11 March 2010

This is the first official statement from the parents of the Village of Hope.  It is written with the full endorsement of all the parents who are currently in exile after deportation.  Previous statements and comments to be found on the worldwide web and other publications have not been endorsed by the parents.

For the past 10 years the Village of Hope has offered an outstanding level of care and love to Moroccan Children.  The unique model of care offered by VOH means that children have been raised in family units with a Mum and Dad rather than the more traditional dormitory style orphanage set up.  VOH has always operated with the full knowledge and agreement of the Moroccan authorities with the overt understanding that the overseas workers are Christian.  It has also always been understood that the children would be raised in a Muslim/Christian environment but would also be fully immersed in their Moroccan culture in terms of love for their country, language, education and knowledge of Islam.

On Monday 8th March, all 16 overseas workers, including 10 parents, and 13 natural-born dependents, were told they were to be evicted from the site and country.  The reason given was that the parents had been proselytizing, with no explanation of who, when, where or how this was alleged to have occurred.  No charges concerning the welfare and care of the children have ever been raised as a concern by the Moroccan authorities in the 10 year history of VOH.

The Moroccan authorities have not produced any evidence of the alleged offence and they gave only a few hours for the parents to pack up belongings and explain to their children that they might never see them again.

This action against VOH was part of a nationwide crackdown against Christians living in Morocco.  VOH fully understands that the Moroccan law prohibits people from promoting a faith other than Islam and has always sought to abide by this law and recognises the right of the authorities to enforce this law.  All parents, volunteers and visitors to VOH were required to sign a declaration stating that they will abide by the Moroccan law prohibiting evangelism. VOH strongly refutes the allegation made against its staff and confirms that the authorities have always been aware of its Christian ethos and that throughout the 10 years the authorities have placed children into the care of VOH.  It is also a grave concern that no appeal process has been offered to challenge this decision and the action taken.

The eviction process was the most painful situation imaginable.  The Moroccan authorities gathered the children together in the school and told them what was happening in the absence of the parents. After that,  parents had to further explain to the devastated children what was about to happen.  Some of the children have been with their parents for 10 years and the trauma caused was beyond description.  VOH would like to make it very clear that during the eviction process, no member of the Moroccan authorities ill treated any of the staff or children and that the Moroccan authorities had a team of carers, albeit strangers to the children, ready to come in and offer temporary care.  However, parents have no idea what is to happen to their children or how they are coping and have no point of contact with the Moroccan authorities.

VOH understands the action of the authorities in relation to any "missionaries" if there is real evidence against them of preaching the Gospel.  However, they feel the action against them was without foundation and completely unjust.  VOH is not a missionary organisation and only exists to offer love, care and education to Moroccan children.  There is a sense that VOH has been included in a nationwide action, but there is absolutely no legal merit to the action taken against VOH.

The parents of VOH want to clearly state their love for the Kingdom and people of Morocco and fear this act by the authorities will cause long term damage to the excellent reputation of Morocco.  Morocco is viewed by the West as a moderate and safe Islamic state with an ever improving response to social issues.  The king has been a driving force behind so much positive reform and he is to be honoured for all he has done for the betterment of his people.  However, actions like this are only likely to tarnish Morocco's image and have a detrimental effect on inward investment, foreign aid and tourism.  If a perception grows that non-Islamic guests in Morocco and foreign led organisations are being targeted then we fear for the damage that could be caused.  Key relationships with the EU and other trading partners and supporters of Morocco could be affected unless a negotiated settlement can be seen to take place.  VOH, through its international investors, have pumped Millions of Moroccan dirham into infrastructure, care of children, employment of Moroccans and the local economy only to have it taken away in a matter of hours.  What signal does this send to others looking to support the development of Morocco either through trade, aid or simply as a tourist.

The parents only want to be reunited with their children.  Every single set of parents would return to Morocco to continue with the care of the children and continue to live under the law and authority of the State.  Equally, the parents would be willing to negotiate for the release of the children into their care to the parent’s country of origin.  As parents, we plead with the Moroccan authorities to open a dialogue with us as to the future well being and care of our children. 

We openly and unashamedly appeal directly to the king, as a father himself, to act with mercy and help us reach a point of compromise and reunite the 33 children with the only parents they know.

We also appeal to our supporters around the world to not react to this situation and use the internet or any other means to say anything that might be viewed as detrimental about the Moroccan authorities.  We the parents are the only people who carry the authority to speak into this situation on behalf of our children and we are raising up a team of people whom we trust with our message to speak on our behalves.  If you have posted "unauthorised" comments or started campaigns, we would plead with you to stop and remove information you have put into the public domain.

