At least 10 Christians Die in Cairo During Week of Terrible New Bloodshed in North Africa
CAIRO, Egypt (March 16, 2011) - As churches burned and Christians were killed across North Africa last week, believers in Egypt and Ethiopia were especially hard hit, including some indigenous missions assisted by Christian Aid Mission based in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Field Director for Africa, Rae Burnett, is visiting projects in North and Central Africa this week, and has sent an update report from one of the indigenous missions which Christian Aid has supported since the violence began.
Dearest Rae and Christian Friends,
Some of you will have heard on the news about the problems at the "shanty town in Manshiyit el Nasr" here in Cairo, and may not realize that is the same as the Mokattam garbage village, where I have been ministering for 28 years. So I want to let you know the details, because we need prayer - big time! Already 10 have died, many are seriously injured, and eight houses and several factories have been burned!
This week some of the youth from the village wanted to show their solidarity with the people of the Coptic church that was burned down last week on the outskirts of Cairo. (Many homes and small shops were also burned down by the Muslims in that village.) So they unwisely went down to the highway below the village where they had a demonstration, stopping the traffic. When the army arrived, they still stayed down there demonstrating, even when men from the village went down and begged them to come home. That disobedience cost some of them their lives!
Suddenly, about 4 p.m., large groups of Muslim youths from surrounding areas began to form, and then attacked the Christians. Within hours there were many thousands in the fight, and the attackers had all kinds of weapons, whereas the village youth mostly had stones. Although the army sent in several tanks, they apparently did nothing until later in the evening, when they are reported by eye witnesses to have shot in the air indiscriminately.
That evening my good friend, Samia, who teaches at the village school, called me in desperation. Her house and family were being threatened and only the village men were defending them. (She lived on the outskirts of the village with her lawyer husband and five children.) Others called too, begging for help and prayer. Throughout the evening I kept in touch with Samia, until at 1 a.m. she told me that their home had been torched and she and her children had fled to a relative's home. I learned yesterday that her home was completely looted and then burned down, as were the nearby homes of her sister and sister-in-law.
Recycling garbage to survive
Although over 130 people were injured, most through gun shots and some very seriously, no ambulances or fire engines arrived at the village until early the next morning. Our two rather primitive hospitals up there did their best to treat the wounded and many people are now in the city hospitals. So far, 10 have died, nine of them young Christians and one Muslim who lives at the village and was defending his home there.
It is quite obvious that this was a well-organized and deliberate attack on Christians in general and garbage people in particular. The funeral of seven of them will be today, March 10th, at our village church. Please pray with us for comfort and a sense of God's security, and that the village Christians will not seek revenge, especially following the funeral.
Egypt is going through very tough times, with a crumbling system of law and order and an army which - though the only authority "in charge" at present - seems to be quite weak and at times indecisive. Although the revolution brought some good and necessary changes, it also caused quite a collapse in the fabric of society, including the economic system. Millions of people are out of work, partly because foreign companies and tourists have not returned. Naturally, this all has a negative impact on people who are trying in vain to feed their families and is causing great social unrest.
So we need prayer, dear friend - lots and lots of it! We hate to see our beloved country collapsing like this, people going hungry, and Christians possibly becoming scapegoats for all ills. We need the worldwide body of believers to bring these problems to our sovereign, powerful and loving Lord.
Thank you in advance for praying. Love to you,
(Name withheld for security reasons)
Burnett asks for more relief to be sent to survivors of the attacks in Cairo. A special financial relief fund was established by Christian Aid when the persecution began before Christmas (Gift Code: 500IUCN). The gifts which are being collected help injured believers who must cover their own medical bills at government hospitals and also pay for rebuilding their churches, homes and businesses destroyed during the anti-Christian rioting. Those who have lost family members have the additional expense of burying their dead.
Contribute Online or by Phone
Click here to donate online to our emergency fund for believers in Egypt, or you may call 1-800-977-5650 to donate. Please use gift code: 500IUCN.
ABOUT CHRISTIAN AID: Founded by Bob Finley in 1953, Christian Aid is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. It links American churches and mission-minded individuals to indigenous missions in 122 countries. Today it sends help to over 800 native mission ministries that deploy more than 80,000 missionary workers serving the Lord among 3000 tribes and nations. Visit online at www.ChristianAid.org or call 434-977-5650 for answers to your questions.
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: Bill Bray, Media Relations Coordinator, is available for interviews throughout the North Africa crisis. His cell phone is 434-227-0811 or you may contact him at bill@christianaid.org.
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