Ratna Bangun (1966-2010)

On July 26, 2010, at 10:30 in the evening, Ibu Ratna Bangun died of lupus while confined at a hospital in Jakarta. Linda, Dr. Rebekka Zakaria’s foster daughter, informed Open Doors of the sad news yesterday.

Her husband Sembiring (40), and her two boys, Joshua (11) and Nathan (6), paid their last respects to Ibu Ratna on July 28, in Hargeulis, her hometown.

Ratna Bangun was arrested in May 2005, along with Dr. Rebekka Zakaria and Eti Pangesti, under false accusation of converting Muslim children to Christianity through a Sunday School program. The three were given a three-year sentence on September 1, 2005 and were released from Indramayu prison on June 8, 2007.

Open Doors launched a prayer and writing campaign on July 15, 2005 for Ibu Ratna, Dr. Rebekka, and Ibu Eti, which ended on June 2007. The Sunday School teachers testified of the great encouragement they received through letters from Christians around the world.

While in prison, Ibu Ratna shared to Open Doors her reflections about being in prison:

“Before, I had always been surrounded by fellow believers. But now, I live among non-believers. I realize how hard it is to share God’s love and my life to them. It is also hard to live away from my children and husband. But I am thankful – please note this carefully – that God’s faithful love has never left me. God has helped me through everything.

“Secondly, when Jesus broke the five loafs of bread and two fishes to feed 5,000 people, He turned nothingness into something. As for me, I feel like the insignificant breads and fishes. The suffering I face is nothing compared to what other believers around the world are going through. Just like the bread, I was crushed and distributed to become blessings for many people. I am being processed in this place.

“Thirdly, prison is a school of faith. This is where I fight for my faith, so that I could be a part of God’s plan; it is no coincidence that I am here, in this prison.”

Let us pray for God’s consolation to be upon the grieving family and friends of Ibu Ratna Bangun.

Explanation of the World Watch List

The reporting period for this version of the World Watch List is from 1 November 2008 to and including 31 October 2009, meaning that the months of November and December 2009 are not included.

The World Watch List is compiled from a specially-designed questionnaire of 50 questions covering various aspects of religious freedom. A point value is assigned depending on how each question is answered. The total number of points per country determines its position on the WWL.

The questions differentiate between the legal, official status of Christians (e.g. Does the constitution and/or national laws provide for freedom of religion?; Are individuals allowed to convert to Christianity by law?) and the actual situation of individual Christians (Are Christians being killed because of their faith?; Are Christians being sentenced to jail, labour camp or sent to a psychiatric hospital because of their faith?). Attention is paid to the role of the church in society (Do Christians have the freedom to print and distribute Christian literature?; Are Christian publications censured/prohibited in this country?) and to factors that may obstruct the freedom of religion in a country (Are Christian meeting places and/or Christian homes attacked because of anti-Christian motives?).

Please note that Kazakhstan has dropped off the list not because the situation has improved, but because other countries where the situation has become worse have ranked higher on the list. This may change again if Kazakhstan implements tougher legislation on religion in the future.

Countries where the situation deteriorated

The status of religious freedom for Christians deteriorated in the reporting period in Somalia, Yemen, Mauritania, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Tunisia and Kyrgyzstan.

Countries where the situation improved

The total number of points decreased for Saudi Arabia, Algeria, India, Cuba, Jordan, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.

It is great to report that the first level of Trauma Counselling Training is completed with 9 people in Gaza, among them some of the former Palestinian Bible Society staff. The group really benefited from the four day training and debriefing, especially since it was only 7 months after the war and almost two years after the death of Rami Ayyad. They are still processing this and other pressures against the Christian community there.