Sudan: Bringing Hope to the "Least of These", Christians in the North Also Suffer Under Islamic Regime, Page 3

Bringing Hope to the "Least of These"

     Church pastors will follow up in the next few weeks with the people who had seen the movie. We were also able to assist the church in Sudan by delivering supplies to a village which is also located in a long time no fly zone. These materials will be used to start a Bible school in this area of Southern Sudan.

     Although there was a cease-fire at the time of our visit, we did not meet a single person in Sudan who believed it would last. We were informed by reliable sources that the GOS had moved large numbers of troops into several areas of Southern Sudan. "An obvious build up of troops and equipment during the cease-fire can only send one message," said one UN official. In addition, there were reports that GOS-backed militia had attacked several villages in the area where we were and killed an undetermined amount of civilians. It was reported that the militia had totally looted and then destroyed these villages. It should be noted there was no military presence of the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) anywhere near these villages. In addition, we were told the GOS used helicopter gunships to assist the militia against unarmed citizens.

     Regardless of whether the cease-fire continues to hold, ICC plans to continue our work in Southern Sudan. The needs are as urgent as the ICC team has ever seen in Sudan and most likely will continue to be for the foreseeable future. With the build up of arms by the GOS in the areas visited, ICC is very concerned should the cease-fire be broken, as the suffering by the people of Southern Sudan will be worse than ever.

     ICC is currently raising funds to get another 23 tons of aid delivered to the area of Eastern Equatoria mentioned earlier. These people have no other groups helping them at this time. Please assist these efforts by making a contribution to our project Sudan: Hand of Hope. Your help is needed as soon as possible as a trip is planned for early 2003.

Christians in the North Also 
Suffer Under Islamic Regime

      Approximately 2.5 million refugees from Southern Sudan live in makeshift camps surrounding Khartoum in Northern Sudan. These refugees are mainly African Christians who have lived for centuries in the areas of Southern Sudan where the 20-year- old civil war is being fought. They have either fled to the north, or have been transported by the Government of Sudan (GOS) in order to clear the population of the southern regions of non-Muslim peoples. These refugees are generally extremely poor and manage to live by seeking employment as servants to the generally well off Muslims who control the country. Unemployment is extremely high as the number of persons seeking employment far exceeds available jobs. In addition, those employed earn very little and often must support their families on their meager earnings. Although many of these people live in near poverty conditions, they are on fire to serve God at all cost.

     The Government of Sudan does everything in its power to deny basic human rights to these Christians. They are discriminated against when attempting to obtain routine health care, unless they are willing to renounce their faith and become Muslims. Christian prisoners remain incarcerated for extended periods, unless they are willing to deny Jesus and follow Mohammed. Churches in Northern Sudan must operate their own schools in an effort to avoid the Islamization of their children. Churches and homes are destroyed at the whim of government officials, but permission to build new churches is practically impossible to obtain. However, even under these circumstances the church in Northern Sudan continues to grow and reach out to their countrymen.

     ICC's outreach to sustain the church in Northern Sudan is funded by our Operation Assist - Sudan. Funds are used to support the operation of Christian elementary schools and medical clinics, economic projects to assist the poor, and the church's evangelical outreaches. Gifts to Operation Assist and designated for Sudan are sent to Northern Sudan to support these bold Christians. We will gladly send you more information on Operation Assist upon request.

(Click here for more information on Sudan.)

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POSTED:  January 28, 2003