Tag: Refugees

Churches evacuate and shelter migrants after fire devastates Dunkirk camp

April 11, 2017 Calais, Converts, Dunkirk, France, Grande-Synthe, Iran, La Linière, Migrants, Refugees, Sub-Saharan Africa

Local churches in Dunkirk helped to evacuate terrified migrants late last night (10 April) as a devastating fire spread through their camp in northern France. La Linière camp in Grande-Synthe, just outside Dunkirk, housed an estimated 1,500 migrants, including a handful of Christian converts, but has now been reduced to “a . . . Read More

No solution for Vietnam’s persecuted Montagnard-people

April 5, 2017 Vietnam Asylum seekers, Cambodia, Montagnards, Refugees, Religious freedom, Thailand, UN, Vietnam

The Montagnard-people are persecuted because of their faith but getting asylum in neighbouring countries is difficult. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The number of Montagnard-people fleeing their native Vietnam, because of persecution of their Christian faith, is growing, reports Al Jazeera. They initially end up in surrounding nations like Cambodia and Thailand, where they face a stateless future as their refugee status is not recognized. Thailand and Cambodia are not signatories . . . Read More

Marbles in the midst of ashes: Iraqi boy returns home ‘post ISIS’

March 23, 2017 Iraq Erbil, Iraq, Islamic State, Mosul, Nineveh Plains, Refugees

In the midst of ashes Noeh finds his marbles.

While the Iraqi military forces are pushing fighters of self-proclaimed Islamic State out of Mosul, their last stronghold, Foreign Ministers from 68 countries met yesterday in Washington to discuss next steps in defeating the militant group. They also discussed ‘post ISIS’ scenarios such as how to rebuild Mosul, as refugees start . . . Read More

Accounts surface of persecution of Christians in Dunkirk migrants’ camp

March 15, 2017 Afghanistan, Calais, Converts, Dunkirk, France, Grande-Synthe, Iran, Iraq, La Linière, Migrants, Refugees, Shiraz, Syria, Vietnam

Outside the windswept port of Dunkirk, in northern France, sits a migrants’ camp called La Linière. Home to around 1,400 people, it lies 25 miles from Calais and the now-demolished camp that became known as the “Jungle”. La Linière opened a year ago, with the collaboration of Médicins sans Frontières . . . Read More

Inside a migrant camp in northern France

March 15, 2017 Calais, France, Grande-Synthe, Iran, Iraq, Kurds, La Linière, Migrants, Refugees

Armed police amass outside as the day draws to a close at La Linière migrant camp in Grande-Synthe, northern France, which has just celebrated its one-year anniversary. There was an incident last night and there’s every chance another could follow tonight. This camp may boast a new, prettier face, but . . . Read More

Iran’s hidden Christians are becoming visible in the migrant camps of Europe

March 15, 2017 Calais, Converts, Dunkirk, Grande-Synthe, Iran, La Linière, Migrants, Refugees, Shiraz, Zoroastrians

A pastor in northern France has described her church’s ministry to Middle Eastern migrants in a nearby camp as “the mission field coming to you”. The church’s leader, Pastor Lydie Granger, said that among the estimated 1,400 migrants living in the camp outside Dunkirk were around 40 Iranians who had . . . Read More

Helping Dunkirk’s migrants – God’s will or collusion in illegal entry?

March 15, 2017 Calais, Converts, Dunkirk, Egypt, Eritrea, France, Iran, La Linière, Migrants, Refugees

Iranian migrants line up for prayer alongside other members of the congregation at the Dk Live church in Dunkirk

Reaching out to the migrants who arrive in the north of France presents the Church with a weighty dilemma. The migrants have generally paid smugglers several thousand pounds to help them to cross Europe, and have their eyes – and their hearts – set on reaching England, which will mean . . . Read More

Pakistani Christians in Thailand face renewed pressure to return home

March 13, 2017 Asylum seekers, Badami Bagh, Bangkok, Gojra, Joseph Colony, Migrants, Netherlands, Pakistan, Refugees, Thailand, UK, UN

World Watch Monitor has heard from reliable sources that the Thai government is planning to cancel bail for all male asylum seekers in Bangkok. The move would require them to return to detention centres straight away. This would include many of the estimated 11,500 Pakistani Christians who complained in 2016 . . . Read More

‘Secret’ church leader about witnessing his faith to people who might kill him

March 6, 2017 Converts, Islamic extremism, Refugees, Religious freedom

Hameedullah* works as a church leader in a country known for intense persecution of Christians. When he was young, he lived illegally as a refugee in a Muslim country that didn’t want him or his religion, whose people are always looking out for non-Islamic activity. He even faced scrutiny from . . . Read More

Iraqi Christian refugees protest against UNHCR resettlement delays

February 15, 2017 Iraq IDPs, Islamic State, Lebanon, Refugees, UN

Dozens of Iraqi Christians in Lebanon protested in central Beirut this week, demanding the UN to grant them quicker resettlement abroad. Between 150 and 200 demonstrators gathered outside a UN building, carrying placards that read: “the future of our children is wasted” and “our only demand is to [go] . . . Read More

Catching Our Eye