As parents, we can't walk away from this situation.  We need to work hard to make sure our children are safe and ultimately given back to us.  We appeal for international support to help us campaign against this unjust decision. We conclude with just one story to make everyone understand the impact of what is happening.

Simo came to VOH as a very sick newborn baby boy. He had been born to a single teenage mother with mental health problems, who abandoned him at VOH on the day of his birth, and in a very unwell state. Within hours of his arrival, he developed breathing problems, and was rushed to hospital, where he stopped breathing and was revived by our Dutch nurse. Simo remained in hospital for eight weeks, and was then returned to VOH care and custody by the Moroccan authorities. He returned malnourished, and extremely unwell. He was unable to feed except through a tube, and then only in very small amounts. He weighed only 2.79kg, less than his original birth weight. Simo required, and received, one-on-one nursing care from our qualified Dutch and British nursing staff 24-7 for several months. Once Simo began putting on weight and his health improved, he was placed permanently with one of the VOH parents, who have provided him with love and all the other essential needs of a little baby. He has remained with his new parents and 9 siblings for the past year, up until the day that they were evicted. Simo was later diagnosed with severe cerebral palsy, and had a number of ongoing related complications. However, with a strict medication and care regime from his parents and our nursing staff, he became a happy, healthy little boy with a future and a hope.

Without VOH’s immediate intervention and action, Simo would have died. But at the time of the parent’s eviction from VOH, he was a happy and very healthy little boy who, whilst very handicapped, was well provided for and continues to be loved as a son and brother by his parents and siblings. We have been informed that Simo had a very bad night after his parents departed, and that within 15 hours of his mum and dad being torn from him, he was taken to a hospital to be cared for, as the temporary Moroccan staff were unable to cope with his needs. We reiterate that Simo was not unwell when his parents were taken away. But he requires a particular regime of medication and special care to ensure that he remains healthy and comfortable. We hope that he continues to receive the special care that he requires, that people will be permitted to visit and hold him, to talk to him and let him know that he is still loved. Ultimately, we want to see Simo back in the arms of his loving parents and siblings, restored to the love and hope that he so deserves.

We have another 32 stories to tell and will keep telling the stories until a just decision is made.  This is not an issue of Islam vs Christianity, this is an issue of families torn apart, bewildered and devastated children and heartbroken parents.  We call for justice.

God bless and thank you for the uncountable acts and words of kindness and prayer already received.  Please continue to stand with us.

From the parents in exile and separated from their beautiful children.

Once again I was amazed at the means God uses to care for His children. One of Open Doors’ remarkable projects, provided for a miracle in the lives of Amer and Adil.

The project:
In cooperation with a local church and pastor we started the taxi project in 2008. The objective was to provide Secret Believers from the “underground” church who don’t have jobs, with the opportunity to become a taxi driver. It was important that they take responsibility and make a success. The taxi will be owned by the project and leased to the taxi driver. The driver is responsible for all the costs and is obliged to pay back the loan over a certain period of time. The driver joins a taxi station to insure that he gets customers. The extra funds generated, are used to buy more cars in order to help more people. The project provides the driver with a decent income and gives them the chance to support their families. Another important aspect is that the drivers have the chance to talk to their passengers and share about their faith. The drivers also hand out Christian materials, like Bibles and the Jesus film. The taxi drivers have a cross hanging in their car, which often initiates significant conversations.

Meet one of the drivers… and his new friend
Adil is one of the taxi drivers. He is 33 years old, but still single because his current financial situation prevents him from having his own family. However, Adil works very hard and is doing quite well. He hopes that he’ll be able to get married soon. Adil’s testimony is short, but powerful: “I have grown up in a fanatic Muslim family, but Islam has never fulfilled my dreams. I ended up being addicted to drugs. But when I came to Christ, I was completely set free. I like to witness to my passengers about what God is doing in my life and how Jesus Christ has restored me. Hallelujah!”

Adil also likes to testify about the day he witnessed a carefully orchestrated miracle:
“One day I received a call to pick up a passenger in a desolate part of town. There are many criminals and it is dangerous to go there. At first I didn’t want to go, but after I prayed about the situation, I felt that I should go after all. While driving around aimlessly in this part of the city, searching for my passengers address, my car broke down. I was stuck and had nowhere to go. I started questioning God. I couldn’t understand why I had to go to this part of town and now my car was broken too... I did not feel safe at all and wasn’t sure what to do, so I sat in my car and started praying. Suddenly, a man stood next to my window and asked whether I had a problem. Praise God, he turned out to be a car mechanic. He had a look at my car and knew exactly how to fix the problem. He said that the broken part would be difficult to obtain on the market, but he might have that specific part in the trunk of his car and could help me right away. What a miracle!

