{"id":37930,"date":"2021-08-10T14:00:34","date_gmt":"2021-08-10T05:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=37930"},"modified":"2021-08-07T14:45:42","modified_gmt":"2021-08-07T05:45:42","slug":"vomk-report-166","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2021\/08\/10\/vomk-report-166\/","title":{"rendered":"NORTHERN ETHIOPIA: AS TWO REFUGEE CAMPS ARE DESTROYED, TEN NEW CHURCHES FORM"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”37936″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”As heavy fighting in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray continues into its ninth month, the UN\u2019s Special Rapporteur on human rights in Eritrea has \u201csounded the alarm\u201d calling for prompt UN investigation of what he is calling the \u201chorror stories\u201d of Eritreans fleeing the destruction of two refugee camps in the region. But amidst the horror, Voice of the Martyrs Korea is calling attention to signs of new life: Ten new churches have formed as Eritrean Christian refugees begin the work of putting their lives back together outside the camps.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u00a0<\/span>typically\u00a0<\/span>think of church planting\u00a0<\/span>as something that occurs under\u00a0<\/span>optimal\u00a0<\/span>social\u00a0<\/span>conditions,<\/span>\u201d says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0Hyun Sook Foley. \u201cB<\/span>ut\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>New Testament\u00a0<\/span>consistently shows that churches are formed like stars: Under immense pressure in clouds of swirling\u00a0<\/span>chaos<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0That\u2019s certainly\u00a0<\/span>what\u2019s happening in the case of these new refugee churches in Ethiopia.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”37932″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”An estimated 20,000 Eritrean refugees forced from two camps in the Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia are now missing. Reports say thousands have been kidnapped back into Eritrea while thousands more have fled to other cities in Ethiopia.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Representative Foley says\u00a0<\/span>these new church plants should not be\u00a0<\/span>celebrated\u00a0<\/span>naively or\u00a0<\/span>idealistically<\/span>\u00a0by\u00a0<\/span>Christians in other parts of the world<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0\u201c<\/span>I think very few Christians around the world have ever\u00a0<\/span>experienced the kind of\u00a0<\/span>absolute\u00a0<\/span>dependence on Christ<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>that has brought these<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>new\u00a0<\/span>Eritrean refugee<\/span>\u00a0congregations\u00a0<\/span>together<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0Th<\/span>ese are\u00a0<\/span>ten groups of\u00a0<\/span>Christians\u00a0<\/span>clinging to each other<\/span>\u00a0and to God because everything else in their lives\u00a0<\/span>is\u00a0<\/span>shattered, splintered,\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0burn<\/span>ing<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0Like the disciples in the Upper Room, they are meeting behind locked doors\u00a0<\/span>in whatever cit<\/span>ies\u00a0<\/span>they can reach and\u00a0<\/span>whatever rooms<\/span>\u00a0they can afford.\u00a0<\/span>They are\u00a0<\/span>encouraging each other in the\u00a0<\/span>W<\/span>ord, because the\u00a0<\/span>W<\/span>ord is all they have left.\u00a0<\/span>E<\/span>ven in the big cities like Addis Ababa where\u00a0<\/span>many of the refugees\u00a0<\/span>are fleeing,\u00a0<\/span>it is impossible for them just to \u2018blend in\u2019: E<\/span>thnic tensions are soaring<\/span>\u00a0due to the conflict in the northeast<\/span>, so\u00a0<\/span>Protestant Christians of\u00a0<\/span>Tigrinian<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>ethnicity and Eritrean citizenship\u00a0<\/span>like them\u00a0<\/span>are viewed with deep suspicion and\u00a0<\/span>even hatred<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>by<\/span>\u00a0the majority ethnic groups\u00a0<\/span>of\u00a0<\/span>Muslim and Orthodox\u00a0<\/span>background in whose neighborhoods\u00a0<\/span>they are\u00a0<\/span>forced to\u00a0<\/span>hid<\/span>e<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”35207″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley does a trauma recovery training with Eritrean refugees in Tigray in 2019, shortly before the conflict broke out.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][vc_single_image image=”35215″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Representative Foley prays with an Eritrean widow, whose husband died in prison due to his faith in Jesus Christ. Reports say thousands of Eritrean refugees have been repatriated to Eritrea during the current conflict.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Representative Foley says that the\u00a0<\/span>reports\u00a0<\/span>by\u00a0<\/span>Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the UN\u00a0<\/span>Special Rapporteur\u00a0<\/span>on the situation of<\/span>\u00a0human rights in<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Eritrea,<\/span>\u00a0on the situation facing\u00a0<\/span>the estimated 25,000\u00a0<\/span>Eritrean refugees displaced by the destruction of the<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Hitsats<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Shimelba<\/span>\u00a0refugee camps\u00a0<\/span>match the reports that Voice of the Martyrs Korea is receiving from its own\u00a0<\/span>long-time\u00a0<\/span>Eritrean and Ethiopian partners.