Bangladesh (MNN) — Rohingya Christians have been moved to safety following an attack in a Bangladesh refugee camp.
Greg Musselman of Voice of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC) explains, “Recently there was an attack and a pastor and his daughter were kidnapped, they were abducted. And then we had received word from kidnappers to our partners, that there is a plan now to forcibly take the pastor’s daughter and marry her to a Muslim man. . . This was going to happen soon.”
The attack
The attack, which occurred in the Kutapalong, the world’s largest refugee camp, left 12 Christians wounded. The Christians were refugees from Myanmar who came to Bangladesh in 2007. They claim they were also attacked in May of last year by the same group: Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). According to its Twitter account, ARSA is, “Fighting for the liberation of persecuted Rohingya.”
Image from ARSA’s Twitter page with logo displayed. (Photo courtesy of ARSA on Twitter)
Local police acknowledge the violence, but maintain that Christians in the camp initiated it by beating and dragging out a man, and that Muslims retaliated. They also deny that ARSA was involved and claim only four Christians were injured.
The attack reportedly left many Christians without homes, as the attackers went into houses and used machetes to destroy them. Police confirmed damage to homes. Following the attack, the Christian families, along with many Hindu families, were isolated from the Muslims by the United Nations.
The attacks also connect to a recent statement by UN Special Rapperteur Yanghee Lee, who voiced concern over the state of religious minorities in the camp.
The Rohingya crisis
This is not the first time ARSA has been connected to kidnapping, as rights activists have accused the group of terrorizing other Rohingya, killing over 100 Hindus in 2017, and intimidating Hindu Rohingya refugees.
Rohingya children (Photo courtesy of Food for the Hungry)
ARSA fighters were also involved in the violence that brought a wave of refugees to Kutapalong from Myanmar in 2017. The Rohingya are one of the most discriminated ethnic groups in the world, and Myanmar has carried out ethnic cleansing against them for years.
Musselman says the attacks spring from an already very difficult situation. “The Rohingya situation is horrible . . . These people are one of the most persecuted minority groups in the world. And it is a very destructive situation, very sad. These are people that just struggle for their own homeland and [to carry] out their culture.”
How to Pray
VOMC says the kidnapped girl has been forced into a “marriage.” Several other families reported kidnappings as well. One man who was taken is now known to be alive, but is still being held.
Forced marriages are still commonplace around the world. Read more here.
(Photo courtesy of Jordi Bernabeu Farrús via Flickr: https://goo.gl/daSWrS)
Musselman prays that the kidnappers would be brought to their senses, and that the story would not end tragically. He says to also pray for, “Any of our friends that are there and other places around the world, that they would really exhibit . . . caution and wisdom, but not be led by fear.”
Pray that Rohingya Christians would be kept safe from attacks, and that the Holy Spirit would protect them from fear. Ask God that the authorities would deal justly with the attack, and that the missing Christians would be returned unharmed.
Pray most of all that peace would come to the refugee camps in Bangladesh, and that the Rohingya people would be changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh. (Photo courtesy of FMI)