May 2017 Persecution Magazine
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
WWW.PERSECUTION.ORG<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
PERSECU ION<br />
Rejected<br />
Resilient<br />
Restored<br />
Remembering the youngest victims of<br />
persecution and how they endure (pg 18)<br />
PERSECU ION.org<br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
Table of Contents<br />
In This Issue:<br />
FEATURE<br />
16 | <strong>2017</strong> Bridge Conference<br />
Speaker Announcement<br />
Join ICC this June 2-3 for the annual<br />
conference on the persecuted Church.<br />
FEATURE<br />
18 | “What Will You Remember<br />
Most?”<br />
Why serving the needs of persecuted<br />
Christian children across the world is<br />
so important.<br />
INTERVIEW<br />
22 | Choi: The Accidental<br />
Defector<br />
A North Korean defector tells ICC<br />
how he accidentally defected from<br />
North Korea, and what he is doing to<br />
free the oppressed still at home.<br />
INTERVIEW<br />
24 | Lee’s Story<br />
Escaping North Korea and finding<br />
Christ, Lee shares her powerful testimony<br />
with ICC.<br />
FEATURE<br />
26 | How the US Can Help<br />
Rebuild Communities in Iraq<br />
ICC’s advocacy efforts push for relief<br />
and reconstruction for Christians in<br />
Iraq and Syria.<br />
Regular Features<br />
4<br />
16<br />
18<br />
4 Letter from the President<br />
A few words from ICC’s president, Jeff<br />
King, on the last words of the martyrs.<br />
6 World News<br />
A snapshot of the persecution that<br />
impacts our brothers and sisters daily, in<br />
every corner of the world.<br />
10 Your Dollars at Work<br />
Learn how your gifts are providing<br />
comfort, relief, Bibles, education and<br />
vocational training to the persecuted.<br />
14 Impact Report<br />
See this quarter’s statistics of how<br />
ICC’s funds are helping the persecuted<br />
across the globe.<br />
22<br />
25 26<br />
2 PERSECU ION.org<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
972<br />
CHILDREN<br />
HELPED<br />
Through Kids Care Fund<br />
PERSECU ION.org<br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN<br />
3
President’s Letter<br />
Greater<br />
Love Has. . .<br />
The following is adapted from a chapter of a soon-to–be-released book from ICC’s president, Jeff King, entitled, “Last Words of the<br />
Martyrs.”<br />
The initial reports of persecution I receive are news-oriented, often<br />
only the cold hard facts; who, what, when, and how. Drill down<br />
with me on any attack to the individuals affected, their loved ones,<br />
their community, and their churches and you will see and feel the<br />
massive personal tragedy that each long prison sentence or murder<br />
represents.<br />
Over the years, I’ve been able to speak directly to Christians<br />
affected by persecution and I get very personal updates from our<br />
field staff. These are extremely helpful for me to keep in front of<br />
me the true cost and emotional impact of persecution as it occurs.<br />
In March 2015, in Youhanabad, Pakistan, two suicide bombers<br />
simultaneously attacked two different churches with devastating<br />
effect. Nineteen were killed and another 80 were seriously wounded.<br />
One of my staff was just around the corner when the bombs went off<br />
and rushed to the scene with his camera and recorded the devastating<br />
impact of the attack. Frankly, it was a scene out of a horror movie.<br />
The bomb’s shrapnel did its intended job and shredded anything in its<br />
path, whether concrete or flesh.<br />
One of his pictures haunts me. A mother was holding the body of<br />
her dying son while her spared son sat next to her. Abishey, 10, lay<br />
on the ground, his lower extremities gone. His abdomen was opened<br />
up and he was bleeding out, barely conscious, and fading quickly.<br />
His mother was holding him with her face pointed to heaven, tears<br />
streaming down her face and she was crying out in a grief that you or<br />
I will probably never experience. The healthy son, his face also twisted<br />
by shock and grief, covered in tears, was looking left. The pain and<br />
incomprehension expressed were undeniable and heart-wrenching.<br />
Abishey died because he had left the church to buy candles to<br />
light during the prayer time. He was just outside the church when the<br />
bomb went off.<br />
One of the priests from the church told us that horror was enough<br />
to drive some of his people mad.<br />
In contrast to the horror I saw in that picture was the story of heroics,<br />
courage, and sacrifice, demonstrated by two brothers from the<br />
church, Akash and Sikander. The Christian community and churches<br />
had been rocked by several suicide bombings and these two brothers<br />
from the church volunteered to act as security at the church gate<br />
to prevent any suicide bomber from entering. Another of the church<br />
security volunteers told us what these brothers had done.<br />
“When the bomber tried to enter the church gate, Akash and<br />
Sikandar threw the metal door (of the gate) closed and it hit the<br />
bomber. He fell down, but got back up and tried to enter through the<br />
gate again, but Akash held him, holding down his arms, and pulled<br />
him away from the church.”<br />
Akash held the bomber while Sikander slammed the heavy church<br />
gate closed again when the bomber ignited his bomb. Sikander was<br />
restraining him when the bomb went off.<br />
The death and injury toll, while terrible, would have been incredible<br />
if the bomber had made it into the church.<br />
Radical Islamists celebrated this suicide bomber and all the others<br />
as martyrs for sacrificially killing so many “infidels” that fateful<br />
Sunday. Parents of suicide jihadists even comfort themselves with<br />
promises that their children received a martyr’s reward in eternity.<br />
The shock that the bombers must experience as they enter eternity<br />
often haunts me. I know they are murderers, but they are deceived<br />
and so sincere in their willingness to please Allah that they will<br />
extinguish their own lives and murder hundreds around them because<br />
their religion is telling them to oppose those who resist Islam. They<br />
didn’t just come up with this crazy idea but were taught this lie by<br />
Muhammad, Islam’s holy books, and his living adherents.<br />
So the bomber pays the ultimate price to gain paradise but after<br />
death awakes to reality and finds that everything he was taught about<br />
God was a lie and that he had been obeying Satan.<br />
Furthermore, he realizes that he has killed 19 innocents and that his<br />
fate is sealed; captured by Satan, he will be in torment for eternity.<br />
4 PERSECU ION.org<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
President’s Letter<br />
THE REAL MARTYRS<br />
Of course, the real martyrs are not the killers, but the victims, especially<br />
Akash and Sikander. When Akash was killed, his soul was immediately<br />
taken to heaven where he received the crown of life, an eternal<br />
reward that will never perish, spoil, or fade. Akash’s mother spoke with<br />
ICC some time after the bombing and spoke to this point.<br />
“We [have] two feelings,” she said. “We are depressed because we<br />
have lost our son. But we are also proud of his sacrifice. He saved hundreds.<br />
I am happy that God has given him the crown of martyrdom.”<br />
Akash wasn’t a pastor, missionary, or saint. He was like you and me.<br />
He aspired to live like Jesus but probably failed miserably on a day-today<br />
basis. Yet, by laying down his life for others, he became Jesus to<br />
the many in St. John’s Church who lived that day because one deceived<br />
follower of Satan couldn’t get to them. Because of Akash’s sacrifice<br />
and death, they lived.<br />
Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life<br />
for one’s friends” (John 15:13 NIV). While the suicide bombers died<br />
in the fire and violence of hate, Akash and the other security guard laid<br />
down their lives in one supreme act of selflessness and sacrifice.<br />
A FLAWED STRATEGY<br />
There’s a lot of propaganda coming from our government and echoed<br />
by uninformed sheep that Islam is a religion of peace. Most in the<br />
leadership of our government involved in fighting Islam know this isn’t<br />
true. Muhammad wasn’t peaceful. He personally led 35-70 raids where<br />
many were killed. He was preaching and evangelizing for a decade with<br />
only a few followers to show for it when he said that Allah gave him a<br />
new revelation. This revelation would radically change his religion and<br />
would cause the number of his followers to explode.<br />
What was this new revelation? He said Allah showed him that he<br />
could kill those who opposed him. He could also take their gold, their<br />
homes, their wives and their children and do anything he wished with<br />
them. He could make them his “wives” or sell them as slaves. This was<br />
Allah’s will that had just been revealed to him.<br />
Muhammad even had to urge his followers to attack and kill others<br />
since your average person doesn’t want to be involved in this<br />
kind of “worship.”<br />
“Fighting is ordained for you (Muslims) though you dislike it, and it<br />
may be that you dislike [something] that is good for you. Allah [knows<br />
best]” (Quran 2:216).<br />
THE CONUNDRUM<br />
The conundrum our leaders face is that they fear if they tell the<br />
truth and openly condemn Islam, it will only become more violent<br />
and millions more young Muslim men around the globe will stand<br />
up to defend their religion and flow into the ranks of Islamic terror.<br />
