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| (Image courtesy Christian Aid Mission) |
Pakistan (CAM/MNN) ― Christian Aid Mission has sent emergency assistance to help displaced families whose homes and businesses were torched by an angry Muslim mob in Lahore, Pakistan, March 9.
According to reports, many of the now homeless Christians in Lahore are living in the streets and are desperate for food and other necessities, and fearful of retaliation for the protests that followed the attacks.
Hundreds of Christians were left homeless in the wake of the March 9 fiery riots. A local church-planting ministry assisted by Christian Aid began hand-delivering food packages and water to victims the day after the attack. Christian Aid sent funds to the ministry days after the attacks, but much more is needed to assist men, women, and children who have lost everything.
Some 150 people were arrested in connection with the 3,000-strong Muslim rampage through Joseph Colony, in which every Christian home and business in the community was set ablaze. More than 100 homes, over a dozen stores, and two churches were destroyed in the carnage. No injuries or deaths were reported.
The riots stemmed from an argument earlier in the week between two friends: one Christian, the other Muslim, and from allegations that the Christian made derogatory comments about the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
The Christian was arrested and charged with blasphemy--a crime that carries a death sentence in Pakistan. As word of the incident spread, enraged Muslims turned their fury on Joseph Colony, a nominal Christian enclave where the accused man and his family live. Most of the residents had already fled by the time rioters began systematically moving through the neighborhood, burning every building that belonged to a Christian and leaving Muslim homes untouched.
Christian Aid's South Asia director has been in almost daily communication with the local Pakistani ministry. The leader e-mailed photographs of the destruction and sent out an urgent message Tuesday saying,"The Christian community here is in dire need of prayer."
In the appeal he wrote,"Christians were threatened to leave their houses; otherwise they would be burned alive. They were frightened and left, only to stand by and watch as their homes were looted and burned by the unscrupulous elements. The local police stood by and watched silently. The whole locality became a heap of rubble. It was turned to ashes within a few hours, while the local police watched. Over 120 families have become homeless and are sitting in the open sky."
Christians are killed every day for the sake of the Gospel in Pakistan, India, and other countries in South Asia. In this case, however, the eruption of violence did not result from Christians who were proselytizing or gathering for worship.
Speculation persists that the large-scale attack was driven more by political and economic gain than for religious motivations. Authorities are investigating whether extremist Muslim businessmen in the area used the blasphemy charge as an opportunity to instigate violence against the entire Christian neighborhood so their land could be seized and turned into commercial development.
Christians across Pakistan followed with their own angry protest and called for the government to provide equal protection for all of its citizens.
A similar incident with more tragic results took place in Pakistan in 2009 in the village of Gojra. A rumor was broadcast that pages from the Koran had been torn out and stepped on by Christians as part of a wedding ceremony in the community. Radical Muslims responded by setting fire to the Christian section of Gojra, killing eight people and destroying over 70 homes. The Pakistani government later said the rumor was unfounded and pledged to help rebuild the houses.
"It is hard for those of us who live in the Western world to understand what it means to be persecuted because you bear the name of Christ," said Christian Aid's South Asia director." We have the freedom to exercise our faith. But for most of our brothers and sisters in the world, it is not so."
Christian Aid worked with an area ministry after the Gojra incident to provide trunks and suitcases for affected families so they could store salvaged belongings.
The ministry also responded to the 7.6-magnitude earthquake in October 2005 that killed nearly 75,000 people. Christian Aid supplied funds to a ministry partner for the rebuilding of 300 small houses in the mountainous Kashmir region.
As rebuilding efforts begin in Joseph Colony, Christian Aid may have the opportunity to assist these families through the ministry they are helping in Lahore. Food and water are the most immediate needs, however. A week's worth of emergency supplies costs approximately $100 for a typical Pakistani family.
Prayer requests:
• For Christians in Joseph Colony to be encouraged by the prayers and support of their brothers and sisters around the world
• That the Christians will not retaliate in anger and that they will use this opportunity to show Christ´s love to their enemies
• For the authorities in Pakistan to repeal the blasphemy laws that are often used as a means of revenge to resolve interpersonal disputes.
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