Christian girl abducted and forced into Islamic Marriage returns home/Pak-flood relief update/
Published: Sat, 09/24/22
We write to you after the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II whose reign for over 70 years impacted across the world. Her televised funeral was watched by over 28 million people in the UK, with over a million others who were watching the funeral procession live in the streets of London. Millions, perhaps billions watched the event from across the world as people showed their respects to a much loved queen. At the start of her reign Queen Elizabeth II reigned over 70 nations, by the end of it
only 14, but she is also credited with founding the Commonwealth an institution that brings together 56 nations 52 of which were formerly part of the collapsed British Empire. Queen Elizabeth II passed away peacefully on 8th September 2019 (click here) on 10th September BACA laid flowers before Balmoral Castle in remembrance of a queen who never shied away
from sharing her faith (click here). Now as Queen Elizabeth II's eldest son King Charles III has been appointed as monarch, we pray for his reign to be as fair and faithful as that of his mother.
"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." Roman 13 v 1
On the 8th of September while holding our regular Meals for the Needy service, news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II began to spread. Many of our visitors begin queueing at 4pm, 2 hours before our distribution. Some of the visitors expressed deep sadness and grief at the loss of a revered monarch, so we offered to pray for the UK, the Royal Family in their time of grief and for King Charles III that his reign be fair and successful. Many of our homeless visitors gathered others by
calling them on their mobiles and we had a larger than usual distribution. Numbers since then have been growing. Read more (here).
Please note we have a new telephone number which is 020 3488 5316.
Pakistan:
In July a record breaking deluge in Pakistan devastated large swathes of the country. Videos and images of the torrent of water that washed away villages in minutes have been compared to watching the sea run through a nation. So far we have provided food aid an mosquito nets to 10 Christian villages.
People of Khipro receive food and mosquito nets (click here)
People of Poppat Colony receive food and mosquito nets (click here)
Goth Ibrahim Khan Hindus receive food aid (click here)
Christians of Goth Ibrahim receive food aid (click here)
We have also distributed Mosquito nets and food in Nowshera in the state of Khyber Pakhthunkwa, in several villages in Quetta and in Rajanpur in the East of the Punjab. Images and videos will be shared next week.
We have also installed 3 pumps but have only had time to prepare this account on our first installation (click here)
None of this work has been inexpensive, moreover our staff and volunteers have had to travel through some very treacherous conditions. Furthermore, most people we have helped were near starvation by the time we have reached. So you can imagine our staff have had to deal with a lot of external emotion and personal concern. We ask that you pray for BACA as we continue a labour of love during extremely difficult times. In the next few weeks we begin our medical camps which
have been delayed due to doctor shortages and we hope to begin work on building a school for a flood ravaged community in Kasur affected by the floods, this will also provide much needed community toilets and a pump for a community bereft of simple amenities. The building will also become the first permanent church building in the area. It is hoped that we can receive enough donations to rebuild some of the flattened mud-homes in brick to protect villagers for
longevity. You can donate to our ongoing flood relief (click here).
We have revisited the Christian enclave in Bhikiwind an area where we rebuilt mud-homes in brick in 2015. We found that the homes had withstood several floods but help has been sought for damage especially to rooves that has occurred during the 2017 and 2022 floods. You can read more (here)
The UN and various environmental groups have referred to the recent floods in Pakistan as human-induced-climate-change floods. Some of our supporters took exception of our use of these terms in an article even though we explained that the terms were used by the aforementioned. There are varied views on climate-change within the Christian community and that is reflected in the trustees of BACA and our workforce. These varied opinions are not salvation issues but the tone of some responses
has been difficult for our team. A supporter of BACA Revd Darrell has written this response as he sets out what the church response should be to the climate change agenda (click here). Though BACA has no official position on this topic, we hope it stimulates more thought regarding our interactions with the environment.
Muslim and Hindu rioting in Leicester involving hundreds of young men has been condemned. Though the violence began after India won a cricket match in August, our research suggests that simmering hatred and radicalization over a much longer period were the cause. Read more (here)
ATenth Christian killed in police custody since 2009 even though Pakistan ratified UN Convention on torture, BACA has visited the family now and paid for the cost of his funeral (click here).
We have good news to share this month as young teenager Muqadas has been returned to her family after the intervention of a Muslim politician. Ex-Chairman Muhammed Nawazwas approached by the abductor and rapist for help escaping police who were closing in on his location. Unfortunately, the rapist will not be prosecuted as the family have agreed to drop charges for the return of their daughter to be guaranteed - no money was involved in the process. Read
more (here).