So they have come up with a very flawed and increasingly incongruous<br />
campaign to put a wedge between the moderates and radicals<br />
of Islam through sloganeering (“Islam is a religion of peace”).<br />
The only problem is that they are fighting against the holy books<br />
of Islam, Muhammad, as well as the Saudi and other Gulf states that<br />
have spent 200 billion dollars or more in the last 40 years radicalizing<br />
the world’s Muslims.<br />
When I get weary of the resulting massive flowing sewer of<br />
Islam’s victims, when the countless stories of planned mass<br />
and individual murder and violence weigh me down (and<br />
they do), I take refuge in the fact that those who died for<br />
Christ have stood before our Father and cried out to Him.<br />
PERSECU ION.org<br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN<br />
“And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their<br />
testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God.”<br />
- Revelation 20:4 (NLT)<br />
“ 9 I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred<br />
for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony.<br />
10<br />
They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy<br />
and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to<br />
this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?<br />
11<br />
Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were<br />
told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers<br />
and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred—had<br />
joined them.”<br />
- Revelation 6:9-11 (NLT)<br />
These are the last words of the martyrs we see in the Word and if this<br />
was the end of the story, I would take some comfort in the fact that they<br />
were heard and were to be rewarded from the ultimate source of justice<br />
but I would still be naturally left wanting.<br />
Our souls are wired to desire justice and we have been left wanting in<br />
our culture. One day, justice will be delivered completely and in full by<br />
our hero. He will save the day and all evil will be defeated and judged.<br />
All tears will be wiped away and death and evil will be swallowed up<br />
(Revelation 21:4).<br />
The most important last words for martyrs like Abishey, Akash, and<br />
Sikander, though, will not be the words they speak but rather the ones<br />
they will hear. . .<br />
“Well done, good and faithful servant … Come and share your<br />
master’s happiness!”<br />
- Matthew 25:23 (NIV).<br />
Jeff King<br />
President<br />
International Christian Concern<br />
www.persecution.org<br />
Jeff King, President<br />
International Christian Concern<br />
5
News<br />
2<br />
7<br />
1<br />
3<br />
5<br />
6<br />
4<br />
Sudan Orders<br />
Church<br />
Demolitions<br />
Christians fleeing the violence in El-Arish.<br />
Christians Flee Sinai after<br />
Violent Attacks<br />
1 | EGYPT On February 22, the bodies of two Coptic<br />
Christian men were found behind a school in El-Arish,<br />
Egypt. Saad Hakim Hanna was found with a bullet wound<br />
to the head, while his son, Medhat, appears to have been<br />
burned alive. A local priest reported that three masked<br />
men showed up on the doorstep of the father and son’s<br />
home, before killing them and burning the house.<br />
Unfortunately, this is only one incident in a string of<br />
several attacks against Christians in El-Arish. A trader<br />
was killed in his shop in front of his wife and son. A veterinarian<br />
was shot in the head. A Christian plumber was<br />
shot multiple times in front of his wife and five children.<br />
The killings were revealed to be part of a militant hit list.<br />
In response to the violence, more than 150 Coptic families<br />
have fled the city in a state of panic, worried that their<br />
family may be next. These families are now rebuilding<br />
their lives from nothing as they attempt to protect their<br />
loved ones from execution.<br />
Pastor Wins Discrimination Lawsuit<br />
2 | UNITED STATES In early February, the State of<br />
Georgia agreed to pay Dr. Eric Walsh $225,000 to<br />
settle his religious discrimination lawsuit. Dr. Eric Walsh<br />
was hired in <strong>May</strong> 2014 as a district health director for<br />
Georgia’s Department of Public Health. One week after<br />
his hire, he was asked to submit sermons to his employers,<br />
which he had previously delivered during his time as<br />
a lay-pastor. Only two days later, he was fired.<br />
After Walsh lost his position, First Liberty Institute filed<br />
a lawsuit on his behalf against the Georgia Department of<br />
Public Health in a religious discrimination case, arguing<br />
that he was fired on account of his faith. After three years<br />
of legal battle, the matter was finally put to rest when the<br />
State of Georgia agreed to the settlement. Senior Counsel<br />
for First Liberty Institute, Jeremy Dys, stated, “This is a<br />
clear and resounding victory for religious freedom.”<br />
Thankfully, Walsh’s case came to a positive conclusion,<br />
but others in similar<br />
cases have not been<br />
so fortunate. While<br />
Christians in the United<br />
States certainly do not<br />
face persecution to the<br />
same degree as those<br />
in many other countries<br />
do, we must stand up<br />
for all Christians who<br />
are losing their rights<br />
to practice their faith<br />
freely, or religious freedom<br />
will slowly begin<br />
to chip away.<br />
3 | SUDAN It is no<br />
secret that the government<br />
of Sudan<br />
is seeking to keep<br />
Christians from freely<br />
practicing their<br />
faith. Through a<br />
series of imprisonments,<br />
church demolitions,<br />
and countless<br />
incidents of harassment,<br />
Sudan rightfully<br />
earned its designation<br />
as a Country of<br />
Particular Concern<br />
by the US State<br />
Department.<br />
Most recently,<br />
authorities in Sudan<br />
ordered the demolition<br />
of at least 25<br />
Christian church<br />
buildings near<br />
the capital city of<br />
Khartoum. The<br />
government issued<br />
a letter detailing the<br />
names and locations<br />
of the churches designated<br />
for destruction.<br />
While the letter noted<br />
that the churches<br />
were built on grounds<br />
designated for other<br />
purposes, local<br />
Christian leaders<br />
stated that mosques<br />
built in the same<br />
area didn’t face the<br />
same repercussions.<br />
The churches that<br />
were targeted cover<br />
a broad spectrum of<br />
Christian denominations<br />
and the majority<br />
are located in residential<br />
areas.<br />
6 PERSECU ION.org<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
China and Christianity<br />
Despite China’s persecution<br />
of Christians, it is expected to<br />
be the world’s ‘most Christian<br />
nation’ within 15 years.<br />
Christian Woman in China Accused of Cult Activity<br />
4 | CHINA A Christian woman from China, Tu Yan, has been accused of “using an evil cult to undermine law enforcement” for her involvement in<br />
ministry. She was initially arrested last October and continues to be detained, despite mass outcry from the public. Under the guise of a crackdown<br />
on cult activity, the Chinese government continues to persecute and imprison China’s growing Christian population.<br />
Christian in Coma After Mob Attack<br />
5 | INDIA In India, a Christian evangelist named Dr.<br />
Kusuma Anjeneya Swamy slipped into a coma shortly<br />
after being harassed by a group of Hindu radicals. Dr.<br />
Swamy was distributing New Testaments in a park,<br />
when he was surrounded by the group of radicals who<br />
were shouting violent threats. The mob then led Swamy<br />
to the police station where he endured further harassment<br />
from the authorities. Although there was no visible<br />
evidence of physical violence, Swamy suffered a brain<br />
hemorrhage and slipped into a coma shortly after leaving<br />
the police station.<br />
Since the rise to power of Prime Minister Narendra<br />
Modi (pictured) in 2014, Christians in India have experienced<br />
a sharp uptick in persecution due to the impunity<br />
that Hindu radicals enjoy.<br />
President Modi of the right-winged BJP party.<br />
PERSECU ION.org<br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN<br />
New Law<br />
Could Protect<br />
Christians<br />
6 | VIETNAM A<br />
recently ratified<br />
law in Vietnam,<br />
which will go into<br />
effect in 2018, could<br />
potentially protect<br />
Christian groups.<br />
The law will give<br />
religious organizations<br />
the opportunity<br />
to obtain legal status,<br />
which Christians<br />
hope will also give<br />
them legal protections.<br />
However, until<br />
the law is fully implemented,<br />
its impact<br />
remains unclear and<br />
there could be both<br />
positive and negative<br />
ramifications. Yet<br />
Christians are hopeful<br />
that this is a step<br />
forward for religious<br />
freedom in Vietnam.<br />
Congress Demands Release of<br />
Christian Pastor Held in Turkey<br />
7 | TURKEY On February 15, 78 members of<br />
Congress, including 37 senators, wrote a letter to the<br />
president of Turkey on behalf of Andrew Brunson,<br />
an American pastor imprisoned in Turkey who leads<br />
a church in the coastal city of Izmir. The bipartisan<br />
letter requested that Pastor Brunson be “immediately<br />
released and deported” on account of a lack of evidence<br />
in his case. The letter was sent four months<br />
after Brunson and his wife, Norine, were arrested<br />
after being accused of terrorist activities. Norine was<br />
