North Korea: Prisoner 42
16 Jul 2020
After fleeing from North Korea to China, Prisoner 42 was captured and sent to a North Korean prison camp, where she spent one year in solitary confinement. Guards shaved her head and stripped her. Each morning when they called for her, she crawled out of a door flap, typically used for dogs or cats, and kept her head bowed low because she was not allowed to make eye contact with the guards. They would ask her the same questions, ‘Why were you in China? Who did you meet? Did you go to church? Did you have a Bible? Did you meet any South Koreans? Are you a Christian?’ She lied to stay alive. She was beaten and kicked daily. She said,’ It hurts the most when they hit my ears. My ears ring for hours, sometimes days’. She was later sent to a re-education camp where she met other secret Christians. After two years she was released from detention.
What began as an activity restriction in South Korea is turning into an assault on religious freedom. In June, police stopped Voice of the Martyrs Korea from sending Bibles across the border to North Korea. Today, the ministry and its co-founder, Eric Foley, face criminal investigations. ‘Balloon launching has been difficult since we began in 2005. However, now there is a large scale effort to declare balloon launching illegal’, Foley explains. ‘It’s unclear, at this point, how things will go.’ He said the government’s motives and methods remain dubious, as launching has become a deeply political subject. He added, ‘North Korea made a very public offensive against balloon launching that was adopted by South Korean authorities. This was the impetus to say it is illegal, not through new laws, but through the application of other laws. The issue is not about balloon launching; it’s about the legal right to do private ministry work outside government mediation.’
Armenia-Azerbaijan: deadly border clashes
16 Jul 2020
On 6 July, Azerbaijan’s president said peace talks with Armenia to settle the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict had stalled. He called talks between the countries' foreign ministers ‘pointless’. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has long been trying to mediate a settlement of the conflict, which dates back to the 1990s. On 12 July clashes involving tanks and artillery erupted again on the border between the two ex-Soviet republics. On 14 July Azerbaijan's military reported four deaths, but said it had destroyed an Armenian fortification and artillery, while Armenia had not reported any deaths on its side in the clashes. Azerbaijan’s president said, ‘Armenia's political and military leadership will bear the entire responsibility for the provocation’, while Armenia accused its neighbour of ‘using artillery in an attack aimed at capturing Armenian positions’.
South China Sea dispute
16 Jul 2020
Six Asian countries have competing claims on the South China Sea, but only China has backed its claims with artificial island-building, military bases and naval patrols. The USA has not taken sides in the territorial dispute, but sends military ships and planes near disputed islands, for ‘freedom of navigation’ operations to help key shipping and air routes. Both countries have accused each other of ‘militarising’ the area, and have long been at odds over maritime freedom. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has now called China's pursuit of offshore resources ‘completely unlawful’, condemning Beijing's ‘campaign of bullying to control’ disputed waters that are potentially energy-rich with reserves of natural resources around them in a shipping route and major fishing ground. There are fears that the area is becoming a flashpoint, with potentially serious global consequences of a military response. See https://www.foxnews.com/world/china-accuses-us-confrontation-south-china-sea
Syria: vital foreign aid approved
16 Jul 2020
On 11 July the UN approved a new round of cross-border aid to Syria through the Turkish border into militant-controlled Idlib province - providing one year of foreign aid to the northwest region of Syria and critical supplies to over one million Syrians. Millions more civilians within opposition-controlled areas rely heavily on such aid to survive. Throughout the war Syrian Christians have played a vital role within their communities, providing a lifeline to those in need. Many of them are within government-controlled areas, which are more heavily impacted by sanctions. If foreign aid to these areas was abolished, it would limit the resources used by Christians to provide hope to their communities. Pray for the international Christian community to seek new ways to bring about resolution and peace in this war-weary nation.
Covid conversions
09 Jul 2020
Jonas is a Kenyan church planter and respected leader in his village. When Kenya shut down due to coronavirus villagers lost their jobs and income, food prices rose and families struggled. Jonas saw that they not only needed Jesus, they needed help. He used his wages to buy food for the needy. Others were inspired by his generosity and donated food to be distributed to vulnerable families. Other church planters joined him in food aid and sharing Jesus' love. The results were astounding. 863 people heard the Good News, 211 received Christ. A Muslim man named Aasir lost his job and his home. Jonas took them in. Aasir saw what it was like to walk in a relationship with Jesus, day in and day out, and he also surrendered his life to Christ.
Ofsted fails in case against Christian agency
09 Jul 2020
Ofsted wrongly tried to force Cornerstone Adoption and Fostering Service to work with non-evangelical Christian carers. The High Court has ruled that England’s only evangelical Christian fostering agency can continue to work only with evangelical Christian carers, stating, ‘Cornerstone is permitted to exclusively recruit evangelical Christian carers because of the exemption in the Equality Act 2010 for religious organisations’.
International Justice Mission - answered prayer
09 Jul 2020
Rejoice that during lockdown IJM Philippines has assisted local police on 16 online sexual exploitation rescue operations, bringing to safety 57 children and vulnerable adults, including a three-month-old baby, and seeing eight suspects arrested. In South Asia IJM had another successful rescue operation at a construction site. Officials filed all the necessary police reports within 24 hours - a huge moment of progress demonstrating their knowledge and political will. IJM were also blessed to see the survivors get their release certificates and other entitlements quickly so that they could return home swiftly. Pray for their ongoing recovery back at home, especially in the disorienting first few weeks of freedom.