We still need to raise a further £5000 for the new solicitor appointed for Zafar Bhatti this month to finalise his invoice we have now paid a deposit and he has begun work on Pakistan's longest blasphemy case. I you are moved to help You can donate (here) if you are moved to do so.
We are still seeking more help from supporters who are willing to help us with writing articles. We need commitments from people that can spare the time to write and research and have passion for the work that we do. If you are interested please email juliet@britishasianchristians.org or call 020 3488 5316.
We are seeking old computers and mobile phones that are no longer required to share with deprived communities in Pakistan and India. If you have items that you would like to donate please contact us as we are able to collect them from location within or around London. If you have items you'd like to donate please email juliet@britishasianchristians.org or call 020 3488 5316. You can alternatively post them to British
Asian Christian Association, Unit 74934, PO Box 6945, London, W1A 6US.
Blessings
Hannah Chowdhry
We include a list of all the articles mentioned above in date order, feel free to read only those that interest you. If any of the links above and below do not work you can read all our international articles (here) and all our local UK community news (here).
Pump for Christian flood victims in Sindh Pakistan will reduce diseases
Water pump installed in Sindh Pakistan to reduce threat of infections after record floods.
Villagers living in Goth Ibrahim Khan village, Sindh, Pakistan have been using our new pump installed on 4th September 2022 – on 22nd September we installed a plaque..
The pump replaces one that was previously in a local Muslim village that has been destroyed in the recent historic deluge that killed over 1300 people and affected 33 million people.
This is the first pump we installed however a second has already been installed in another village and a third project will begin shortly. We will update you on these projects next week.
We intend to install many more to help flood victims access clean water as we attempt to quell the spread of diseases like dengue fever, Cholera, Malaria and Typhoid which the UN has stated is sweeping across flood hit areas in Pakistan(click here).
The pump water can also be used for washing clothes and for personal hygiene purposes. We hope to advise people on how to use toothbrushes and toothpaste to improve dental quality and will provide a quantity of supplies to start with, with training on proper use.
A Christian girl was abducted from her home on 17th July 2022 from the village of Haloki in Kasur. The kidnapping took place at around 5pm while Muqadas Labha was washing dishes and many neighbors witnessed the abduction causing alarm in the community.
Later it was discovered that Muqadas Labha (15 yrs) was abducted by Muhammad Naveed (35 yrs) from Okara district, 150km away. He had an accomplice name Muhammad Babar (32 yrs) who was also from the same village as Muqadas – Haloki.
The abductor was known by the family because he had been providing work experience to Muqadas’s brother who was learning to be a welder. Samina Bibi (52 yrs) the mother even provided food for this man regularly who she say’s she treated like a son.
A young Christian man from Zafar Wali in Sambrial died while in the custody of police during a brutal interrogation involving violent torture.
Bashir Masih (52 yrs) now becomes the 7th Christian man killed in a Police station during a rough interrogation since 2009.
On 17th September around 7:30 am Assistant Sub iInspector (ASI) Ghulam Murtaza and Police Constable Azmat Ali arrested Bashir Masih from his home in Zafar Wali and took him to Model Police Station Sambrial. The incident happened at Model Police Station Sambrial.
Bashir Masih worked as a rickshaw driver and worked endless hours to feed his family of five children and wife Rozeena Bibi (50 yrs). Mrs Bibi has stated that a Muslim man named Choudhary Imtiaz accused Mr Masih of theft of a car without any evidence, which resulted in his arrest.
After a recent article of our stirred up both negative and positive responses from some of our supporters, we convinced Revd Darrell a member of the Anglican clergy and a long-term supporter of our group, to write about climate change and the Church. You may not all agree with the contents but we share it with you to further stimulate a conversation, that we might all grow and learn together. Either way it is a very interesting and informed read.
Read about British Asian Christian Association’s flood relief programme in Pakistan (here)
Villagers shout Hallelujah after receiving food and mosquito nets!
I am a sometime supporter of the BACA. While, I am not of Pakistani or Asian descent and have never visited either Pakistan or the sub-continent, I strongly believe that Christians who live under the constant threat of persecution are entitled to our continual support, through prayers and more practical means. Their faithfulness challenges our complacency—or, at least, it should! However, as a full-time Rector of a busy parish, other demands on my time mean that I
often only glance at the emails that come my way from the BACA. This is an area which I would gladly give more time if I had it.
Muslim desecrate Hindu temple in Leicester and destroy flag with religious symbol during two days of riots.
East Leicester has become the scene of a war between two faiths. Hundreds of Hindu and Muslim men and youths in their teens and early twenties have been slugging it out, over a cricket match and a number of simmering issues over decades.