released after 12 days of detention, but, at the time<br />
of writing, her husband remains in jail, despite the<br />
absence of evidence supporting his imprisonment.<br />
Andrew Brunson and wife, Norine.<br />
7
News<br />
3<br />
2<br />
6<br />
1<br />
5<br />
4<br />
“God changed<br />
the heart of the<br />
judge and he set<br />
me free.”<br />
Supreme Court of Pakistan. Wikimedia photo.<br />
Prosecutor Offers Imprisoned Christians<br />
Freedom if They Convert to Islam<br />
1 | PAKISTAN In March, ICC learned that a deputy district<br />
prosecutor in Pakistan was blackmailing 42 Christians<br />
who have been imprisoned since 2015. The prosecutor<br />
offered the Christians their freedom on one condition: that<br />
they abandon their Christian faith and convert to Islam.<br />
When this deal initially came to light, the prosecutor<br />
denied ever making such an offer. However, once it was<br />
revealed that the accused had video evidence of him making<br />
the offer, he changed his story. He then stated that he<br />
was simply offering them a choice. Worse still, this is not<br />
the first time that he has offered such a deal. The prosecutor’s<br />
office attempted to blackmail the Christians in the<br />
same way six months prior. However, the Christians clung<br />
tightly to their faith and refused the offer. According to a<br />
human rights activist involved in the case, one prisoner<br />
went so far as to say that he would rather be hanged than<br />
convert to Islam.<br />
Adding to the injustice of the case, many of the 42 men<br />
had been arbitrarily detained following a biased inves-<br />
tigation and shoddy<br />
police work. ICC has<br />
investigated and interviewed<br />
several people<br />
involved in this case<br />
and it is evident that<br />
there are several innocent<br />
people suffering<br />
in prison, solely<br />
because they are not<br />
a part of the Muslim<br />
majority.<br />
With a government<br />
bent on pushing their<br />
own religious agenda,<br />
Christians in Pakistan<br />
are often denied<br />
the justice that they<br />
deserve as authorities<br />
ignore the rule of<br />
law and overstep due<br />
process procedures.<br />
Prisoners should not<br />
have to fear whether<br />
or not they will receive<br />
an impartial investigation<br />
simply because of<br />
their religious identity.<br />
Unfortunately, as<br />
authorities continue<br />
to prioritize their religious<br />
beliefs above<br />
the law, religious<br />
minorities, including<br />
Christians, will continue<br />
to suffer the<br />
consequences.<br />
Syrian Man Gives Testimony of ISIS<br />
Kidnapping and Torture<br />
2 | SYRIA As ISIS continues its campaign of violence<br />
throughout the Middle East and beyond, personal stories<br />
of violence and abuse continue to pour out of the<br />
region. Meghrik (name changed for security) recently<br />
came forward with a testimony of such abuse.<br />
Meghrik was stopped by militants at a checkpoint<br />
while travelling by bus. Meghrik is a Christian name;<br />
however, he never professed to be a Christian or<br />
believe in the religion of his parents. Unfortunately<br />
for Meghrik, his name was enough to condemn him<br />
in the eyes of these ISIS militants and they forced him<br />
off the bus.<br />
An ISIS judge sentenced him to death and he was<br />
later told that he would be spared only if he converted<br />
to Islam. With a struggling faith, Meghrik called out<br />
to God in desperation. After ten days of death threats,<br />
torture, and forced conversion, he was finally released<br />
and permitted to return<br />
home. According to<br />
World Watch Monitor,<br />
Meghrik proclaimed,<br />
“God changed the<br />
heart of the judge and<br />
he set me free.” As<br />
statistics and news<br />
updates continue to<br />
flood our news stations,<br />
let us not forget<br />
to pray for the individual,<br />
such as Meghrik<br />
who reclaimed his<br />
faith in the most horrendous<br />
of circumstances.<br />
8 PERSECU ION.org<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
Boko Haram Attacks Near Christian Town of Chibok<br />
3 | NIGERIA In February, Boko Haram carried out yet another attack near the Christian town of Chibok, Nigeria. The attack killed one and seriously<br />
injured another, a young boy whose hands were broken. Boko Haram has targeted Chibok several times in their violent campaign to rid<br />
the region of Christianity. In April 2014, Boko Haram militants carried out a mass kidnapping, abducting more than 270 primarily Christian<br />
schoolgirls, most of whom are still missing.<br />
Boko Haram militants in Nigeria<br />
60+ Churches Destroyed in Myanmar since 2011 Christian Teen Remains Imprisoned in Pakistan<br />
4 | MYANMAR According to reports from Christian Solidarity<br />
Worldwide, at least 66 churches have been burned down in Myanmar<br />
since 2011, in addition to hundreds of villages being destroyed. In<br />
2011, the Burma Army broke a longstanding ceasefire and more<br />
than 100,000 have been displaced by the ongoing conflict. Although<br />
their constitution promotes religious freedom, the government openly<br />
favors Buddhism, leaving religious minorities, including Christians,<br />
vulnerable to conflict in an already tense environment.<br />
5 | PAKISTAN In September 2016, Nabil Masih, a Christian teenager in<br />
Pakistan, was accused of blasphemy for “liking” a photo on Facebook<br />
that allegedly blasphemed against Islam. Masih’s supporters report that<br />
this is impossible because Masih is illiterate and does not use social<br />
media, suggesting that the account was fake. Although Masih maintains<br />
his innocence, reports suggest that police assaulted the teen until<br />
he confessed. At the time of writing, Masih has been denied bail and<br />
continues to suffer in prison.<br />
Iranian Christian Prisoners Go on Hunger Strike<br />
6 | IRAN Two Iranian Christians, Hadi Asgari and Amin Afshar, went on a<br />
hunger strike following six months of imprisonment without charge. The<br />
Christians are victims of the Iranian authorities’ all too common practice of<br />
indefinitely detaining prisoners of conscience without adequate medical care<br />
or legal attention. While the men suffer in Iran’s notorious Evin prison, their<br />
families have been rejected any attempt to learn more about their loved ones’<br />
cases. In previous cases, similar periods of confinement have caused prisoners<br />
lasting physical and emotional damage. Meanwhile, the accusers are granted<br />
more time to gather false evidence to condemn the already detained prisoners.<br />
Unfortunately, one of the prisoners fell seriously ill. Finally, after receiving<br />
promises of better medical aid and attention to their case, the men decided to<br />
end their strike.<br />
PERSECU ION.org<br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN<br />
Hadi Asgari (left) and Amin Afshar<br />
9
Your Dollar$ at Work<br />
Education and Assistance after Al-Shabaab Attack<br />
Community Rebuild<br />
In 2014, al-Shabaab attacked the Joy in Jesus<br />
Church in Mombasa, Kenya, killing seven<br />
people, including a preacher, and leaving<br />
many more injured. The militants stormed<br />
into the church building through the back<br />
doors, shooting sporadically.<br />
Three families were particularly and permanently<br />
affected. Dennis Odongo, Austin<br />
Ouma and Diana Ouma were all severely<br />
injured during the gunfire. Each has been<br />
undergoing medical treatment for their injuries<br />
though none have been able to work<br />
since 2014.<br />
Florence Ochieng, whose husband was<br />
killed in the attack, worked diligently to keep<br />
the family’s motorbike business afloat, but<br />
sadly was unable to carry the load alone.<br />
The children in all of these families have<br />
been in and out of school in the last three<br />
years as their parents have been unable to<br />
maintain a sustainable source of income.<br />
These kids have been slighted in the worst<br />
way as their opportunity to be educated is<br />
slipping away.<br />
Thanks to your generous donations, we<br />
were able to step in and help these families<br />
both physically and financially. ICC<br />
funded a full year of school tuition for each<br />
of the children in these three families so<br />
they could continue their education without<br />
worry.<br />
“I would like to thank ICC greatly for<br />
paying my children’s school fees since this<br />
was the most stressing part to me as a single<br />
mother. It hasn’t been easy at all, but glory to<br />
God, He sent you people my way and I count<br />
this as a miracle,” Florence told ICC.<br />
While we have been able to provide educational<br />
assistance, the work is not done. These<br />
families need continued prayer and trust in<br />
God for healing, comfort, and provisions in<br />
the months and years to come.<br />
10 PERSECU ION.org<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
Food Assistance<br />
in Koraput, India<br />
Community Rebuild<br />
<strong>Persecution</strong> is nothing new in the Koraput<br />
district of India. During the 2008<br />
Kandhamal riots, Christians faced severe communal<br />
violence which resulted in damaged<br />
houses, livestock, and crops. Some were also<br />
forcefully reconverted to Hinduism under dire<br />
circumstances, including severe beatings. The<br />
entire Christian communities of Talagumandi<br />
village of Narayanpatna block in Koraput<br />
were forced to reconvert or leave the village.<br />
Christians were strong-armed out of the<br />
village by Hindus, and, after eight years, have<br />