“When the man had finished fixing my car, he saw the cross hanging from my mirror. He asked me whether I was a Christian. Of course I was more than happy to tell him that I was indeed a follower of Christ. The man wanted to know if I had a Bible for him and as it turned out I had one hidden in my car, so I gave it to him.”

Then this man, called Amer, told me his story.

“For a long time I’ve been secretly searching for Jesus and I knew that I would find Him in the Bible, but I did not know how to obtain one. It was too dangerous to ask around for a Bible. One day I was prompted in my heart, probably by God, to drive out to quite a dangerous part of my city. Despite the danger, I decided to go because the prompting was so strong. While I was driving, I suddenly saw a car next to the road which clearly had some problems. I stopped in order to help the man; little did I know that this man was a Secret Believer and had a Bible in his car. How great is our God! I fixed his car on the spot and God fixed my heart... He gave me His precious Word. What a miracle...”

“God used a strange way to lead me to Jesus and provide me with a copy of His Word.” – Amer  

“We want to thank everybody who is helping in this ministry. It is a great encouragement and comfort to us.” – Adil

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A convert from Islam who has led a push for Muslim-Christian understanding in Ethiopia has been in jail for nearly ten months since his arrest for “malicious” distribution of Bibles.

Christian sources in Ethiopia said that, contrary to Ethiopian law, 39-year-old Bashir Musa Ahmed has not been formally charged since his arrest on 23 May 2009 in Jijiga, capital of Somali Region Zone Five. This is a predominantly Muslim area in eastern Ethiopia. Zonal police arrested him after he was accused of providing Muslims with Somali-language Bibles bearing covers that resemble the Qur’an.

As an Ethiopian national, Ahmed is known as a bold preacher of Christianity and is credited with opening discussion of the two faiths between Christian and Muslim leaders. He is well-known in the area as a scholar of Islam, but his case has gone largely unreported in Ethiopia.

Authorities are secretly planning to transfer Ahmed from his Jijiga cell to Ghagahbur jail, in part to prevent other Christians from visiting him and in part because he has not been charged.

Ahmed’s own relatives and tribe instigated the arrest with the intent of stopping him from spreading Christianity in the region, whose 5 million predominantly Muslim inhabitants are mainly of Somali origin.

Conversion and manifesting one’s faith are not illegal in Ethiopia. “The Ethiopian constitution allows for religious tolerance,” sources said, “but to date Ahmed has not been taken to court. He’s been in jail for nearly ten months now, which is quite unusual for an Ethiopian nationality and the constitutional requirements.”

For providing Bibles with cover pages resembling the Qur’an, Ahmed is accused of “maliciously” distributing Bibles and trying to convert Muslims to Christianity, although conversion and manifesting one’s faith are not illegal in Ethiopia. At issue is whether the Bibles with covers resembling the Qur’an violate copyright issues and disrespect Islam.

Christian converts in the area said the kind of Bible that Ahmed distributed is widely available on the market in Ethiopia and is commonly used by Somali Christians inside and outside of the country.

Following a recent visit to Ahmed, a source said that he looked strong in faith but seemed to have lost weight and was in need of clothes.

“I am doing fine here in prison and I am thankful for those who have taken their time to come and see me as well as advocate for my release,” said Ahmed.

Hostility towards those spreading a faith different from Islam is a common occurrence in Muslim dominated areas of Ethiopia and neighbouring countries. Christians are subject to harassment and intimidation, to stem the rising number of Muslim converts.

“In God’s own time I know I will be set free,” Ahmed said. “Continue to pray for me. I know it is God’s will for me to be here at this time and moment in my life.”

Ethiopia’s constitution, laws and policies promote freedom of religion, but occasionally local authorities infringe on this right. An estimated 40 – 45% of Ethiopia’s population belongs to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Evangelical and Pentecostal groups make up an estimated 10% of the population and about 45% of the population is Sunni Muslim.

In Ethiopia’s federal state system, each state is autonomous in its administration, and most of those holding government positions in Somali Region Zone Five are Muslims.

Please pray for this brother, suffering in jail for our faith in Christ.

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