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URGENT APPEAL: PACIFIC RIM DISASTER – AND MORE TO COME?

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Published: Friday 02 October 2009

URGENT APPEAL: PACIFIC RIM DISASTER – AND MORE TO COME?

Project(s): 00-634

Catastrophe in South-East Asia: Earthquakes, typhoons and flooding


Following the typhoon in the Philippines, which caused such devastation, a series of natural disasters are afflicting other countries around the Pacific Rim.


Indonesian earthquakes

Barnabas_Fund_Aid 
A distrubution of aid provided by Barnabas Aid to the disaster victims

Two earthquakes in rapid succession have struck near Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province, Indonesia. The first quake came at 5.15pm on Wednesday 30 September, measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale and killing at least 1,100 people. Huge cracks appeared in roads, buildings buckled and collapsed, trapping thousands of people under rubble. One eyewitness said, “People are trapped, hotels have collapsed, schools have collapsed, houses have collapsed and electricity has been cut off.” But as people were trying to find and dig out survivors in heavy rain and pitch dark, a second quake with a magnitude of 6.8 hit the same area. Padang’s mayor, Fauzi Bahar, appealed for help: “We are overwhelmed with victims.”

West Sumatra is a predominantly Muslim province, with a Christian minority who suffer harassment as well as the effects of increasing islamisation and the growing application of sharia law1. But in Padang and the surrounding villages, there are many Christians affected by this disaster. One congregation has a testimony of God’s grace and mercy. While 70 of them were meeting for prayer, God told the pastor’s wife there would be an earthquake and that they should get out of the building. They did so and when the quake struck they were safe.


Tsunami in Samoa

Ten thousand kilometres away and twelve hours before the first earthquake in Indonesia, a magnitude 8.3 quake had hit the South Pacific, triggering a deadly tsunami. In American Samoa, 12-year-old Stephen Figiel-Griffin described the clean-up effort. “We went to see the villages of Amanave and Poloa. The beaches there are beautiful but now all you see is rubbish and demolished buildings. Only the church is standing, all the houses and even the school is gone. We saw hula-hoops lying around among the rubbish. We took them so that we will never forget what happened.”


Typhoon in Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia

Further north, Typhoon Ketsana is weakening after causing destruction in the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia. In the Philippines, where the death toll currently stands at 270, the nine hours of torrential rain left 80% of the capital Manila under six metres of water. The country is now having to brace itself for a second, stronger storm. Typhoon Parma is predicted to hit the area on Saturday.


Aid from Barnabas

The scale of the disaster is immense. Barnabas Aid is supporting Christians in the affected areas. We have sent a first grant of £31,500 (US$50,000; €35,000) to Indonesia to feed 1,000 Christian families for one month. Each family will receive 50kg of rice, 48 packets of instant noodles, 1 litre of cooking oil, and 2 boxes of instant milk.

In the Philippines we have sent to date two grants totalling £18,500 (US$30,000; €20,200) through the Brethren and Baptist churches for food and other basic needs. Apart from the damage to homes and possessions, in this very poor country the flood waters prevent people from working and no work means no money to buy food. “Thank you to all the supporters of Barnabas Aid for your kind generosity in helping us in this difficult time,” say the Christians who received the first grant for distribution.


Can you and your church help this urgent need?

Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, International Director of Barnabas Aid, appeals:

“We are so grateful to those who have already given to provide much-needed aid in the Philippines. But as disasters escalate around the Pacific Rim, I urge Christians across the world to ask their churches to take up a special offering this Sunday to help our Christian family affected by these disasters. I am particularly concerned for our brothers and sisters in Padang, Indonesia, a small minority who suffer under sharia law; Christians in situations like this are very vulnerable. After the 2004 tsunami, Christians in Aceh, also on the island of Sumatra, were refused aid unless they agreed to convert to Islam. So please ask your minister or elders what your church can do to help – and above all pray.”

Please ask your church to take up a collection for this urgent need or send your donation to project reference 00-634 (Disaster Fund).

 

Donate Today

If you would like to make a gift for the people of South East Asia, please click to donate online using our secure sever please quote project reference 00-634 (Disaster Fund).

 

If you prefer to telephone, dial: 0800 587 4006 from within the UK or +44 1672 565031 from outside the UK (Please quote project reference 00-634).

If you prefer to send a cheque by post: Click this link for the address of our regional office. (Please quote project reference 00-634).

 

[1] Background to Christians in West Sumatra

The Christian community of around 70,000 includes members of the mainly Christian Batak peoples, famous for their singing and music, whose heartland is in North Sumatra. Aspects of sharia law are gradually being imposed, for example, the hijab (Islamic headcovering) for all schoolgirls, even Christians. In 2003 a rule was introduced in Padang that children moving up from primary school must be proficient in reading the Qur’an or they cannot start at high school. Then female civil servants were told to wear the hijab in public. In 2006 Padang city employees were informed that Islamic alms would be deducted from their salaries. In 2008, an ordinance was adopted requiring all students from elementary to high school, as well as couples to be married, to take a written and oral test on the Qur`an, irrespective of their religion. Church leaders have been harassed with false accusations and imprisonment. [back]

 

Please Pray:
  • For all those who have lost family members and friends, or who are searching for loved ones. Pray that they will find comfort in the Lord Jesus in their time of need.

  • For those in the Philippines, who have already suffered so much but are now having to brace themselves for a second storm in such a short amount of time.

  • For our Christian brothers and sisters in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Samoa, as they come to terms with their loss. Pray that the Lord Jesus will guide them and give them strength to rebuild their lives.

  • Pray that Typhoon Parma will weaken and miss the Philippines and all other highly populated areas in the region.
christian, persecution, charity, church, persecuted, sookhdeo, Islam

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