not been able to return home. Originally, all<br />
120 Christian families went to an internally<br />
displaced persons (IDP) camp. Over the years,<br />
all but 29 have moved elsewhere in the country.<br />
The remaining families, however, have no<br />
jobs or income and little food. ICC located the<br />
29 families, and with your help, funded a food<br />
aid package for each family. ICC will continue<br />
looking for ways to serve these families.<br />
PERSECU ION.org<br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN<br />
Wrongfully<br />
Accused Pastor in<br />
Mali Assisted<br />
Underground Pastor<br />
The Muslim father of a converted Christian<br />
daughter falsely accused a Malian pastor<br />
of kidnapping and forcibly converting<br />
his minor daughter in 2016. The father also<br />
accused a local Christian counselor to the<br />
mayor of creating and signing a false identification<br />
card for the daughter to hide her age as<br />
a minor child.<br />
Following the false accusations, both<br />
the mayor’s counselor and the pastor were<br />
imprisoned. The counselor is on provisional<br />
release; however, both families are in need<br />
of food assistance as their breadwinners<br />
are unable to work. In response, ICC delivered<br />
several food assistance packages to the<br />
families of the counselor and the imprisoned<br />
pastor. These food packages included rice,<br />
milk powder, and oil. The families expressed<br />
gratitude for God’s faithfulness during this<br />
difficult time.<br />
Assistance for<br />
IDPs in Kaduna,<br />
Nigeria<br />
Hand of Hope<br />
Fulani militants attacked several villages<br />
in the Kaduna state of Nigeria from<br />
October 15-17, 2016. They destroyed crops,<br />
burned down hundreds of home, killed<br />
approximately 30 people, and injured 326.<br />
The attack forced 27,000 people to flee to<br />
Kafanchan or other neighboring communities<br />
for refuge.<br />
With your help, ICC has been able to<br />
bring immediate relief to some of the refugee<br />
families in the Kafanchan internally<br />
displaced persons (IDP) camp. The most<br />
immediate needs included food and clothing.<br />
ICC provided food packages for 110 families<br />
and clothing for each person in the family -<br />
approximately 1,035 people.<br />
The food packages will provide enough<br />
food for a month, while the clothing will<br />
protect individuals from the harsh elements.<br />
This is the direct result of your gifts!<br />
11
E<br />
arlier this year, ICC funded a persecution preparedness training<br />
program for rural pastors in the Nalgonda district of Telangana,<br />
India. The program taught 23 pastors proactive techniques to use<br />
against persecution and sustain their work.<br />
In the last two years, Telangana’s Christians have suffered more<br />
persecution than any other state in southern India. Local pastors and<br />
Christian workers have been assaulted by neighboring religious extremists<br />
on more than one occasion. Rural Christians are, unfortunately,<br />
uninformed about India’s religious freedom laws. This shortcoming has<br />
played a major role in the constant attacks because Christians do not<br />
know how to present their cases to the authorities.<br />
ICC’s training program assists these pastors in two ways. First, pastors<br />
learned how to advocate for themselves using the religious freedom<br />
law. Second, the training involved sensitizing the participants on the<br />
Indian penal codes and criminal procedure codes.<br />
Telangana Christian JAC, a human rights group, collaborated with<br />
ICC by coordinating with pastors in the area. They also hosted the<br />
training and provided lunch to the attendees. With six mainline denominations<br />
and several independent churches in attendance, pastors comprised<br />
the majority of the training participants.<br />
ICC requests prayer for the safety of all of the pastors, as they face<br />
the constant threat of persecution. In addition, pray that these pastors<br />
will be able to respond and report persecution as the first step of fighting<br />
for justice and religious freedom.<br />
Your Dollar$ at Work<br />
‘<strong>Persecution</strong> Preparedness<br />
Training’ in India<br />
Underground Pastor<br />
Business Development<br />
for Iraqi Christian<br />
Community Rebuild<br />
A<br />
t 16, Samer is the youngest in his family. Samer is also the<br />
breadwinner for his family since his father is in prison. His<br />
father used to be a technical manager at a Mosul dam, but the chief<br />
accountant became angry at the government for giving this position<br />
to a Christian. Consequently, the accountant attacked Samer’s father<br />
with a knife.<br />
In an act of self-defense, Samer’s father pushed back on the<br />
accountant, knocking him to the ground. The man hit his head on his<br />
way down, landing him in the hospital where he would later die of<br />
the injury. Samer’s father was arrested and has been imprisoned for<br />
the last six years.<br />
Samer’s family previously lived in Qeraqosh until ISIS’ attack in<br />
2014 forced them to flee. He took his family to Erbil, but had no way<br />
to support them.<br />
Samer wanted to start a barbershop; he even had a location. But<br />
he did not have the money to fund the startup costs. With help from<br />
your donations, ICC provided the materials necessary to start this<br />
small business, including dryers, clippers, scissors, and towels. With<br />
these essentials, he will be able to provide for himself and his family.<br />
“Thank you so much, it seems like we will be here...for a long time so<br />
it’s good to have a job here,” Samer said.<br />
12 PERSECU ION.org<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
PERSECU ION.org<br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN<br />
Your Dollar$ at Work<br />
Jos IDP School in Nigeria<br />
Suffering Wives and Children<br />
C<br />
hristian communities in Nigeria have long suffered the weight of terrorism. Boko Haram<br />
and others have displaced thousands of families, forcing them to flee into internally displaced<br />
persons (IDP) camps in the country. In Bukuru-Jos, hundreds of families are living far<br />
from their homes. Children and young adults have been slighted as their educations have been<br />
completely disrupted through this crisis.<br />
In January <strong>2017</strong>, ICC was able to establish and open a new school within the borders of the<br />
Jos IDP camp to ensure that children could continue their education. In addition to the school<br />
building, ICC provided textbooks and established curriculums for math, science, and English.<br />
Because of your donations, ICC purchased, delivered, and distributed the books and learning<br />
resources for teachers and 28 children living in the camp.<br />
Please keep these children and their families in your prayers as they have many emotional<br />
barriers to overcome in their new homes. Having been uprooted, these families must start<br />
over. Furthermore, pray for the children’s interest and enthusiasm in their educational and<br />
learning experience.<br />
Rebuilding After Taliban Attack<br />
Community Rebuild<br />
I<br />
n September 2016, the Pakistani Taliban attacked the Christian community in Peshawar,<br />
Pakistan. The attack left one Christian dead and nine homes damaged. Household goods<br />
were destroyed and families’ quality of life became severely limited. One family even<br />
expressed that everyone was “tense and worried for purchasing all the stuff again…”<br />
To best help this community, ICC first conducted a survey of the neighborhood to<br />
determine the level of damage and the types of goods most needed to help the victims<br />
return to normality.<br />
After the survey, ICC purchased the appropriate household items for each family. Some<br />
families received mattresses, washing machines, and an iron. Others needed sheets, clothes,<br />
and food aid. Blankets, cookware, and juicers were other items that ICC provided.<br />
The victims expressed their gratitude for the “extraordinary support” shown by ICC<br />
and believe that such support demonstrates the “real message of Christianity and fantastic<br />
method of preaching Gospel of Jesus Christ....” Continue to pray for Christians in Pakistan<br />
who experience daily persecution and attacks.<br />
Aiding Pastors in Indonesia<br />
Underground Pastor<br />
C<br />
hristians in Indonesia face persecution for their faith every day. Many church members take<br />
risks simply by attending church. The risks for pastors, however, are even greater. Two of<br />
the main issues underground pastors face in Indonesia are a lack of funds to support their families,<br />
and the risk of being attacked for sharing the Gospel in a conservative Islamic environment.<br />
This tension is no more obvious than on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. The risk is so real<br />
that the city where they work was once dubbed “The Missionary Graveyard.”<br />
In February <strong>2017</strong>, ICC traveled to Indonesia to meet with these pastors and hear their concerns.<br />
One of the main issues they face is that the community immediately becomes suspicious<br />
when the pastors arrive without a valid “reason,” and begin to question them regarding their<br />
presence in the community.<br />
To help address this issue and provide a “cover story” for these underground pastors, ICC<br />
funded a small business project to give underground pastors small goods to sell while they evangelize.<br />
Working under the cover of “small business owners” gives pastors access to communities<br />
