Refugees, who face impossible situations even in better times, are being pushed beyond human endurance by the coronavirus pandemic. By Susan Korah “It has always seemed to me that what I write about is humanity in extremis, pushed to the unendurable, and that it is important to tell people what really happens in wars …” – Marie Colvin, correspondent for the …
A Pivotal Meeting for a Somali Human Rights Advocate
Dr. Abdullah Hashi Abib, Founder and Executive Director of the Rass Institute for Policy Analysis, a non-partisan policy think tank in Mogadishu, grew up in Somalia. The country was ravaged by civil war which left his family committed to do what they could to rebuild their country. They helped launch a university. They raised money to rebuild medical clinics and schools …
Training an Advocate for Change in China
“My parents were raised in a traditional Chinese family who practiced Buddhism. Their marriage was arranged and during that time a husband and wife were separated forcefully by the Chinese government. My father was sent to work in a remote province 4,000 miles away and he was only allowed to see my mother 15 days a year. My mother was …
The Power of Publishing
Machiko Sato was born and raised in Japan where she is a professor in the School of International Relations at the University of Shizuoka. Among the courses she teaches are Cold War history, US government and U.S. foreign policy. During a recent sabbatical, Machiko came to the U.S. to conduct research and study at Georgetown University. Her focus was U.S. …
Courage Comes With a Price
Archbishop Benjamin Kwashi and his wife, Gloria, live in Jos, Plateau State, in northern Nigeria which has had numerous outbreaks of religious violence. For several years, Boko Haram, one of the deadliest terrorist groups in the world, has spawned unrest, displacement, and death in northern Nigeria, particularly against Christians. The Archbishop has been outspoken and openly critical of the press …
The Fifth Anniversary of Chibok Abduction and the Staying Power of Boko Haram
Sunday, April 14, marks the day five years ago that Boko Haram kidnapped 276 Chibok schoolgirls in Borno State, Nigeria. Fifty-seven girls escaped in the first 24 hours, and in the last five years, 164 girls have been found, escaped, or were released after negotiations. Sadly, the terrorists still hold 112 Chibok girls, including Dorcas. At 15 years old that …
Survivors breathe new life into religious freedom movement
Nadia Murad had dreams of being a teacher, not a sabia — not a slave. In one horrific August afternoon in 2014, ISIS terrorists invaded her village in Northern Iraq and shattered those dreams. The militants slaughtered hundreds of Nadia’s neighbors in a single hour, including six of her brothers and stepbrothers. She and the other young women who remained were rounded up and …
Will future generations defend freedom of belief?
Religious persecution is on the rise around the world according to data from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, the U.S. State Department, Freedom House, and Open Doors among others. Former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom David Saperstein says that, “enemies of religious freedom have grown alarmingly strong worldwide. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.” …
Faith Strengthened by Persecution
In the early morning hours of Christmas 2010, Iranian government forces arrested scores of Christian home-church leaders in surprise raids around the country. Among those arrested was a newly married couple, Yousef and Rozhin*. Incarcerated in separate locations, Yousef and Rozhin were repeatedly told by their captors that the other had denounced their faith. In fact, both remained steadfast in …