Flooding in Pakistan
Flooding has devastated Pakistan. Contacts from Pakistan say that the water has destroyed as many as 20 million homes and has severely affected 1/5 of the country’s land. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has confirmed that 20 million people were left homeless. Millions of people are still without shelter, and hundreds of thousands have been cut off from ground transportation.
The danger of water-born illness is high—already at least 36,000 people are thought to have contracted a potentially fatal disease called acute watery diarrhea. According to United Nations estimates, this disaster has caused suffering for more people than the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake combined. This flood is being called the greatest humanitarian crisis in recent history.
As many as 200,000 believers have been affected.Christians who were already poor are now destitute. One family lived on approximately $60 a month before the flooding. But when the water hit, their house collapsed. Muslims took advantage of the chaos and looted their remaining possessions. Nevertheless, this family has not given up their hope in Christ. The father says, “All these blessings were given by God; I am happy that my wife and children are safe. I just pray that God will grant me the strength to rebuild my house and continue the schooling of my children.”
Pakistan is a Muslim majority country, and while Islam demands that Muslims donate 2% of their wealth to Muslim charity, it also specifies that Muslims cannot give this money to those outside the faith. Christians can expect to receive very little aid—especially because the flood hit simultaneously with Ramadan, when any Muslim who “befriends” a non-Muslim faces negative religious consequences. Some destitute Christian families know of nowhere to ask for aid except at the mosques. When the believers ask for help, however, Muslims may respond with hostility and order them to leave the region or convert to Islam.
Sources indicate that terrorist organizations are taking advantage of the situation. A Taliban spokesman has offered aid if the government agrees not to arrest the organization’s members. Another Muslim organization with ties to violent terror, Lashkar-e-Taiba, is already working to provide flood relief on its terms. While the terrorists are gaining popularity among Muslims, their aid is unlikely to reach Christians. The Taliban has urged Pakistan’s government to refuse Western aid. Without Western aid, however, Christians are unlikely to receive the help that they desperately need.
One ministry leader has explained the threat: “Pakistani Christians have been targeted by Islamist groups on a number of occasions in recent years and it is a matter of urgent concern that Islamists are now capitalizing on the flooding crisis to harness support for their militant agenda.”
Pray for Christians in Pakistan as they struggle for daily survival and battle water-born illnesses.
Sources: Assist News, Barnabas Aid/Barnabas Fund, Open Doors, Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin, The Guardian, and contacts from Pakistan
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UPDATE: According to Compass Direct News, three foreign workers for a Christian aid organization have been kidnapped and killed by the Taliban.