<\/span>\u00a0\u201cBased on eyewitness\u00a0<\/span>testimonies as well as the report\u00a0<\/span>from the UN High Commission on Refugees Commissioner to the region,\u00a0<\/span>the Special Rapporteur\u00a0<\/span>told the UN\u00a0<\/span>in June\u00a0<\/span>that he is \u2018sounding the alarm\u2019 and calling\u00a0<\/span>for immediate UN investigation into<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>what he calls \u2018<\/span>clear and consistent patterns<\/span>\u2019<\/span>\u00a0that these refugee camps were being<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u2018<\/span>specifically targeted<\/span>\u2019 for horrific abuses by\u00a0<\/span>Eritrean troops\u00a0<\/span>fighting alongside\u00a0<\/span>Ethiopian National<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Defen<\/span>s<\/span>e Forces<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>He said, \u2018A<\/span>s many as 20,000 Eritrean refugees were missing<\/span>\u2019 after they\u00a0<\/span>were \u2018<\/span>left for months without<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>food, water, medical supplies or other basic\u00a0<\/span>necessities<\/span>\u2019<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>The specific \u2018alarm\u2019 that the Special Rapporteur sounded was due to what he called \u2018<\/span>horrifying reports of sexual and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>gender-based violence, and of Eritrean refugees in Tigray being kidnapped, killed, attacked<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and prevented from fleeing<\/span>\u2019.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Representative Foley says that\u00a0<\/span>reports from a long-time\u00a0<\/span>Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u00a0<\/span>partner\u00a0<\/span>from Tigray add another layer of concern<\/span>. \u201cHe wrote, \u2018<\/span>T<\/span>housan<\/span>d<\/span>s\u00a0<\/span>of\u00a0<\/span>Eritreans\u00a0<\/span>were\u00a0<\/span>taken by the Eritrean government\u00a0<\/span>back\u00a0<\/span>to Eritrea<\/span>. S<\/span>ome of them are\u00a0<\/span>C<\/span>hristians<\/span>. W<\/span>hen they\u00a0<\/span>arrived in\u00a0<\/span>Eritrea<\/span>, some were\u00a0<\/span>sent to\u00a0<\/span>prison<\/span>, and\u00a0<\/span>some\u00a0<\/span>were taken\u00a0<\/span>to\u00a0<\/span>m<\/span>ilitary camp as soldier<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0bec<\/span>a<\/span>use they were soldiers before they\u00a0<\/span>came<\/span>\u00a0to Ethiopia.<\/span>\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span> <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

But\u00a0<\/span>Representative Foley says that\u00a0<\/span>reports confirm that\u00a0<\/span>thousands of\u00a0<\/span>other Eritrean<\/span>\u00a0refugee<\/span>s escaped, fleeing to other cities in Ethiopia. \u201c<\/span>It is from this massive refuge<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0pool that\u00a0<\/span>ten new\u00a0<\/span>Eritrean\u00a0<\/span>refugee c<\/span>hurches in Addis\u00a0<\/span>Ababa\u00a0<\/span>have formed<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>All over Ethiopia,\u00a0<\/span>Christ is comforting his people–n<\/span>ot only\u00a0<\/span>these\u00a0<\/span>refugees but others<\/span>\u00a0who<\/span>se lives have been turned upside down by\u00a0<\/span>this\u00a0<\/span>Tigray\u00a0<\/span>conflict.\u00a0<\/span>People are gathering in the churches<\/span>. They<\/span>\u2019re grieving at the churches. They<\/span>\u00a0a<\/span>re bringing dead bodies to the churches to bury them in mass graves.\u00a0<\/span>Christ\u00a0<\/span>is still making a way for people to have hope.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that\u00a0Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u00a0has\u00a0so far sent\u00a013,500,000 KRW\u00a0in 2021\u00a0to aid Eritrean Christian refugees in Ethiopia and the families of Eritrean Christians imprisoned or martyred in Eritrea, with additional transfers planned for the third and fourth quarters of the year based on donations received.\u00a0Representative Foley says\u00a0that\u00a0donations made\u00a0this month\u00a0to Voice of the Martyrs Korea Families of Martyrs and Prisoners fund\u00a0will be used to support\u00a0this\u00a0ongoing Eritrean work.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Donation to VOMK\u2019s Families of Martyrs and Prisoners (FOM\/FOP) fund can be made at\u00a0<\/span>www.vomkorea.com\/en\/donation<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0or via electronic transfer to:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\uad6d\ubbfc\uc740\ud589\u00a0<\/span>(KB Bank):\u00a0463501-01-243303<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\uc608\uae08\uc8fc<\/span>\u00a0(Account Holder)<\/span>: (\uc0ac)\uc21c\uad50\uc790\uc758\uc18c\ub9ac<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Please include the name \u201cFOM\/FOP\u201d on the donation.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information on Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s partnership with Eritrean underground Christians,\u00a0please visit\u00a0<\/span>www.vomkorea.com\/en\/country-profile\/eritrea<\/a><\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PeVYhOE5hD4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Voice of the Martyrs recorded this video of an Eritrean refugee camp during a visit to the Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia in 2017 to train Eritrean Christian refugees. Two of the four Eritrean refugee camps in the region were destroyed in the current conflict.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”37936″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”As heavy fighting in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray continues into its ninth month, the UN\u2019s Special Rapporteur on human rights in Eritrea has \u201csounded the …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":37935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[857,235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russian-special","category-special-column","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37930\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}