Emergency Relief Distribution to Jaranwala Persecution Victims
The small town of Jaranwala, District Faisalabad, Pakistan, turned chaotic for the Christian residents as they woke up to inciting announcements amplified on a mosque loudspeaker and through social media, leading to panic, mob violence, destruction and displacement. Burning of Christian houses and churches began at 9:55 a.m. on August 16, 2023, when Christian brothers Raja and Rocky of Jaranwala were accused of committing blasphemy and arrested. According to Pakistan’s blasphemy law, they could face the death penalty. The local police have also arrested more than 100 members of the mob and 60 Christians in connection to alleged blasphemy.
Announcements from the local mosques inciting people to take revenge led to radical mob attacks on local Christians. 25 churches were vandalized, over 1000 Bibles and crosses desecrated, and 360 homes ransacked and set ablaze. Christian homes were looted with possessions burned in the streets, the Christian cemetery was desecrated, and the office of the assistant commissioner, a Christian, was also destroyed. The protesters demanded that a Christian officer, Shaukat Masih Sandhu, be removed from office; this was done by the Punjab Government within hours. Mayhem and destruction continued for 10 hours before law enforcement agencies could intervene to calm the situation. The police mainly remained passive observers during this religiously motivated rampage against innocent Christian residents. The Christian locality was reduced to ashes and hundreds of families were left without shelter.
Thank God that no lives were lost. Sensing the escalating situation, Christians fled their homes barefoot and in their nightwear, leaving everything, including their valuables, behind. Some sought refuge in the sugarcane fields overnight. The return to their homes gave way to heartrending cries as they saw everything for which they had worked all their lives destroyed within a few hours.
Soon after the incident, our local partner visited in solidarity with the victims, assessing the damage and their needs. The children are traumatized and have nightmares, too frightened to go to school or gather at the church. These horrific attacks have engendered fear in all of Pakistan’s Christian citizens and will continue to haunt everyone, especially the residents of Jaranwala.
Total estimated losses: 21 churches burnt/ 360 houses set on fire /5000 families affected/2000 individuals affected
According to reports shared by the CAPC team on the ground who visited, the needs range from sustenance to household items and shelter to emotional and psychological rehabilitation. In response, CAPC raised an emergency response appeal to its faithful donors. Meanwhile sensing the emergent need to support the victims left with nothing, the CAPC board decided to delegate some funds to provide the destitute families with immediate relief of food supplies in their homes.
From August 30th to September 1st, a team of five members of CAPC Islamabad traveled to Jaranwala for relief distribution. The team visited door to door in Chak 240, Essa Nagri and Christian Town in Jaranwala talking to people, listening to tear-jerking stories, offering comfort and conveying a message of hope assuring the residents that they are not alone in their journey towards recovery. During this visit 60 very deserving families were enlisted. An acute need to minister to children was also felt, and the team decided to provide educational material and backpacks to 50 school-going children.
Although the weather was very hot and humid, the determined team visited the wholesale market in the city of Faisalabad. After a market survey, food hampers were prepared for distribution. In addition, with the children in mind, educational material was then also purchased to be distributed.
Initially, the team picked the house of a victim family from which to distribute the food hampers, but a huge crowd, including Muslims, started gathering there in the afternoon around 2 p.m. Due to security reasons, the location was then changed to a local church, which had been quickly repaired after the blaze. The team prayed with the families and distributed the food hampers, as well as the backpacks to the children.
Although the initial violence subsided, Christians continue to suffer ongoing hostility against them in the community.
In an interview, a young Christian factory worker complained that he was fired from his job by his Muslim employer.
Christian students were expelled by their teachers from their schools and told to go back to their Christian countries.
One day laborer shared that a local restaurant owner told him to bring his own cups and plates to dine in his restaurant.
CAPC hopes to actively engage in assisting with the extensive restoration efforts for these families.
Please show your care and affection to your brothers and sisters in Christ. Donate for the rebuilding and their return to normal life.
Donate: https://capc.life/donate