Tag: Refugees

‘Avoid persecution-of-Christians label,’ says Syria expert

May 2, 2018 Syria Bashar al-Assad, Civil War, Education, IDPs, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Middle East, Migrants, Refugees, Sunni, Syria

As the conflict in Syria continues, freelance journalist Jayson Casper sat down with Miles Windsor, head of advocacy at Christian charity Middle East Concern, to discuss where Syrian Christians’ allegiance lies, whether those who fled the country may return, and how Christians in other countries can help. Jayson Casper: There . . . Read More

UNHCR to Cameroon: Stop deporting Nigerian refugees

April 26, 2018 Cameroon Boko Haram, Cameroon, Far North, Nigeria, Refugees, UN

Refugees and IDPs, uprooted by Boko Haram related violence in Northeastern Nigeria and Far North Cameroon, are waiting for relief aid to be distributed. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The UN refugee agency has repeated its call to Cameroon to stop forcing Nigerian refugees to return to unsafe Borno State in neighbouring Nigeria. Since the beginning of this year Cameroon has deported 385 Nigerians, the majority of them this month, says the UNHCR according to international broadcaster VOA. They . . . Read More

On trial for terrorism and espionage in a Turkish court

April 25, 2018 Turkey Andrew Brunson, Coup, Fethullah Gülen, Islamic State, Izmir, Kurds, Middle East, Missionaries, PKK, Protestants, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Refugees, Suruç, Turkey, USA

Just one prisoner, slightly built, came through a side door, escorted on either side by armed gendarmerie soldiers, walking him past rows and rows of empty seats. Dressed in a dark suit and white shirt, he glanced up at the impressive state-of-the-art courtroom, built to accommodate 650 people. Its walls . . . Read More

‘State-sponsored repression’ behind Eritrea’s refugee epidemic

April 24, 2018 Eritrea Abune Antonios, African Union, East Africa, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Human rights, Pentecostals, Refugees, Religious freedom, USA

Eritrea remains “one of the worst examples of state-sponsored repression of freedom of religion or belief in the world”, says USCIRF Commissioner. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

“State-sponsored repression” is the reason Eritrea is one of the world’s main sources of refugees, a US human rights commission has heard. The East African country is not at war, nor does it suffer from terrorism, but some estimate that as many as 10 per cent of Eritreans have fled . . . Read More

Iraq’s Assyrian Christians: persecution and resurgence

April 4, 2018 Iraq Ankawa, Assyrians, Bartella, Chaldeans, Erbil, Iraq, Islamic State, Karamles, Kurds, Migrants, Nineveh Plains, Peshmerga, Qaraqosh, Refugees, Saddam Hussein, Syria, Women, Yazidis

Samir Gedhya never wanted to leave his home in Qaraqosh for the unknown, even when the Islamic State group was almost at his doorstep, sweeping through the towns of Iraq. As the menace to Qaraqosh loomed, his eldest son Faraj, then 16, decided to flee to France, entering by a . . . Read More

Germany: 97 anti-Christian attacks last year, most against refugees

February 5, 2018 Angela Merkel, Germany, Refugees

Germany’s federal police recorded almost 100 attacks on Christians or Christian institutions in Germany in 2017, with most violent incidents occurring among asylum seekers living in refugee centres, reports Deutsche Welle. The figure of 97 anti-Christian hate crimes was leaked by Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) ahead of official . . . Read More

A Middle Eastern Christian’s view of Pence’s agenda

January 22, 2018 Donald Trump, Egypt, Human rights, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jerusalem, Middle East, Mike Pence, Palestinian Territories, Refugees, Saudi Arabia, Syria, USA, West Bank

A Jordanian Christian trauma counsellor has urged US Vice President Mike Pence to recognise Palestinian statehood to make good his pledge to help Christians in the Middle East. Issam Smeir, who has worked with refugees in the Middle East and in the US, wrote a first-person piece for the Washington . . . Read More

Iran: 2 Christians given 8-year prison sentences

January 10, 2018 Iran Ebrahim Firouzi, Eskander Rezaie, Iran, Refugees, Shiraz, Soroush Saraei, USA

The outside of the Evin prison in Tehran. Photo: Flickr/ SabzPhoto

Two Iranian Christians in the southern city of Shiraz have been sentenced to eight years in prison for “action against national security”, proselytising and holding “house-church” meetings. Eskander Rezaie and Soroush Saraei, who have both spent time in prison before, will appeal their sentences, according to Christian advocacy group Middle . . . Read More

Christmas for refugees in Lebanon: far from home and reduced to handouts

December 30, 2017 Lebanon Beirut, Iraq, Islamic State, Lebanon, Refugees, Syria

How do Christians under pressure for their faith celebrate Christmas? In the seventh in our series we hear from a Lebanese Catholic who helps look after Iraqi and Syrian refugees in Beirut. Lebanon has absorbed more than a million refugees from conflicts in nearby Syria and Iraq, where Christians either . . . Read More

The Syrian refugee’s Christmas: free from danger but not from worry

December 29, 2017 Syria Al-Nusra Front, Catholics, Civil War, Refugees, Syria

How do Christians under pressure for their faith celebrate Christmas? In the sixth of our series we hear from a Syrian Catholic who has come to Britain as a refugee. “Back in Damascus we would have a big meal with our extended family on Christmas Eve – anything from three to . . . Read More

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