In a BBC report it has been suggested that trouble started after an ‘unplanned protest’ by young Hindu men.
Video footage of the protest however, would suggest the participants were kitted out for a skirmish. The young Hindu men wore balaclavas, carried bats and other weapons as they sang Jai Shiva and Jai Hind (long live Shiva and Long live India).
Villagers shout Hallelujah after receiving food and mosquito nets!
Pakistan has suffered it’s worst floods in known history. The floods are a result of record torrential rainfall, melting glaciers in the nations northern mountains and to some degree form the uncoordinated release of water from dams in India. Read more (here).
The UN children’s agency UNICEF have warned in particular about the impact of these floods on children, they said:
“When a sudden onset emergency such as an earthquake or hurricane strikes, it’s children who suffer first and suffer most.
As well as the immediate, devastating impacts – loss of life, destruction of homes and communities – the chaos of an emergency can threaten access to food, shelter and social support.
Children and mothers are often cut off from basic and essential care, including life-saving medicines and supplies.
Villagers create makeshift homes on streets after homes became waterlogged
A monstrous deluge during this years monsoon in Pakistan has left the nation facing a humanitarian disaster of epic proportions. Read more (here).
A statement by Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari (5th September), World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, read:
“Over 1290 lives lost and 12,500 people injured. Over 33 million affected, including over 6.4 million in dire need of humanitarian aid. Almost 634,000 displaced people living in camps.
“Over 1460 health facilities affected, of which 432 are fully damaged and 1028 are partially damaged. Access to health care facilities, health care workers and essential medicines and medical supplies is limited.
A young child can be seen under a makeshift home after surviving the recent deluge in Pakistan.
Since mid-June 2022, tens of thousands of people in Pakistan have been forced to flee their homes following deadly floods across Pakistan (click here).
British Asian Christian Association were working in Goth Ibrahim Khan village (click here) serving Christians and Hindus forgotten (click here) by the Pak-Government and Muslim aid agencies.
After some day we were informed by Pastor Musa that another community of Christians in the village of Kipro Sanghar were also homeless and hapless due to the record-breaking deluge.
Juliet Chowdhry laid flowers before Balmoral Castle in remembrance of Queen Elizabeth II
Hannah Chowdhry, one of our volunteers began her life at a Scottish university on the same date that Queen Elizabeth II passed away.
To show their respect for the former sovereign her mother Juliet Chowdhry and Hannah visited Balmoral Castle on Saturday 10th September. There they laid some flowers in remembrance of Queen Elizabeth II.
Queen Elizabeth II during a visit to Valentines Park, Ilford in 2012
Queen Elizabeth II died today (8th September 2022) at the age of 96 after 70 years of reign.
Buckingham Palace released a statement earlier today in which they said ‘The Queen died peacefully in her sleep’.
Senior Royal family members were at her bedside in Balmoral Palace, where she was kept under medical supervision, after doctors became concerned about her health.
We revisited the Christian community of Bhikiwind where in 2015 we built brick homes to replace their mud-homes washed away in floods. Had they survived the record 2022 floods?
The community of Bhikiwind who have now got new brick homes that replaced previous mud-homes in 2015.
In 2015 we visited the community of Bhikiwind and built 10 brick homes for families who had suffered the devastating loss of their mud-homes and all their possessions, in brutal floods. Read more (here).
In August 2022 we revisited these homes to see if they had been able to survive the most brutal and mammoth inundation in Pakistan’s history.
All videos in this article are in Urdu but an English translated video will be compiled and uploaded by 25th September 2022.
British Pakistani Christians distributed food parcels to 30 Hindu families in the Goth Ibrahim Khan region.
Pakistan has been ravaged by the worst monsoon flood that they have had in their recorded history. The size and scale of the disaster shocked the nations leaders.
Listen to TWR Radio report on Pakistan by clicking the link below:
You will need to enter your name and email to register with TWR Radio but the service is free.
33 million people have been affected by deadly flooding across Pakistan. Since the monsoon season began in mid-June, more than 1200 people have been killed of which 400 were children. It has been estimated that 364,000 people were displaced by the rapidly rising water levels. 1.1 million homes were washed away and countless homes were damaged.
Heavy rainfall has killed over 1100 people and destroyed over 100,000 homes in Pakistan.
Christians have historically told by Muslim charities that aid can only be received if they convert to Islam.
One Christian village in which many mud homes were completely destroyed received no aid from the Government or local Muslim Charities. Villagers believe this is because there are no Muslims living in the area.
BACA has begun a food programme and has already given two weeks food supply to 30 Muslim and 30 Hindu families. More support is desperately needed.
