejda Kumaraku with a Trans World Radio partner Valët e Ungjillit (gospel waves) that airs from Tirana, says the deadly tragedy had a severe impact on many of their listeners. “In a few minutes, they were without home, without clothes, without basic needs. So we’ve been working with our other partner organizations to help them and show our love for them and our care for them, not just by our words but by our deeds.” Kumaruku says while her staff of nine has been shaken, they are trying to rebuild through their broadcasts. “From the very beginning, we’ve been recording the interviews of people -- not just giving the sad stories, but trying to really tell people that God has a plan for their lives, and God has a plan for the country, and His plan is going to be fulfilled.” INDONESIAN CHRISTIANS BRACE FOR POTENTIAL EASTER ATTACKS Source: Assist News Service A charity providing assistance for the persecuted church has received what it calls “credible reports” that the al-Qaida-linked terrorist organization, Jemaah Islamiyah, has threatened to target Christians in Indonesia this Easter. In a news release, Barnabas Fund reported that the group has been responsible for many attacks in the past. It is believed to have organized the 2002 and 2005 bombings in Bali and bomb attacks at churches on Christmas Eve in 2000. Jemaah Islamiyah is dedicated to creating a single Islamic state throughout South-East Asia under sharia (Islamic law). It considers non-Muslims as legitimate targets and is active throughout the region. The Barnabas Fund reported that threats to Christians on major celebrations such as Easter and Christmas are frequent in Indonesia, and security guards are often posted outside churches. Some churches in Jakarta keep metal detectors near their entrances in an effort to thwart bomb attacks. UPDATE: MURDER TRIAL DELAYED BY MYSTERIOUS CLERICAL ERROR Source: Compass Direct News The fourth trial hearing against the murderers of three Christians in southeastern Turkey was postponed for another month after court clerks mysteriously failed to file a request to replace judges accused of bias. Plaintiff lawyers’ official demand to replace the presiding judges was filed on Saturday, March 1, but when the Malatya Third Criminal Court convened on Monday, March 17, the request still had not been forwarded to the higher court in Diyarbakir designated to rule on it. Plaintiff lawyers had listed repeated instances of the judges’ bias and declared they were “obstructing justice.” The clerical failure forced the Malatya court to postpone the hearing until Monday, April 14. In doing so, the presiding judges in Malatya issued an accusation of “criminal offense” against court clerks of the state prosecutor’s office in Izmir, declaring that their ineptitude in processing the legal complaint “within a reasonable time” had brought a “negative effect” on the case. Five cohorts, all under the age of 21, attacked a Christian publishing office last April, tying up and torturing Turkish Christians Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel and German believer Tilmann Geske before slitting their throats with knives. 5 YEARS OF WAR LEAVES IRAQI CHRISTIANS CONCERNED, YET HOPEFUL Sources: Compass Direct News, Mission Network News, New York Times, Religion Today, Evangelical News Today (Thursday, March 20) marks five years since the U.S. went to war in Iraq. Initially, the Christian population supported the fall of Saddam Hussein. But five years later, believers are caught in the crossfire of violence. Just days after the body of kidnapped Chaldean Archbishop Paulus Faraj Rahho was found buried in northern Iraq, fresh kidnappings and murders continue to haunt the country’s Christians in the week leading up to Easter. “We have people threatened, people kidnapped, people killed, this is Holy Week,” Kirkuk’s Chaldean Archbishop Luis Sako said. Danger in Mosul may be great enough to effectively cancel Easter in the city this year, one clergyman said. “We could close our churches in Mosul to protect ourselves and say to everyone that we don’t accept the situation,” Dominican Father Najeeb Mikhail said. “Or we can hold all the celebrations, and maybe we will receive some bombs or attacks.” According to Open Doors, the war’s violence has caused many Iraqis to leave, reducing the number of Christians who remain in the country to less than 400,000. This number is down from around 550,000 prior to the fall of Saddam Hussein. Some say that in the past few years, almost 500 Iraqi Christians, including pastors and priests, have been murdered because of their faith. Even more Christians have been killed in attacks, in fighting or kidnappings for money. Bombings of Christian religious institutions have been common throughout the process, especially in the Mosul area of northern Iraq. At the same time, some pastors and Christian workers see this time as an excellent opportunity to share the hope and peace of Jesus. According to a report in The International Herald Tribune, many young Iraqis say they have grown disillusioned