“The whole world celebrates”

As a persecuted believer and the daughter of deaf parents, life is tough for teenager Ailin*.

Young, persecuted and alone

From a young age, Ailin went to church with her parents. As a teenager, her own faith developed. But it left her alone and isolated…

When Ailin started going to church, some of her relatives prevented her from attending. She had no one to defend her.

“Because my parents are deaf, they can’t answer or say anything,” explained Ailin. “Relatives told me I had to be a Muslim because our whole clan are Muslims. They said: ‘Your parents can’t hear, so they can’t explain this to you.’”

One day Ailin and her mother were dragged to the police station. Watch her story:

A time to celebrate

Christmas is the one time when this family has a reason to celebrate…

“We remember the birth of Jesus Christ with our family,” says Ailin. “We cook and play games. I really like this holiday because the whole world celebrates and it’s a lot of fun.”

It’s heartwarming to see Ailin’s joy at Christmas – because, for the rest of the year, her life is unbearably difficult. Both Ailin’s parents are deaf, which is viewed by their Muslim-majority community as a curse from Allah. And the family follows Jesus, so the persecution is intense.

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*Name changed and country name withheld because of the risk to this teenager.