In late August, a prominent anti-Christian leader was murdered in Orissa (a state in Eastern India). Since then, Anti-Christian attacks have intensified into an organised campaign. Although Maoists have claimed responsibility for his death, it has become an excuse for anti-Christian fundamentalists to incite violence against the believers there. It has also spread to several other states in India and we have been receiving weekly, sometimes daily e-mails from different people that have been affected by this. We had a prayer meeting last week praying for all that is going on, and there was hardly a dry eye in the room. This will be a long post as I want to share just a little of what we know.
It is estimated that at least 60,000 people in Orissa have been affected by the violence. 300 villages have been "cleansed' of
Christians, with hundreds still hiding in forests. Countless homes and over 100 churches have been burned or destroyed. 45 Christians are confirmed dead with more still missing. This is affecting every denomination, but it seems as if the Catholics have been attacked the most.
Here are a few excerpts from e-mails received:
"Empart leader, Johnson, says "A brother from one of our churches
called me today. He had been forced to watch his sister being
viciously raped. While his faith is still strong, his heart is
breaking for his precious sister. What can I say to him? How can I
encourage him? Rape of the Christian women has become a weapon they
are using against us." Philemon, one of our Church Planters, also
called Johnson to say that he has 30 believers with him and they are
in great difficulty, they do not have anything left to eat and don't
know where to go or what to do."
"Runima's husband was murdered when he left the relief camp to check on
his sick father in his home village. She said they had been warned by
extremists not to return to the village as Christians, but her husband
was desperate to see his elderly father again."
"Here is a summary of the facts in Kandhamal district, the worst
affected area in these recent attacks, as shared to me by Rajesh
Nayak. Rajesh is originally from Rattangia village in Kandhamal, but
now lives in Bhubaneshwar and leads the YWAM work in the city.
In the early hours of October 24, the attackers invaded the village of
Rattangia and burned 4 houses, all belonging to pastors. The last
house to be burned was Rajesh's. His family had already left the
village and his mother was able to flee as soon as she heard the group
coming. From there they moved to the villages of Kakamaha, Gresingia
and Telingia. Other villages that were on their 'way' were Malikapadi,
Nuasahi and Kanbageri, all around G. Udayagiri town.
Their 'modus operandi' is to move in groups, like an organized army,
targeting villages where the Christian live. They usually attack in
the nights. As they enter a village, they first damage / destroy the
telephone towers to completely cut off all communication. The
situation is out of control and there is already a lot of fear in
people's hearts. So when they reach the village, they make a lot of
noise, shouting slogans, burning firecrackers, etc. The Hindus close
their homes in fear, but the Christians, under the threat of being
killed, simply abandon their homes and go on hiding in the jungle.
They don't even bother to lock the door, but keep them open in the
hope that there will be less damage.
Rajesh told me that they are well organized and have several meetings
planning their next steps. Some people have filed FRI's but most
Christians are afraid that if they file a case and disclose the names
of the attackers (which sometimes they know, though most of the times
they don't know because it's night of because they have already fled
into the jungle) they will be possibly killed. This is what happened
yesterday, when 7 more Christian houses were burned as an act of
revenge and to further spread fear among the people. Many Christian
government employees have life threats and are afraid to go to the
villages to work in schools. The government is threatening to suspend
them to make their lives even more miserable.
In the midst of this crisis and personal loss, he and the other 10
Oriya YWAMers are playing a pivotal role in connecting with the
churches outside Orissa and particularly Mumbai. He will host a
delegation from Mumbai Transformation Network and help survey the
Kandhamal area and identify the needs. Ramchand is another of our
'heroes' who has taken the initiative to shelter up to 200 people in
AP. He is also trying to give some international media coverage along
with a foreign journalist and an Indian lawyer."
These are just a few stories. You can read a lot more here.
ORISSA ATTACKS in numbers:
DISTRICTS AFFECTED: 14
NUMBER OF VILLAGES AFFECTED: 300 and counting
NUMBER OF HOUSES DESTROYED: Over 4,400
PEOPLE AFFECTED: Over 50,000
HIDING IN FORESTS About 40,000
IN GOVERNMENT REFUGEE CAMPS: About 12,000
IN PRIVATE CAMPS AND HOMES: about 1,000
DEAD CONFIRMED: 51
KILLED IN POLICE FIRING: 4
MISSING / ABDUCTED: estimated: 5
PRIESTS / PASTORS / NUNS SERIOUSLY INJURED: 10
INJURED MEN AND WOMEN: Estimated 18,000
WOMEN GANG-RAPED 2
CHURCHES BURNT: 39
CHURCHES DAMAGED: 97 and counting
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES ATTACKED: 11
NGOs ATTACKED: 4
These are just the numbers from Orissa. We have heard reports of similar things going on in Kerala, Karnataka, and parts of North India. Please remember these states and pray for all of the people affected. I heard on the news yesterday that this is starting to get international attention and so some pressure is being put on the Indian Government to do something. As of yet, the local police have being doing little, if anything to help.
