cswpress

A Christmas service in the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Lahore, Pakistan.

Celebrating in silence: The Christians in Pakistan under pressure this Christmas

Posted on 11/12/2023 by cswpress in Asia, Pakistan

Life is not easy for Christians in Pakistan. Many are economically marginalised, struggling to find work, at the mercy of those who wish to make life difficult for them. And they tend to experience an increase in adversity during periods of celebration.

This includes Christmas.

In some parts of Pakistan, Christians will be asked by their neighbours not to light their homes with decorations. Others who decide to invest in a tree may be asked to take them down by those who don’t want such symbols of Christianity in their community. Sometimes, neighbours will even forcibly remove decorations from the outside of Christian houses themselves.

Continue reading →

Women in front of a mural in North Korea.

Hermanas separadas por décadas: la historia de Kyu Li y Cheol-Ok

Posted on 11/12/2023 by cswpress in Asia ES, español, North Korea ES

‘Todos los días la extraño, espero encontrarla. Un día la encontraré. Si es que está viva.‘

Kyu Li Kim no ha visto a su hermana menor Cheol-Ok desde 1997. Como muchos otros que han huido de la extrema pobreza, el hambre y las violaciones de derechos humanos en Corea del Norte, su familia ha estado separada durante décadas, con poca o ninguna idea de su paradero o siquiera saber como esta.

Kyu Li tenía sólo 20 años cuando salió de Corea del Norte. Huyó a China, donde fue vendida a un chino/coreano por 3.000 yuanes. Ella le dijo a CSW que tenía suerte de que la familia a la que la vendieron fuera amable con ella y tuviera algo de dinero, y que vivieran lejos de la frontera, lo que significaba que era menos probable que la capturaran y la devolvieran a Corea del Norte.

Continue reading →

Sisters separated for decades – the story of Kyu Li and Cheol-Ok

Posted on 04/12/202304/09/2024 by cswpress in Asia, North Korea

‘Every day I just miss her, I will find her. One day I will find her. If she’s alive.’

Kyu Li Kim hasn’t seen her younger sister Cheol-Ok since 1997. Like so many others who have fled rampant poverty, starvation and human rights violations in North Korea, her family has been separated for decades, often with little or no idea as to their whereabouts or wellbeing.

Kyu Li was just 20 years old when she left North Korea. She fled to China where she was sold to a Chinese Korean man for 3,000 Yuan. She told CSW that she was lucky that the family she was sold to were kind to her and had some money, and that they lived further from the border which meant she was less likely to be caught and returned to North Korea.

Continue reading →

Seven years since Colombia’s peace agreement, but violence against the religious sector continues

Posted on 30/11/202315/09/2025 by cswpress in Colombia, Latin America

On 30 November 2016, the Colombian Congress ratified a peace agreement between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-Army of the People (FARC-EP), a Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group.

It was hoped that the agreement would mark the beginning of the end of the complex internal conflict which has engulfed Colombia since 1958 and involves multiple far-left and far-right illegal armed groups, criminal groups, and government forces. However, seven years later peace remains elusive; the violence continues.

Undelivered promises

At first, things seemed to be improving; from 2016 to 2017, violence related to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) appeared to decrease. However, from 2018 to 2022, and especially since 2019, the numbers have been on the upswing once again.

Continue reading →

Siete años después del acuerdo de paz en Colombia, la violencia contra el sector religioso persiste

Posted on 30/11/202315/09/2025 by cswpress in Colombia ES, español, Latin America ES

El 30 de noviembre de 2016, el Congreso colombiano ratificó un acuerdo de paz entre el gobierno y las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP), un grupo guerrillero marxista-leninista.

Se esperaba que el acuerdo marcara el comienzo del fin del complejo conflicto interno que ha afectado a Colombia desde 1958, involucrando a múltiples grupos armados ilegales de izquierda y derecha, grupos criminales y fuerzas gubernamentales. Sin embargo, siete años después, la paz sigue siendo esquiva; la violencia persiste.

Promesas incumplidas

Inicialmente, parecía que las cosas mejoraban; de 2016 a 2017, la violencia relacionada con la libertad de religión o creencia (FoRB, por sus siglas en inglés) parecía disminuir. Sin embargo, desde 2018 hasta 2022 y especialmente desde 2019, los números han vuelto a aumentar.

Continue reading →