China: Earthquake
200+ are reported dead and 12,000+ injured, 1.5 million people have been affected. 130,000 homes have been damaged with 6,000 to 7,000 homes totally collapsed after Saturday’s earthquake in China. It is uncertain how many people are missing. As the days go by, it is likely the death toll and number of injured will rise. Rain and landslides are hampering search and rescue efforts by 6,000 troops. 1,800 miles of road and 327 bridges have been damaged. Power lines are damaged and there are losses of water service to 10,000 residents. Only emergency vehicles are being allowed into Ya’an, although Chengdu airport has reopened. Also this week Bibles for China reported they were hoping to hand out Bibles in the region and are not sure how the destruction will affect their plans. See: http://www.mnnonline.org/article/18459
Pray: for all physical, emotional and spiritual resources to be released into the area at this time of pain and loss. (Ps.6:2-4)
More: http://news.yahoo.com/death-toll-6-6-magnitude-chinese-earthquake-nears-205400746.html
Central African Republic:Conflict update
On Tuesday UNICEF warned that education was becoming another casualty of the conflict, with half the country’s schools shuttered and hundreds of thousands of students at risk of missing out the entire year. ‘The new Government must prioritise protection of and investment in the education system in order to respect and fulfill children’s basic right to education and provide this generation of children with hope for a healthy future.’ a representative said. Since the Séléka rebel coalition launched an offensive in December, 1.2 million people have been cut off from essential services and human rights violations have been widspread. Last weekend three artillery shells crashed into the Evangelical Federation of Brothers Church in Bangui killing seven members, also 20+ people died after gun battles last weekend where many children were wounded and transferred to the paediatric hospital for treatment. Many residents have fled the Boy-Rabe and Cité Jean 23 areas of the capital - the two worst affected by recent violence. See: http://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/2013/04/article_2415723.html/
Pray: for all the families caught up in this conflict. May NGOs and those now in authority successfully work together to provide a safe environment. (Ps.121:1-2)
More: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44731&Cr=central+african+republic&Cr1=#.UXeITsqbXAI
Somalia: Christian convert jailed and tortured
Dozens of Somali Christian refugees who took refuge in Kenya are now returning to their home country after a new central government in Mogadishu took over from the Transitional Federal Government in August 2012. On March 23rd Hassan Gulled (25) was taken by rebels who still control parts of central southern Somalia. He had been living in Christian-majority Kenya since 2007 and returned to Somalia in late February to visit his family. His wife is still in Kenya. Hassan became a Christian in 2010 and married in 2011. His Christian activities were noticed by al-Shabaab extremists in Kenya, who contacted their counterparts in Somalia. His movements there were monitored by the group for three weeks before he was jailed.
Pray: for the immediate release of Hassan and others jailed for their beliefs; pray also that al-Shabaab would cease imposing harsh restrictions on areas under its control. (Mt.5:43-44)
Pakistan: Force conversion against loan
4.5 million kiln workers and their families are bonded labour at around 18,000 brick kilns across Pakistan. They are paid between Rs. 230-450 per 1,000 bricks regardless of how long and how many members of the family it takes to complete the task, fetching mud, soaking it, shaping bricks, transporting bricks to kiln, baking and grading each brick. In cases of severe weather or illness, workers earn nothing and a credit line from their employers acts as a noose that forces families deeper into debt. This is a form of slave labour. Babar Amanat, Sabir Masih and their families work for 18 hours a day to achieve a target, which they hardly meet. Due to illness of his father, Babar got a loan which he couldn’t payoff and went deeper into debt. The owners demanded his money back or convert to Islam. The kiln workers live in or around the kilns; there are no latrines in brick kilns’ houses. The women workers are often trapped and sexually harassed.
Pray: for NGOs to help the people in trouble, relocating them if necessary reducing such persecution in society.
More: http://www.salem-news.com/articles/april232013/bonded-workers-sm.php