with Muslim religious leaders and skeptical of the faith that they preach. A pattern of disenchantment was noted amongst 40 young people in five Iraqi cities who were interviewed during a two-month period. “I hate Islam and all the clerics because they limit our freedom every day and their instruction became heavy over us,” said Sara Sami, a high school student in Basra. If such patterns continue, it could lead to a weakening of the political power of religious leaders in Iraq and runs counter to trends of rising religious practice among young people across much of the Middle East where religion has replaced nationalism as a unifying ideology. * HCJB GLOBAL HANDS OUTREACH DOVETAILS WITH WORLD WATER DAY Source: HCJB Global While Ecuador has made huge strides in building its infrastructure, only about 50 percent of rural Ecuadorians have access to an improved drinking water source. Many of these residents resort to using contaminated water, often resulting in disease and even death. Others spend hours each day hauling water from distant sources, expending valuable resources. In an effort to address this problem, HCJB Global Hands operates a Clean Water Projects outreach that began in Ecuador in 1980, utilizing funds from individual donors, churches, governments and collaborating charitable organizations. The outreach dovetails with World Water Day, designated by a U.N. General Assembly resolution and celebrated annually on March 22 since 1993. “Our goal is to facilitate the success of communities desiring to develop their basic infrastructure necessary for a healthy environment,” said HCJB Global missionary Bruce Rydbeck who directs Clean Water Projects, a ministry of the mission’s Vozandes Community Development department. “Development flourishes and health is improved by implementing biblical values,” he added. “Training in water system management and hygiene are integral to the program as are evangelism, discipleship and pastoral training.” Rydbeck emphasized that each benefiting community is required to provide manual labor, local materials and some of the finances for their project. The communities also build their own latrine and participate in hygiene sessions to receive the collaborative help from HCJB Global Hands. “The local people work in the hot sun, frigid cold and pelting rain to dig many miles of pipe trench more than a yard deep by hand,” he explained. “They haul tons of cement, sand and stone to remote building sites. They solve difficult construction issues with minimal resources. As a result, the sense of pride and ownership runs deep when they complete the project, providing clean water and sanitation at each home. They know that God empowers us when we harmonize our plans with his desires.” This year HCJB Global Hands is collaborating with a dozen Ecuadorian indigenous communities to improve health and infrastructure for more than 1,000 homes. These include Quichua communities in Chimborazo province, Shuar communities in Morona Santiago province and Chachi communities in Esmeraldas province. Lupaxi Grande, a remote Andean village with humble adobe and cement-block dwellings nestled among verdant fields of barley, potatoes and quinoa, is an example of a Quichua community that has benefited from this program. More than 100 homes now receive clean, protected spring water pumped at high pressure to the highest homes, 650 feet above the spring. HCJB Global Hands helped with the technical design, secured donations for the pipe and pumps and discipled the local leaders. At the colorful inauguration ceremony, everyone in the village gathered to celebrate the community’s first water system. The 3˝-hour ceremony included speeches, prayers, songs and acknowledgments. Rydbeck took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony and preached. Culminating the ceremony, 300 Quichua people shared a meal of quinoa soup, fava beans, corn, cheese and guinea pig, cooked over wood fires. Why were the people so excited? “To complete the project, every family had sacrificed 60 days of arduous manual labor to build four concrete reservoirs and dig more than six miles of four-foot-deep pipe trench, providing clean spring water to each home,” Rydbeck explained. “Imagine having to lug all the water for your family uphill the equivalent of a 67-story building every day!” A local pastor commented, “Until recently, we rose every day at 3 a.m. to haul water from the contaminated stream for our household use! Now we have both the living water that Jesus gives and clean water that will improve our health.” Here are some online resources to learn more about HCJB Global Hands’ Clean Water Projects outreach: - Photos of the Lupaxi Grande dedication: http://www.fifephoto.com/gallery/4290838#251451315 - Overview with staffing and internship opportunities for engineers and health professionals: www.hcjb.org/water - Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYbV3nIffjs&feature=related © Copyright 2008 - HCJB Global - Colorado Springs, CO USA |
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