without suspicion. With your help, ICC is also working on expanding a broader network to<br />
provide similar assistance to underground pastors throughout Indonesia.<br />
13
Impact Report<br />
WHERE MOST<br />
NEEDED<br />
FUND BALANCE:<br />
SUFFERING WIVES<br />
and CHILDREN<br />
FUND BALANCE:<br />
COMMUNITY<br />
REBUILD<br />
FUND BALANCE:<br />
low medium high<br />
low medium high<br />
low medium high<br />
2016 Q4 2016 Q4 2016 Q4<br />
PROJECTS PROJECTS PROJECTS<br />
• After years of relentless advocacy efforts,<br />
ICC’s hard work culminated with the<br />
unanimous passage of the Frank R. Wolf<br />
International Religious Freedom Act in<br />
December 2016. This act has been hailed<br />
as the most important religious freedom act<br />
in nearly 20 years. Among other provisions,<br />
it requires all US Foreign Service Officers<br />
to receive mandatory training on religious<br />
freedom. It also gives the US the ability to<br />
sanction non-governmental groups, such as<br />
ISIS or Boko Haram, for religious freedom<br />
violations, designating them as “entities of<br />
particular concern.” Previously, it was only<br />
possible to sanction entire countries.<br />
• At the end of 2016, ICC launched an intensive<br />
campaign on behalf of persecuted North Korean<br />
Christians. Our advocacy efforts included a<br />
petition calling on China to cease the deportation<br />
of refugees back to North Korea where<br />
they face death or torture. We also focused<br />
on Korean Christians in two of our monthly<br />
magazines. We interviewed and featured<br />
almost 20 defectors and North Korea experts.<br />
Additionally, the <strong>2017</strong> Bridge Conference<br />
will focus on the prison state of North Korea.<br />
• In November 2016, ICC travelled to northern<br />
Nigeria to interview victims of recent Fulani<br />
attacks, verify attacks, and begin the planning<br />
process of how to effectively alleviate the<br />
victims’ suffering.<br />
• Last year, Christians celebrating the Easter<br />
holiday in a public park were attacked by<br />
a suicide bomber in Lahore, Pakistan.<br />
Twenty-one Christians were killed in this<br />
attack and 40 more were injured, leaving<br />
many families without a breadwinner.<br />
In addition to providing immediate aid,<br />
ICC has helped several families affected<br />
by this attack set up small businesses so<br />
that they do not have to worry about daily<br />
expenses.<br />
• Following a deadly al-Shabaab attack in<br />
Kenya, a Christian woman was left widowed,<br />
with the responsibility of caring<br />
for her five children alone. After paying<br />
for her husband’s funeral, the woman was<br />
low on finances and in need of immediate<br />
assistance. ICC provided her with enough<br />
food to feed her family for a month while<br />
they grieve their devastating loss.<br />
• In April 2014, more than 270 primarily<br />
Christian schoolgirls were abducted in<br />
Chibok, Nigeria, by Boko Haram. Since<br />
the abduction, ICC has worked closely<br />
with the Chibok community, providing<br />
long-term assistance and encouragement<br />
to those affected by the attack. Most<br />
recently, ICC provided several of the<br />
victims’ families with food packages and<br />
medical care as they struggle to establish<br />
a new life.<br />
• As ISIS carried out a campaign of violence<br />
throughout the Middle East, countless<br />
Christians were forced to relocate,<br />
losing both their homes and their<br />
livelihoods. One such man became so<br />
depressed because of the displacement<br />
that his son was forced to find a way<br />
to support the family. ICC provided the<br />
equipment needed for him to start a car<br />
wash business. He now has the tools<br />
necessary to financially support his entire<br />
family and hopes to one day continue his<br />
education.<br />
• Christians in Egypt are often denied<br />
many of the educational and occupational<br />
opportunities that their Muslim counterparts<br />
receive, forcing them into the lower<br />
rungs of society. In order to break this<br />
cycle, ICC opened a Hope House in Egypt<br />
to offer after-school education (computers<br />
and English) for Christian kids. These<br />
students receive language and computer<br />
training, which will help them obtain jobs<br />
more easily upon graduation.<br />
• In 2016, a church in Tamil Nadu, India,<br />
was set on fire, severely damaging<br />
the building and other materials. In<br />
response, ICC provided the church<br />
with the necessary construction materials<br />
for them to rebuild their church<br />
building.<br />
14 PERSECU ION.org<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
Impact Report<br />
KIDS CARE<br />
FUND BALANCE:<br />
UNDERGROUND<br />
PASTORS<br />
FUND BALANCE:<br />
BIBLES<br />
FUND BALANCE:<br />
low medium high<br />
low medium high<br />
low medium high<br />
2016 Q4 2016 Q4 2016 Q4<br />
PROJECTS PROJECTS PROJECTS<br />
• In 2008, children throughout Orissa,<br />
India, were left orphaned due to a massive<br />
outbreak of violent, anti-Christian<br />
riots. In response, ICC started an<br />
orphanage to care for these children with<br />
food, clothing, medical care, shelter, discipleship,<br />
the best education. This past<br />
Christmas, ICC provided the children<br />
with gifts, new clothing, and a television<br />
for the orphanage.<br />
• In 2014, two suicide bombers devastated<br />
Pakistan’s Christian community by<br />
attacking All Saints Church in Peshawar.<br />
When the dust settled, more than 130<br />
people were killed in the attacks. Among<br />
the most vulnerable of victims were children<br />
who lost both parents or lost their<br />
family’s breadwinner. In response, ICC<br />
continues to supported these children on<br />
a regular basis by providing them with<br />
the resources necessary to obtain a quality<br />
education.<br />
• In Upper Egypt, Christian children are<br />
often denied the educational resources<br />
that they need in order to thrive in<br />
adulthood. In order to help put them<br />
on the path to success, ICC provides<br />
necessities such as food, medical care,<br />
school supplies and, most importantly,<br />
the Gospel.<br />
PERSECU ION.org<br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN<br />
• ICC provides monthly financial assistance<br />
to several pastors in Somalia in order to<br />
help them further the Kingdom and provide<br />
for their churches in this incredibly<br />
dangerous nation. Without this support,<br />
these pastors would be forced to take on<br />
one or more jobs which would severely<br />
curtail their spiritual work.<br />
• In 2016, a pastor in India was attacked by<br />
a group of Hindu radicals while returning<br />
home from leading worship. Pastor Rao<br />
survived the attack, but lost his hearing.<br />
Doctors recommended a costly ear<br />
surgery that he could not afford on the<br />
limited income of a rural minister. After<br />
Pastor Rao was forced to borrow the funds<br />
to pay for the surgery, ICC repaid his<br />
debt, relieving him of the heavy financial<br />
burden and enabling him to continue the<br />
work of the ministry.<br />
• Christians in Pakistan, particularly Muslimbackground<br />
believers (MBBs), must operate<br />
with extreme caution as they share the<br />
Gospel with their communities. One MBB<br />
works with a team of fellow evangelists to<br />
distribute Christian literature in their community.<br />
As a result, they have been beaten<br />
and have received several violent threats.<br />
ICC provides this evangelist with monthly<br />
support as he continues this important, yet<br />
dangerous, work of street evangelism.<br />
• In Madhya Pradesh, India, pastors and<br />
churches are often attacked. Due to the<br />
poverty that Christian pastors in the<br />
region face, they often cannot afford to<br />
replace the destroyed materials. Thanks<br />
to the help of generous donors, ICC was<br />
able to provide more than 200 Bibles to<br />
eight pastors in the area to distribute in<br />
their communities.<br />
• Muslims in Zanzibar are turning to<br />
Christ at an incredible rate thanks to<br />
the faithful work of Christian pastors<br />
sharing the Gospel across the island.<br />
Unfortunately, financial difficulties<br />
prevent many from distributing the<br />
written Word of God. ICC assisted<br />
with this need by providing six pastors<br />
with a stockpile of Bibles to distribute<br />
in their communities and build<br />
disciples.<br />
• With the rise of the house church<br />
movement in China, there is an increasing<br />
demand for the Gospel. ICC provides<br />
DVD kits that we call “church<br />
in a box” to communities throughout<br />
China. Thousands of these DVDs<br />
have been distributed and include a<br />
Chinese Bible, worship songs, the<br />
JESUS Film, and other resources in<br />
order to support these believers as they<br />
grow in their faith.<br />
15
PAUL GI HONG HAN<br />
SENIOR PASTOR OF GRACE<br />
MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL<br />
TED CRUZ<br />
US SENATOR & 2016<br />
PRESIDENTIAL CANDID<br />
FRANCIS CHAN<br />
BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF<br />
“CRAZY LOVE” AMONG<br />
OTHER BOOKS<br />
ED ROYCE<br />
CONGRESSMAN, CHAIR,<br />
HOUSE FOREIGN<br />
AFFAIRS COMMITTEE<br />
JOSEPH KIM<br />
NORTH KOREAN DEFECTOR<br />
AND RIGHTS ACTIVIST<br />
ICC’S<br />
THE BRIDGE<br />
THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON THE PERSECUTED CHURCH<br />
POLICY DAY: MAY 24<br />
MAIN CONFERENCE: JUNE 2-3<br />
WASHINGTON DC<br />
SADDLEBACK CHURCH, SoCal<br />
