The Islamic country replaces North Korea at the top of the World Watch List after 20 years. One in seven Christians worldwide suffers persecution, says Open Doors.
“Those who are already stuck on either side of the border must receive urgent and adequate humanitarian aid”, says the evangelical body as it appeals to “Europe's Judaeo-Christian values of human dignity, justice, compassion and solidarity”.
“Those seeking refuge need to be included in community life so that love, not fear, will win”, says Welcome Churches. Anglicans deny correlation between conversions and asylum applications.
A Christian couple serving among Afghan refugees arriving in Pakistan, explain their difficult situation, especially that of Christians with a Muslim background.
Asma launderette has become a place of friendship and integration, where Turkish Christians help refugees by employing women and tutoring their children.
Evangelical churches in Jordan and Lebanon have opened their doors to Afghan refugees, despite the crisis in their own countries.
Let us pray and work that we will be found as the ones who have cared for the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and the prisoner.
The Spanish evangelical organisation Diaconía is helping Afghan refugees settle in Spain. Director Conchi Rodríguez speaks about the challenges and opportunities, and how society reacts to the needs of asylum seekers.
Two bombing attacks in Kabul's airport killed at least 90. European governments are hurrying to evacuate as many people as possible, some have already finished evacuations.
Western countries are divide on how to address the flight of thousands of Afghans. The WEA asks them to “model a compassionate, humane and generous response to the refugee crisis”.
Over 8,000 people crossed the border from Morocco into Spain in two days, creating and unprecedented migration crisis in the region. Christians in Ceuta: “The situation is volatile, this could explode at any time. Please pray for the city”.
Over 55,000 children have been killed in the Syrian war. A report estimates that the cost of the war is already over US$ 1.2 trillion.
Churches demand “permanent resources” as the humanitarian crisis overwhelms the local population.
“It is better than the old Moria and other camps”, a Christian aid worker says. “2020 will be a record low for refugee resettlement”, the UNHCR warns.
“The current focus on returns will not save the asylum system”, says the European Evangelical Alliance representative in Brussels, Arie de Pater. “It is not just about the economy this time, but about people”.
It is the worst incident of its kind anywhere in the world so far in 2020. Evangelicals in Fuerteventura work hard offering food and shelter as migrant crisis worsens.
The German Evangelical Alliance joins the Protestant Church and others in an appeal to the German government. More refugee families should be welcomed and more “neutral spaces of discussion” provided.
At the United Nations Human Rights Council, the World Evangelical Alliance denounced “arbitrary procedures” which send Christian asylum seekers back to countries where they could face persecution.
More than a week after the fire, “there is a lot of tiredness and protests”, a Christian aid worker on the island says. If it is permanent, it will have to be improved a lot. The EU announces a new Pact on Migration.
Beirut is still recovering, in the midst of an economic crisis. “Churches are on the streets, helping those in need, praying with them and giving free bibles”.
13,000 people lose their shelters as the tensions grow in the Greek island of Lesbos. Christian aid workers demand effective solutions and “not repeating the same mistakes”.
UNHCR representative, Sophie Muller, visited the evangelical church Modern Christian Mission in Fuerteventura. “You are doing an incredible and admirable work”.
Tom Albinson (International Association For Refugees) analyses the 2020 refugee crisis. He believes churches are key “to open the door” and help asylum seekers integrate in a new culture.
Volunteers of the Christian project I58 serve the needs of asylum seekers in the Moria refugee camp. Their community centre offers “tea and biscuits to around 500 to 700 people per day”.
Children of the refugee camps in Lebanon who do not have access to schooling, are the main focus of the Christian NGO Together For the Family.
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