09/15/2008: Ethnic Conflict Affects Ministry in Assam
Ethnic Conflict Affects Ministry in Assam
In the midst of ethnic tensions, God is touching people, like this young girl, with His redemptive love. |
As persecution in Orissa continues, Gospel for Asia missionaries in far northeastern India encounter challenges of a different kind. Strife between ethnic and political groups is common in Assam and the other states of Northeast India.
A conflict is raging in Assam over the influx of people illegally immigrating from Bangladesh. Thousands of indigenous Assamese youth are actively searching for these immigrants to stir up trouble against them.
The youth have expressed that they feel the government has done nothing to keep illegal immigration in check, so they feel they must take matters into their own hands.
"They enter Muslim settlements and ask for documents. If we cannot produce them, we are beaten up and dragged to police stations, but if we do, the papers are torn to shreds," said Akhtar Ali, a rickshaw-puller, speaking to the BBC. Ali was evicted from his district in August.
At least 10 Muslims have been discovered dead, and many more have been kidnapped.
Assam's situation is volatile, and some fear that the conflict could explode like it did in the early 1980s when over 3,000 lives were lost in an anti-immigrant drive that lasted several years.
The conflict has affected the ministry of GFA missionaries in Assam, making it dangerous for them to travel. GFA leaders ask for prayer that the Lord will bring about peace in this state so that the ministry of the Gospel can continue unhindered.