WWW.THEPERSECUTIONCONFERENCE.ORG FOR MORE INFO<br />
16 PERSECU ION.org<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
ATE<br />
HANNAH SONG<br />
CEO OF LIBERTY IN NORTH<br />
KOREA (LiNK)<br />
BRUCE KLINGNER<br />
CIA’S FORMER DEPUTY<br />
DIVISION CHIEF KOREA<br />
JEFF KING<br />
PRESIDENT OF ICC<br />
RICK WARREN<br />
LEADING PASTOR AND AUTHOR OF<br />
“THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE”<br />
PERSECU ION.org<br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN<br />
17
“What<br />
Will You<br />
Remember<br />
Most?”<br />
Why serving the needs of persecuted Christian<br />
children across the world is so important.<br />
By William Stark<br />
18 PERSECU ION.org<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
For the past five years, I have<br />
had the unique opportunity<br />
of serving the persecuted<br />
Church around the world.<br />
This service has, quite<br />
literally, taken me across<br />
the globe. From the rural<br />
jungles of Bangladesh to<br />
the urban chaos of Cairo,<br />
the ocean of memories I<br />
have will stick with me for the rest of my life.<br />
Often, I am asked by friends and family,<br />
“What will you remember most?”<br />
When I actually take the time to think about<br />
it, there are memories that are more vivid than<br />
others. Possibly because these memories are<br />
more cherished. Among the first memories<br />
to come to mind are the many projects I have<br />
been a part of that focused on serving the<br />
needs of children affected by persecution.<br />
Often, when people think about persecuted<br />
Christians, they tend to focus on the immediate<br />
victim – those directly affected. The<br />
parishioner killed in a church bombing. The<br />
evangelist beaten for bringing the Gospel to<br />
a closed village. The pastor imprisoned for<br />
leading a community considered illegal by<br />
their government. Unfortunately, the children,<br />
whose lives depend on those parishioners,<br />
evangelists, and pastors, are often overlooked,<br />
making them the unseen, but no less affected,<br />
victims of persecution.<br />
I remember this vividly in the days and<br />
weeks following the bombing of All Saints<br />
Church in Peshawar, Pakistan, in 2013. As<br />
many organizations, churches, and individuals<br />
rushed to provide medical assistance and<br />
other forms of initial support to the Christians<br />
injured or families who had a member killed<br />
in the bombing, few were looking to the needs<br />
of the Christian children whose parents were<br />
affected in the bombing.<br />
In light of this, ICC committed to providing<br />
primary and secondary education for those<br />
children whose parents were either killed<br />
or handicapped in the bombing. This vital<br />
program, which is going into its fourth year,<br />
not only helped stabilize over 30 Christian<br />
families, it also helped ensure that the persecution<br />
did not have a generational effect on<br />
the Christian community of Peshawar.<br />
When I visited the Christian community<br />
of Peshawar a few years after the bombing,<br />
I remember being pulled aside by one of the<br />
city’s church leaders. He pointed to one of<br />
PERSECU ION.org<br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN<br />
19
Feature Article<br />
“ It is only because<br />
of the support you<br />
are giving that will<br />
allow these children<br />
to pursue these<br />
dreams.”<br />
– PESHAWAR CHURCH LEADER<br />
“My father was the main breadwinner for the<br />
family, so with his death we were unsure how<br />
we would continue my education.”<br />
the students in our program and said, “You<br />
see that child there? She wants to become a<br />
doctor.” He pointed at another student. “You<br />
see that child there? He wants to become an<br />
accountant. It is only because of the support<br />
you are giving that will allow these children<br />
to pursue these dreams.”<br />
Can you imagine the impact that had on<br />
me? The honor, the incredible sense of humility,<br />
and the sense of responsibility that came<br />
with that heartfelt expression is to be shared<br />
with you, our donor.<br />
For I am only the feet or hands of you, our<br />
partner, that delivers your aid to the victims.<br />
Without us working together after the blast,<br />
these kids would have had to drop out of<br />
school. So instead of a doctor, accountant, or<br />
educated Christian professional, we would<br />
have had kids who would have dropped out of<br />
school and become common laborers.<br />
I recently caught up with the one of the<br />
students this church leader pointed out to me.<br />
Joyce William is a bright 18-year-old girl<br />
who lost her father, older brother, and sister<br />
in the All Saints Church bombing. Joyce’s<br />
mother was also badly injured and she still<br />
has not fully recovered. Although Joyce has<br />
graduated from ICC’s education program,<br />
she still remembers the vital support that ICC<br />
provided her and her family.<br />
“After the bomb blast, what was left of<br />
our family was (facing disaster),” Joyce<br />
explained. “My father was the main breadwinner<br />
for the family, so with his death we<br />
were unsure how we would continue my<br />
education. In the midst of all these challenges,<br />
ICC supported us and helped with financial<br />
support and provided for my school<br />
fees and other expenses,” Joyce continued.<br />
“ICC also arranged programs to help with<br />
the psychological effects of the blast for the<br />
children affected.”<br />
“After graduating from ICC’s program,<br />
I was able to gain admission at Edwards<br />
College in Peshawar where I am now a student,”<br />
Joyce reported. “I am currently studying<br />
in the medical program and am planning<br />
to take the medical exams so I can become a<br />
doctor.”<br />
Across the world, I have witnessed similar<br />
stories of tragedy and perseverance from the<br />
children of the persecuted. I have always<br />
found that, somehow, children have a unique<br />
ability to bounce back from persecution if<br />
simply given the opportunity and resources.<br />
In Nigeria, I remember arriving at a camp<br />
where Christians displaced by Boko Haram<br />
had been living for nearly two years. As we<br />
drove to the camp, the camp manager painted<br />
me a grim picture as to the camp’s conditions<br />
and those living there.<br />
When we arrived, the excitement and joy<br />
I witnessed, especially from among the children<br />
living in the camp, felt completely opposite<br />
from what I was expecting. As I entered<br />
20 PERSECU ION.org<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
ICC Kids<br />
Care<br />
Top Left<br />
Internally displaced<br />
children in Nigeria<br />
will receive a<br />
chance at an<br />
education thanks<br />
to ICC’s donors.<br />
Top Right<br />
ICC proudly<br />
supports young<br />
Pakistani students<br />
who lost family<br />
members in the<br />
2015 Youhanabad<br />
bombings.<br />
Bottom Left<br />
A Pakistani girl<br />
works on her<br />
homework. Her<br />
family was severely<br />
affected by the<br />
2015 Youhanabad<br />
bombings.<br />
Bottom Right<br />
A young girl living<br />
internally displaced<br />
in Nigeria. Her<br />
family fled their<br />
home when radical<br />
militias stormed<br />
their village.<br />
“I have found that, somehow, children have a unique ability to bounce<br />
back from persecution if simply given the opportunity and resources.”<br />
the camp, all the children, literally hundreds,<br />
lined up to greet us.<br />
In spite of living in an internally displaced<br />
persons (IDP) camp and being out<br />
of school for years, these children still had<br />
dreams for the future. The persecution they<br />
were experiencing had not taken their sense<br />
of hope in the future. When the camp manager<br />
asked Alheri, a young Christian child<br />
in the camp, what he wanted to do when<br />
he grew up, Alheri shouted, “I want to be<br />
a pilot! I want to drive a plane in the air!”<br />
Since our initial contact with this IDP<br />
camp, ICC has established a school for the<br />
PERSECU ION.org<br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN<br />
kids still living there. This way, children like<br />
Alheri have the opportunity to pursue their<br />
dreams of building a brighter future for themselves<br />
and their community.<br />
This is where the importance of working<br />
with these “unseen victims” of persecution<br />
really comes forward. These children,<br />
although often not the direct victims of<br />
persecution, are the future of their communities.<br />
One day, they will take on roles of<br />
leadership and will likely still face many of<br />
the same challenges faced by their parents<br />
because of their faith.<br />
It would truly be a tragedy if we only<br />
focused on serving the present needs without<br />
keeping an eye to the future. Ultimately, this<br />
would allow persecution to have a compounding<br />
and devastating generational effect on<br />
Christian communities across the world.<br />
For me at least, this is one reason why<br />
I am not only willing, but excited, to<br />
travel to countries like Pakistan, Nigeria,<br />
Afghanistan, Iraq, and the many other places<br />
Christians are persecuted. The memories<br />
I make today, especially while working with<br />
these Christian children, I hope will one<br />
day be the beginning of a brighter future for<br />
them and their communities.<br />
21
Interview<br />
Choi Jung Oon: The Accid<br />
A North Korean<br />
defector tells ICC<br />
how he accidentally<br />
