Crisis in Cairo and other stories:

AFRICA/EGYPT - "A crisis which has its roots in the past": reflections of a missionary from Cairo

Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - "During Mubarak's years division and hatred among the various factions deepened", says Fr. Luciano Verdoscia to Fides, a Comboni missionary who has been living and working in Cairo for many years, where there is calm tension after the violent repression of the Copts'demonstration, which caused dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries. The Copts were protesting against the demolition, in late September, of a church in the province of Aswan, in Upper Egypt (see Fides 10/10/2011).
According to Father Verdoscia to understand the underlying causes of discrimination against Christians and the spread of fundamentalist groups it is necessary to look at Egypt's history in the last 30 years. "I do not say this, but these are analysis I have heard from several local commentators" underlines the missionary, who explains: "Before Sadat there were no deep divisions compared to what we have now. Starting with the Presidency in Sadat in the early 70s that sectarian divisions were produced. This trend deepened under Mubarak regime also due to the influence of Wahhabis from Saudi Arabia. The government at the time played with these groups, sometimes repressing them, sometimes leaving them free to act, especially at a social level".
"The situation is therefore complex", continues Fr. Verdoscia. "We cannot give a single interpretation. Islam, which in many ways is already an idealogical religion, is ideologized more than it should be, in a social context in which a large proportion of the population lives in ignorance and religion is the only reference of identity. What must be added to this is the political exploitation, especially in view of the forthcoming elections".
Currently, Egypt is ruled by a High Military Council to which the Copts accuse of not knowing how to protect them, and on the contrary have unleashed repression against them. "It should be noted that Christians have not been given the opportunity to access high military positions, except for rare cases in the upper echelons of the police", underlines Fr. Verdoscia.
The missionary also refers to the responsibility of the West. "The West clearly understands the principle of respect for minorities, but I remain surprised that no one intervenes when there are Muslim preachers who incite to violence and claim that they are against freedom of conscience. This naturally also applies in the opposite case, of who, proclaiming himself a Christian, fuels hate against Muslims".
"Unfortunately, I fear that Western governments are interested in preserving their economic interests at the expense of individual rights. So they do not have the ethical strength to denounce discrimination against minorities in the Middle Eastern countries", concludes Father Verdoscia. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 11/10/2011)

ASIA/PAKISTAN - Christian Girl raped, and converted to Islam and forced to marry a Muslim

Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - Kidnapped and raped repeatedly for eight months by a gang of Islamic militants. Devastated and traumatized, was converted to Islam and forced to marry a Muslim. The story of Anna (fantasy name), a 12-year-old Christian girl, is similar to that of about 700, between children and Christian girls, and at least 250 Hindus who each year suffer terrible violence and abuse in Pakistan. Muslims, say sources of Fides in Punjab committed in their assistance, "see them as objects, goods, treat them like animals".
There is strong indignation in the Christian community in Pakistan, after yet another case of violence goes unpunished. As reliable sources of Fides report, "Anna's kidnappers and rapists are free because they belong to the Islamic radical group Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (banned for terrorism) and the police has even refused to order a medical check-up". The magistrate of the area has registered a complaint against some Muslim men, but has provided no restrictive measures against them. The police asked Anna's parents to consign the girl to the "legal husband" (the rapist), or they may be subject to criminal proceedings.
Anna is the 12-year-old daughter of Arif Masih, a street sweeper in Shahdra, a town near Lahore, capital of Punjab province. Anna was kidnapped by two Muslim men on December 24, 2010, lured by deception by a friend. Beaten and raped for days, she was forced to sign some documents that attest her conversion and marriage to one of the criminals, Muhammad Irfan.
On January 5, 2011 her father lodged a complaint (First Information Report) against unknown persons. Only in September, eight months after her disappearance, Anna called her family from Tandianwalla, in Faisalabad district, 190 kilometers from Lahore. She reported that she had been kidnapped but had managed to escape. Once she returned home, she reported her story to the magistrate. But Muhammad Irfan presented a marriage certificate, whereby the charge of rape also lapsed. The police advised Anna's parents to consign her to her tormentor. Anna and her parents are hiding now and militants of the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba are hunting them.
"Among other things, marriage under 16 years of age is illegal. This shows that the government, the judiciary and the Punjab Police are trying to cover the misdeeds of the Islamic radical groups and are accomplices", notes a source of Fides. In Pakistan it is common practice for Islamic extremist groups to abduct and rape girls belonging to religious minorities, Christian and Hindu. According to Amarnath Motumal, a lawyer and member of the "Human Rights Commission of Pakistan", an NGO-known and widespread in all provinces, 20 Hindu girls are abducted and forcibly converted each month.
Christian organizations and civil society have collected many cases and stories where the police have omitted to investigate, are asking the government for decisive action and appeal to the United Nations to stop such abuses concerning human rights. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 11/10/2011)

ASIA/PAKISTAN - Every year, one thousand girls from religious minorities are kidnapped, raped and converted to Islam

Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - About 1,000 Christian and Hindu girls are kidnapped and raped by Muslim radicals, forced to Islamic marriage, sometimes killed in Pakistan every year: Fides sources in the Catholic Church and civil society of Pakistan, as for example the "Human Rights Commission of Pakistan" depict a gloomy toll.
Religious minorities, explain sources of Fides, "are not guaranteed justice by the courts: it is a serious loophole in the rule of law, and this is a major cause of suffering and persecution". In addition, women in Pakistan live in a position of inferiority: only 8% of women receive education and female fetuses are often aborted. Christian women have, in addition, the stigma of belonging to a religious minority: they are the weakest and most vulnerable. They face abuse but must remain in silence, otherwise there is a risk of further violence against their family.
Among the recent cases reported by Fides, all occurred in Punjab, we have the case of Farah Hatim, a Catholic girl kidnapped and forced to marry a Muslim man in the city of Rahim Yar Khan in southern Punjab (see Fides 25/6/2011 ) for whom some Christian NGOs have requested the intervention of the UN Commission on Human Rights.
In May 2011, Rebbecca Masih and Masih Saima, two Christian girls were kidnapped by a group of Muslims and forced to convert to Islam, in the district of Jhung, an area of Faisalabad. Sidra Bibi, a 14-year-old Christian in the district of Sheikhupura, was abused physically and psychologically, she became pregnant. She managed to escape from her tormentor, she is back home, in a state of prostration, with her family. Police have refused to accept her complaint. Two other Christian girls, Uzma Bibi, 15 years old, from Gulberg, and Saira Bibi, 20 years old, a nurse in Lahore, were taken by force from Muslim neighbors, converted to Islam and forced to marry with Islamic rites.
In 2010, Fides reported the story of Kiran Nayyaz, a 13-year-old Catholic girl from Faisalabad: she became pregnant after being sexually abused, she gave birth to a malformed baby. Shazia Bashir, a 12-year-old Christian girl, was raped and murdered in January 2010. Chaudhry Naeem, the rich Muslim lawyer, responsible for the crime, was acquitted. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 11/10/2011)

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ASIA/INDIA - Protestant Pastor killed in Orissa: "an isolated case, not motivated by religious hatred"

Bhubaneswar (Agenzia Fides) - Rev. Jiban Masi, a 70-year-old Protestant pastor, was killed on Sunday, October 9 by a psychopath in the village of Bada Raksi, in Sundergarh district, in Orissa. The district is located in the extreme western part of Orissa, bordering Chhattisgarh, and is very far from Khandamal area, the scene of anti-Christian massacres. As sources of Fides in the local church report, "the murder is a completely isolated case and not connected to the violence of radical Hindu groups".
The murderer, a young mentally ill person from the same village, called Manamasi Topno, killed him with the arrow of a bow, while the pastor was sitting outside his home. The villagers rushed to the scene, they wanted to punish the aggressor, and beat him to death. The two bodies were handed over to the local police who are conducting investigations.
Fides sources in the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar note that, "beyond this episode, we note different cases where Hindu extremist provocateurs try to stir up conflict: a few days ago, the militants placed the banner of a radical Hindu movement on the site of a Catholic church under construction. The police intervened and removed the banner. "(PA) (Agenzia Fides 11/10/2011)

ASIA/PAKISTAN - Still no school for children in the areas hit by the earthquake in 2005

Peshawar (Agenzia Fides) - According to the estimates recorded by Earthquake Relief and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) after the earthquake that devastated Pakistan in 2005, in the district of Shangla 204 schools were destroyed and 319 were damaged, nearly 13 000 children affected. Local sources state that 60 schools have been rebuilt, already operational, but due to delays in the provision of funding the construction of more schools will be completed over the next two years. According to ERRA, in the earthquake area, 5,751 schools need to be rebuilt, 73% were completed in early September, forcing many children not to go to school for such a long period. Many teachers in the district continue to teach and try to do their best in terrible and unsafe buildings. International organizations such as Oxfam have shown disappointment over unfulfilled promises made in 2005, immediately after the earthquake. The organization considers essential a better preparation when disasters happen to mitigate those in the future. "So many children died in the district of Shangla, and other areas of the country, under the rubble of poorly constructed schools. We hope that local authorities have taken security measures to ensure that such a catastrophe does not happen again", said a representative of Oxfam. According to UNICEF, because of the earthquake about 17 000 children died, and for many of those who survived their future remains uncertain. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 11/10/2011)

 

ASIA/CHINA - The vows of the religious women from different congregations and a diaconal ordination bear witness to the missionary vitality of the continental Catholic community

Beijing (Agenzia Fides) - The vitality and missionary aspect of the continental Catholic community continue to manifest itself in the month of October with the vows of the religious women from different congregations and a diaconal ordination. According to reports from Faith of He Bei, on October 1, the Feast of the Patroness of the Missions, Saint Therese of Lisieux, three congregations dedicated to St. Therese belonging to the diocese of An Guo and the diocese of Han Dan in the province of He Bei and the diocese of Wen Zhou in the province of Zhe Jiang, celebrated the solemn vows of 13 religious women. The Bishops who presided the solemn liturgy in their respective dioceses invited the nuns to follow St. Therese's footsteps in order to be authentic missionaries, through an intense spiritual life and an active missionary work. On the eve of the missionary month, 4 nuns of the Congregation of the Servants of the Holy Spirit in the diocese of Lan Zhou, in Gan Su province, professed their perpetual vows.
On the feast of St. Francis, October 4, His Exc. Mgr.Li Ming Shu, Bishop ordinary of the Diocese of Qing Dao in Shan Dong province, presided the diaconal ordination of the seminarist Yang Jian Bin. During the same celebration, two novices of the diocesan congregation professed the first temporary vows in front of more than 500 faithful. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 11/10/2011)

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