{"id":45682,"date":"2023-02-14T14:00:41","date_gmt":"2023-02-14T05:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=45682"},"modified":"2023-02-14T15:28:02","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T06:28:02","slug":"vomk-report-241","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2023\/02\/14\/vomk-report-241\/","title":{"rendered":"ERITREA: 44 CHRISTIANS ARRESTED DURING HOME GATHERINGS"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”45669″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”In a further crackdown on Christians, the government of Eritrea recently arrested 39 women and 5 men during home gatherings. That brings to 415 the number of Christians currently imprisoned in the small northeast African country that persecution watchdogs call \u201cthe North Korea of Africa\u201d.” 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]The 44 Christians are currently being held at <\/span>Mai Serwa prison <\/span>near Eritrea\u2019s <\/span>capital, Asmara.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cNot many people have even heard of the small country of Eritrea, but it is of special importance to Christians<\/span> worldwide because the believers there have suffered so much and yet remained faithful and joyful<\/span>,\u201d says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr<\/span>.<\/span> Hyun Sook Foley<\/span>. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Since May 2002 <\/span>it has been one of the fiercest persecutors of Christians worldwide<\/span>. <\/span>It is often called the \u2018North Korea of Africa\u2019 as its president is known to have a fondness for the North Korean model of leader-worship and desires to implement it in his own country.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”45676″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]According to <\/span>R<\/span>epresentative Foley, only four religions are legal in Eritrea, and all four are strongly monitored and restricted. Among Protestantism, only Lutheran churches are permitted. Many of Eritrea\u2019s <\/span>non-Lutheran <\/span>pastors have been imprisoned and tortured for more than ten years. In Eritrea, prisons <\/span>are located in<\/span> the hot desert and prisoners are kept in metal shipping containers. Due to the strong persecution against Christians, many flee the country and are living in refugee camps in Ethiopia.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that in the past year, during civil war in Ethiopia\u2019s Tigray region, Eritrean Christians reported that Eritrean soldiers entered the <\/span>refugee <\/span>camps <\/span>in an effort to<\/span> disrupt them and to <\/span>find and repatriate or kill <\/span>certain targets of the government, including Christians.<\/span> \u201c<\/span>These days,<\/span> everywhere is dangerous for Eritrean Christians,\u201d says Representative Foley.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”45673″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Believers in Eritrea have suffered so much and yet remain faithful and joyful.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230f0f0f|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]Representative Foley says <\/span>home gatherings <\/span>in Eritrea <\/span>are <\/span>always <\/span>dangerous for Christians<\/span>, <\/span>yet <\/span>they refuse to give up meeting together<\/span>. \u201c<\/span>In Eritrea, persecution comes and goes in waves, and these waves\u2014like these recent arrests–typically happen without any prior warning or explanation from the government,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cThe truth is, w<\/span>hen<\/span>ever<\/span> the Eritrean government wants to crack down on Christians, <\/span>it is easy for them to find Christians to arrest because Eritrean Christians are simply bold in their faith<\/span>. They don\u2019t hide, and they <\/span>love to <\/span>gather together<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley<\/span> adds,<\/span> \u201cWe have had the privilege <\/span>of <\/span>provid<\/span>ing <\/span>persecution training <\/span>annually <\/span>to Eritrean believers<\/span> for many years<\/span>, and they all show the same characteristic love for the body of Christ. Their singing is heavenly<\/span>, usually without instruments and always from memory<\/span>. Their memorization of scriptures is amazing. And they simply love to be together, worshiping, praying, learning, and exhorting one another to be faithful witnesses. <\/span>Since 2002 <\/span>they have been <\/span>willing to bear whatever suffering the Eritrean government lays on them because they consider it such a precious privilege to <\/span>gather as <\/span>the <\/span>body of Christ<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”45680″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Doctor Foley speaks to Eritrean church leaders about what trauma is and how to work through it.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230f0f0f|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]Representative Foley says <\/span>she is praying that <\/span>the recent arrest of these <\/span>44<\/span> Christians <\/span>will remind Christians around the world to renew their urgent prayers on behalf of all of Eritrea\u2019s imprisoned Christians. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>T<\/span>here are now <\/span>more than 400 <\/span>Christians <\/span>imprisoned <\/span>in Eritrea because of their faith,\u201d <\/span>says Representative Foley. \u201c<\/span>Hebrews 13:3 says we are to remember our fellow Christians when they go to prison. <\/span>All Christians <\/span>around the world <\/span>should add to our prayer list<\/span> our Eritrean brothers and sisters in prison<\/span>, <\/span>especially those who are <\/span>suffering in <\/span>metal shipping container<\/span> prisons<\/span> in <\/span>the <\/span>deserts of the <\/span>\u2018<\/span>North Korea of Africa<\/span>\u2019<\/span>, simply because <\/span>they fear God, not man<\/span>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Voice of the Martyrs Korea administers a fund to provide ongoing support to families of Eritrea\u2019s Christian martyrs and prisoners of faith. Churches and individuals interested in making a monthly donation or one-time gift to VOMK\u2019s Eritrea Fund can do so at www.vomkorea.com\/en\/donation<\/span><\/a>\u00a0or via electronic transfer to:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\uad6d\ubbfc\uc740\ud589<\/span> 463501-01-243303<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Please include the phrase \u201cEritrea\u201d on the transfer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”45669″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”In a further crackdown on Christians, the government of Eritrea recently arrested 39 women and 5 men during home gatherings. That brings to 415 the number of …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":45670,"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-45682","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\/45682","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=45682"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45689,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45682\/revisions\/45689"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}