defected from North<br />
Korea, and what he<br />
is doing to free the<br />
oppressed still at<br />
home.<br />
By Daniel Harris<br />
Choi Jung Oon talks with ICC staff at his organization’s office in Seoul, South Korea.<br />
In 1975 a boat of South<br />
Korean fishermen was<br />
abducted by North<br />
Korea. The fishermen,<br />
along with their<br />
captain, were taken to<br />
North Korea and forced<br />
to integrate into North<br />
Korean society. In a<br />
single day, the course of<br />
their lives was radically changed.<br />
Swallowed up by North Korea,<br />
their families never heard from<br />
them again.<br />
Fast forward to 2006, Choi<br />
Jung Oon, a former military officer<br />
and a government official<br />
in North Korea, was informed<br />
by the North Korean government<br />
that his funding was to be cut and<br />
he would have to find alternative<br />
means to pay his employees.<br />
To compensate, he began<br />
taking trips to China for trade.<br />
On his tenth trip into China, he<br />
heard about a woman who was<br />
offering $10,000 to anyone who<br />
could find her father and bring<br />
him back home. She said she<br />
was the daughter of the captain<br />
of the abducted ship. She had<br />
no pictures. She didn’t know<br />
where he was…all she had was a<br />
name: Choi Wook Il. Armed with<br />
only a name and a desire to earn<br />
$10,000, Choi Jung Oon began<br />
travelling through North Korea<br />
looking for the captain. It took<br />
him three months, but he found<br />
him. He was married to a North<br />
Korean woman and had children.<br />
His wife was essentially a North<br />
22 PERSECU ION.org<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
ental Defector<br />
In that moment everything changed for Choi Jung Oon. He went to<br />
sleep as a government official and woke up a fugitive. Choi had no<br />
choice but to defect.<br />
Korean spy tasked with reporting<br />
on his every movement.<br />
Choi pleaded with the captain’s<br />
wife and promised he would<br />
bring the captain back if she<br />
would let him visit his daughter<br />
in China. She conceded.<br />
Choi and the captain set off<br />
westward, crossing into China<br />
on Christmas day in 2006. But<br />
when they saw the captain’s<br />
daughter for the first time, it<br />
was not his daughter at all…it<br />
was his wife. Thirty-one years<br />
had passed without a word. The<br />
captain was 36 the day he disappeared;<br />
he was now 67.<br />
Choi told ICC, “Watching their<br />
meeting was so hard.” He said they<br />
wept so much, “they cried like<br />
animals…it was not the sound of<br />
people.” Choi stood there watching,<br />
and for the first time he wondered<br />
what kind of country could do this<br />
to someone. For the first time in<br />
his life he questioned what he and<br />
his country stood for. That night, as<br />
they slept, the captain and his wife snuck away.<br />
They ran straight to the South Korean embassy.<br />
When they arrived, they published a press release<br />
detailing his 31 years in captivity, how he escaped,<br />
and who helped him escape. They named names,<br />
including Choi Jung Oon.<br />
In that moment, everything changed for<br />
Choi Jung Oon. He went to sleep as a government<br />
official and woke up a fugitive. He could<br />
never go back, as the North Korean government<br />
was furious and executed everyone<br />
even remotely connected to the escape. By<br />
8:00 a.m., even the border guards had been<br />
executed. Choi had no choice but to defect. He<br />
found a way to call his family and they begged<br />
him to not try to come home.<br />
As for many North Korean defectors, it<br />
took Choi more than a year to make his way to<br />
South Korea. Defectors making their way to<br />
South Korea must dodge Chinese policemen<br />
PERSECU ION.org<br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN<br />
Part of the Korean Demilitarized Zone<br />
and North Korean spies, all the while bribing<br />
officers or hiring agents to get them into South<br />
Korea...all without a job and without knowing<br />
the local language. To be caught means automatic<br />
repatriation to North Korea where they<br />
will face torture at a minimum, long imprisonment,<br />
or execution.<br />
With the help of an agent, Choi reached<br />
South Korea on December 31, 2007. After<br />
being interrogated to make sure he was not a<br />
North Korean spy, he found a job as a reporter.<br />
He worked as hard as he could to save his<br />
money and hire agents to sneak his family out<br />
of North Korea, one-by-one. In 2011, he had<br />
snuck out every family member except his<br />
youngest brother. Because Choi had written an<br />
article that incensed the North Korean government,<br />
his baby brother was executed.<br />
The death of his brother still haunts him<br />
today. It is what drives Choi to do the work<br />
he does. Now, Choi works for<br />
a radio station that beams news<br />
into North Korea about the outside<br />
world and the truth about<br />
the North Korean regime.<br />
They tell North Koreans that<br />
there is hope outside of North<br />
Korea and the truth about what<br />
their country is doing. They<br />
broadcast North Korean songs<br />
rewritten with words from the<br />
Gospel. As a side project, Choi<br />
works to smuggle USB sticks<br />
filled with news, media, or<br />
the Bible into North Korea.<br />
It is a dangerous task with<br />
people risking their lives at<br />
night to cross the border. But<br />
Choi is one of the most active<br />
and passionate leaders in the<br />
fight against the North Korean<br />
regime.<br />
Life for Choi after the<br />
escape has not been easy.<br />
North Korean spies are<br />
everywhere and it is difficult<br />
to know who to trust. Some<br />
defectors who ICC met with have had as<br />
many as eight attempts on their life since<br />
escaping North Korea. In 2012, North<br />
Korea sent a spy to befriend Choi and kill<br />
him. They told the spy that they would execute<br />
her son if she did not follow through<br />
with it. Luckily, she was identified and<br />
captured before she could get to him. For<br />
Choi, and for many defectors, the sad truth<br />
remains that they may never truly escape<br />
the reaches of North Korea’s cruelty.<br />
ICC is working to support Choi’s work.<br />
We are also inviting Choi to speak at The<br />
Bridge Conference at Saddleback Church<br />
on June 2-3. We hope you will join us<br />
in supporting the work Choi is doing to<br />
change North Korea and to help the persecuted<br />
and the oppressed. To find out<br />
more about the conference, go to www.<br />
thepersecutionconference.org.<br />
23
Interview<br />
Lee’s Story:<br />
Escaping North Korea<br />
and Finding Christ<br />
By Sandra Elliot<br />
Over the last 20<br />
years, ICC staffers<br />
have had the privilege<br />
of listening<br />
to the first-hand<br />
testimonies of persecuted<br />
Christians<br />
around the world.<br />
Widowed mothers,<br />
fatherless<br />
children, and underground pastors are just a<br />
few of the interviewees we have spoken with.<br />
Recently, while visiting the persecuted in<br />
Southeast Asia, we sat down to hear the heroic,<br />
and often horrific, stories of North Korean<br />
defectors who escaped their hellish lives in<br />
the prison state.<br />
Lee and her mother, JungAe, are two defectors<br />
who we met in South Korea this year.<br />
It was 1999 when North Korean officials<br />
discovered that JungAe had illegally maintained<br />
contact with relatives in South Korea.<br />
JungAe had seen her family split as a child<br />
during the Korean War, with half staying<br />
in North Korea and the rest claiming South<br />
Korea as home. In 1999, JungAe and Lee<br />
knew they had to flee North Korea for their<br />
own safety, despite knowing they would have<br />
to leave Lee’s brother behind. While Lee’s<br />
father had already died, her brother was still<br />
enlisted in the North Korean army.<br />
At just 17 years old, Lee crossed the border<br />
into China to restart her life in a new world.<br />
After three years of living in daily fear of<br />
repatriation, the two decided they must go further<br />
to find permanent safety. They had heard<br />
that, if they make it, South Korea would grant<br />
them immediate citizenship.<br />
Communicating through a translator, Lee<br />
explained how dangerous it is for multiple<br />
people to travel to South Korea from China.<br />
They decided it would be safer for Lee to<br />
travel first, then JungAe would follow. As<br />
with many North Korean defectors, Lee and<br />
her mother connected with a non-governmental<br />
organization (NGO) during their years in<br />
China. The group armed her with a fake passport<br />
and sent her by ship to her newer, safer<br />
home in South Korea.<br />
She arrived within days and was welcomed<br />
with citizenship and enrollment at a local<br />
university. She was 19 when her life finally<br />
began to look normal.<br />
Unfortunately, good fortune would not last<br />
long.<br />
“I had never prayed until my mother was<br />
caught,” Lee told ICC. Her only experience<br />
with prayer were scenes from a Korean War<br />
documentary depicting American soldiers<br />
on their knees before an unseen God. It<br />
“I had never<br />
prayed until<br />
my mother was<br />
caught.”<br />
seemed the right thing to do when facing<br />
impossible odds.<br />
JungAe was surely facing impossible odds.<br />
Police tracked her down and repatriated her<br />
outside of the South Korean embassy the<br />
same day she was set to leave China. She was<br />
picked up along with another North Korean<br />
defector, a young woman named Sarah.<br />
According to Lee, Sarah never should<br />
have been caught. The young woman actually<br />
turned around to help Lee’s mother<br />
when she could have easily escaped the<br />
authorities’ notice.<br />
Sarah and JungAe had a cordial relationship<br />
before they were arrested. Sarah was an<br />
outspoken Christian evangelist living with<br />
Chinese missionaries in the area. JungAe was<br />
just a woman she had shared the Gospel with.<br />
It didn’t make sense for Sarah to sacrifice herself<br />
for such a stranger. But she did.<br />
Upon re-entry, both women were sent away<br />
to a prison camp. Officials send people to<br />
the Korean gulags, as prison camps are often<br />
called, to die. Slowly. It was here that JungAe<br />
learned how to pray. Much like her daughter<br />
did when faced with the impossible, JungAe<br />
turned to this unknown God for help. She<br />
watched Sarah do it every day from their cell,<br />
so she learned the mannerisms and adopted<br />
the habit.<br />
Both JungAe and Sarah were severely beaten<br />
by prison guards. Age and gender offered<br />
no mercy to their cause. Throughout the time<br />
spent in the North Korean gulag, JungAe<br />
watched as Sarah proudly proclaimed her<br />
24 PERSECU ION.org<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
“It didn’t make<br />
sense for Sarah<br />
to sacrifice<br />
herself for such<br />
a stranger. But<br />
she did.”<br />
faith and refused to deny her Savior, though<br />
tortured. Sarah would eventually pay the ultimate<br />
price for her boldness in this camp, but<br />
she never revealed that JungAe had become a<br />
new believer.<br />
Back in South Korea, Lee found refuge in<br />
a church group and came to know the Lord<br />
through their love and support. They never<br />
stopped praying for JungAe, as they understood<br />
what North Korean prisoners suffered.<br />
Lee had no idea that her mother was finding<br />
comfort in the same God so far away.<br />
With help from those around her, Lee transferred<br />
funds to secure her mother’s release and<br />
safe passage into South Korea.<br />
“Money would not have been enough to free<br />
my mom,” she reminisced, “but God was at<br />
work the whole time.”<br />
The two were finally reunited in South<br />
Korea, embracing one another and their newfound<br />
faith together. Lee now works with an<br />
organization dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation<br />
of North Koreans in South Korea.<br />
“I want to help people like me.”<br />
While together again, Lee and JungAe still<br />
bear the scars of their story, one being the<br />
heartbreak of leaving Lee’s brother behind.<br />
They learned that he was sentenced to a gulag<br />
several years previously, but they have no idea<br />
if he is alive or dead. They can only hope and<br />
pray as they did for one another. They have<br />
hope because of Christ, but they carry a burden<br />
most of us will never understand.<br />
Lee Han Byeol escaped North Korea with her mother in 1999.<br />
PERSECU ION.org<br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN<br />
25
Feature Article<br />
How the US Can Help Rebuil<br />
Displaced Iraqi Children<br />
In 2015, ICC traveled to Iraq<br />
to help with aid distribution<br />
and project development.<br />
ICC Advocacy: Our efforts to push<br />
for relief and reconstruction for<br />
Christians in Iraq and Syria.<br />
By Sandra Elliot<br />
On March 14, <strong>2017</strong>,<br />
Congress passed<br />
House Resolution<br />
75 which declared<br />
the Islamic State<br />
in Iraq and Syria<br />
(ISIS) as responsible<br />
for genocide<br />
against religious<br />
minorities, namely<br />
Christians, Yazidis and Shia Muslims. Days<br />
later, the State Department released a concurring<br />
statement highlighting the atrocities of<br />
the group and once again leveling the ‘crime<br />
of all crimes’ against them.<br />
By nature, the term ‘genocide’ merits the<br />
most immediate and extensive response. This<br />
is why the US has been so hesitant to use it<br />
in the past. Yet, even now, over a year since<br />
we tagged the greatest crime to the actions of<br />
ISIS, the most vulnerable victims continue to<br />
suffer unnecessarily because they lack access<br />
to proper aid and assistance. We have labeled<br />
the perpetrator and named the crime; yet, as<br />
a country, we have done little for the victims.<br />
The situation in Iraq is desperate as displaced<br />
persons, Christians in particular, struggle<br />
with the daunting decision of emigration<br />
or rehabilitation. For three years, they have<br />
lived homeless, jobless, and, often, hopeless.<br />
The Islamic State committed unspeakable<br />
atrocities against women and children, while<br />
executing fathers and recruiting brothers into<br />
forced service.<br />
Three million people have been displaced in<br />
the conflict. Kurdistan and much of Baghdad<br />
have become landing places for these people<br />
over the last few years, while millions of others<br />
have fled altogether. Still, a year after the<br />
26 PERSECU ION.org<br />
MAY <strong>2017</strong><br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
d Communities in Iraq<br />
The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria<br />
Pastor Edward Awabdeh on Capitol Hill<br />
HR 390<br />
“provide[s]<br />
emergency<br />
relief to victims<br />
of genocide,<br />
crimes against<br />
humanity, and<br />
war crimes in<br />
Iraq and Syria,<br />
and provide[s]<br />
accountability<br />
for perpetrators<br />
of these crimes,<br />
and for other<br />
purposes.”<br />
declaration of genocide, minimal has been<br />
done on behalf of these populations.<br />
International Christian Concern has aided<br />
thousands of families in their time as internally<br />
displaced persons (IDPs). We have<br />
built homes, provided heaters and coats<br />
for winter, and provided microfinancing to<br />
establish small businesses to provide sustainable<br />
incomes. But it’s not enough. Individual<br />
projects will not solve the wider issue at<br />
hand.<br />
In March, ICC launched an advocacy<br />
tour on behalf of these suffering believers,<br />
pushing for a new House resolution that<br />
“provide[s] emergency relief to victims of<br />
genocide, crimes against humanity, and war<br />
crimes in Iraq and Syria, and provide[s]<br />
accountability for perpetrators of these<br />
crimes, and for other purposes.”<br />
PERSECU ION.org<br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN<br />
This two-fold resolution serves both the<br />
immediate and long-term needs of Christian<br />
communities in Syria and Iraq. Emergency<br />
relief will service the pressing physical necessities<br />
of IDPs and others, while accountability<br />
for the perpetrators will ensure punishment<br />
for those responsible and state-wide recognition<br />
of the atrocities committed.<br />
Accountability is more than just a blame<br />
game; it is justice for the victims and a sense<br />
of future security for the displaced. By outlining<br />
the specifics of a wrongdoing and trying it<br />
accordingly on the world stage, you reaffirm<br />
the suffering of the victims, while at the same<br />
time dissuading future perpetrators from carrying<br />
out their crimes.<br />
As a guest on our tour, we invited Pastor<br />
Edward Awabdeh, the president of the<br />
Evangelical Alliance Church of Syria and<br />
Lebanon, to share his testimony on Capitol<br />
Hill. Pastor Edward has led his congregation<br />
and denomination in Syria through six<br />
years of civil war, never once entertaining the<br />
thought of leaving.<br />
His work is one of many that we are<br />
proud and excited to support, but we are<br />
also working toward a greater solution - to<br />
see the US government step up its care for<br />
Christian victims.<br />
ICC will continue to provide relief aid to our<br />
brothers and sisters in Iraq, but we will also<br />
continue to advocate for a bigger and more<br />
permanent solution to the crisis at hand.<br />
Would you consider giving to the persecuted<br />
in Iraq and Syria? If so, you can<br />
note ‘Iraq/Syria’ on your check or credit<br />
card donation.<br />
27
You Can Help Today!<br />
PERSECU ION.org<br />
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN<br />
SEND DONATIONS TO:<br />
ICC<br />
PO BOX 8056<br />
SILVER SPRING, MD 20907<br />
OR ONLINE AT<br />
WWW.PERSECUTION.ORG<br />
OR BY PHONE<br />
800-ICC-5441<br />
GIVING TO ICC VIA<br />
YOUR WILL<br />
Provide now for a future gift to ICC<br />
by including a bequest provision in<br />
your will or revocable trust. If you<br />
would like more information on giving<br />
to ICC in this way, please give<br />
us a call at 1-800-ICC-5441.<br />
© Copyright <strong>2017</strong> ICC, Washington, D.C., USA.<br />
All rights reserved. Permission to reproduce all<br />
or part of this publication is granted provided<br />
attribution is given to ICC as the source.<br />
International Christian Concern (ICC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) (all donations tax-deductible).<br />
ICC makes every effort to honor donor wishes in regards to gifts. Occasionally, situations<br />
arise where a project is no longer viable. ICC will then redirect those donated funds to the<br />
fund most similar to the donor’s original wishes. ICC uses 7.5 percent of each restricted<br />
donation to carry out the mission of its segregated funds.<br />
facebook.com/persecuted<br />
@persecutionnews