Tag: christians

‘We go into the streets with fear’: After the murders of two pastors, Christians in northern Colombia no longer feel safe

Posted on by cswpress in Colombia, Latin America

Many Christians in the north-central part of Colombia encompassing the neighbouring regions of Magdalena and Cesar are on edge after the targeted assassinations of two church leaders in the space of two weeks. On 29 December, an entire family of four – Pastor Marlon Lora, his wife Yurlay, and adult children Ángela and Santiago – was shot to death following a Sunday morning service at the service at the Missionary Bible Church in the Villa Paraguay neighbourhood of Aguachica, Cesar Department.

On the evening of 8 January, Iván García, a 28-year-old church leader and husband of a pastor, died after being shot six times, after leaving a religious service. In both cases, the killings were carried out by masked hitmen on motorcycles.

Mr García was followed by the hitmen as he was walking home along a dark, rural road with his 14-year-old stepdaughter and six other individuals following a spiritual celebration at the People of God Christian Vision Church, where his wife, Pastor Karen Nierles, had been invited to lead a Bible study. Pastor Nierles leads the New Rebirth in Christ Church in the village of Garital, in the Banana Cultivation Zone, in Magdalena. According to the witnesses, after being shot the young preacher fell to his knees and raised his hands in thanks to God. The hitmen left the scene without speaking.

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‘Salimos a la calle con miedo’: tras el asesinato de dos pastores, los cristianos del norte de Colombia ya no se sienten seguros

Posted on by cswpress in Colombia ES, español, Latin America ES

Muchos cristianos de la zona centro-norte de Colombia, que abarca las regiones vecinas de Magdalena y Cesar, están nerviosos tras el asesinato de dos líderes religiosos en el espacio de solo dos semanas. El 29 de diciembre, una familia entera de cuatro personas, el pastor Marlon Lora, su esposa Yurlay y sus hijos adultos Ángela y Santiago, fue asesinada a tiros tras un servicio religioso dominical por la mañana en la Iglesia Bíblica Misionera en el barrio de Villa Paraguay de Aguachica, departamento de Cesar.

En la tarde del 8 de enero, Iván García, un líder religioso de 28 años esposo de una pastora, falleció tras recibir seis disparos, tras salir de un servicio religioso. En ambos casos, los asesinatos fueron llevados a cabo por sicarios enmascarados que iban en motocicletas.

El Sr Ivan García fue seguido por los sicarios cuando caminaba hacia su casa por un camino rural oscuro con su hijastra de 14 años y otras seis personas después de una celebración espiritual en la Iglesia Visión Cristiana del Pueblo de Dios, donde su esposa, la Pastora Karen Nierles, había sido invitada a dirigir un estudio bíblico. La pastora Nierles dirige la Iglesia Nuevo Renacimiento en Cristo en la comunidad de Garital, en la Zona de Cultivo de Banano, en Magdalena. Según los testigos, después de recibir el disparo, el joven predicador cayó de rodillas y levantó las manos en agradecimiento a Dios. Los sicarios se marcharon del lugar sin decir palabra.

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Every Sunday…

Posted on by cswpress in Cuba, Latin America

Every Sunday, between 12:30pm and 1pm, Berta Soler Fernández prepares herself.  She and her husband, Ángel Moya Acosta step outside their home, a square, two story building painted red, with a light green porch. They have every intention of making their way to a Roman Catholic Church in the Miramar section of Havana, Cuba. The church is named for Saint Rita of Cascia, the patron saint of abuse, loss, peace, desperate cases and lost causes. They will attend Mass and offer up prayers.  

Berta is dressed all in white. 

Every Sunday, between 12:30pm and 1pm, Berta and Ángel open the door of their home and are met by National Revolutionary Police (NRP) officers and Department of State Security (DSS) agents. Mobs of paramilitary members, some holding signs with offensive and insulting messages, hold up mobile phones as they record the couple’s movements. The two are forced into DSS cars with private license plates and, instead of going to Mass, they are taken to an NRP station. They are ordered to undergo an intrusive medical examination. They refuse because they have not asked for an examination and know that they will not be provided with the results anyway. Those will go to the DSS. Berta and Ángel are then sent to semi-dark prison cells where they will be held until the following morning. They will be taken by car and dropped off near their home, which also serves as the national headquarters for the Ladies in White, a dissident group that has been holding peaceful protests in support of political prisoners since 2003. 

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Cada Domingo…

Posted on by cswpress in Cuba ES, español, Latin America ES

Cada domingo, entre las 12:30pm y las 13:00pm, Berta Soler Fernández se alista. Ella y su marido, Ángel Moya Acosta, salen de su casa, un edificio cuadrado de dos pisos pintado de rojo, con un porche verde claro. Tienen la intención de dirigirse a una iglesia católica romana en la sección Miramar de La Habana, Cuba. La iglesia lleva el nombre de Santa Rita de Casia, la santa patrona de los casos desesperados, del abuso, de la pérdida, de la paz, y de las causas perdidas. Asistirán a misa y ofrecerán sus oraciones. 

Berta está vestida toda de blanco. 

Cada domingo, entre las 12:30pm y las 13:00pm, Berta y Ángel abren la puerta de su casa y son recibidos por oficiales de la Policía Nacional Revolucionaria (PNR) y agentes del Departamento de Seguridad del Estado (DSE). Multitudes de paramilitares, algunos con carteles con mensajes ofensivos e insultantes, sostienen teléfonos móviles mientras graban los movimientos de la pareja. Los dos son obligados a subir a coches del DSE con matrícula privada y, en lugar de ir a misa, los llevan a una comisaría de la PNR. Les ordenan que se sometan a un examen médico invasivo. Se niegan porque no han pedido el examen y saben que, de todos modos, no les proporcionarán los resultados. Éstos irán al DSE. Berta y Ángel son enviados a celdas penitenciarias semioscuras donde permanecerán retenidos hasta la mañana siguiente. Los llevarán en coche y los dejarán cerca de su casa, que también sirve como sede nacional de las Damas de Blanco, un grupo disidente que lleva realizando protestas pacíficas en apoyo de los presos políticos desde 2003. 

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Syria: Ten years on, why does it matter?

Posted on by cswpress in Middle East & North Africa, Syria

June 2024 marked ten years since the Islamic State (IS) declared a caliphate in Syria. Years of brutal conflict including flagrant and well-documented human rights violations, including atrocity crimes, by a complex web of aggravators resulted in one of the highest death counts of any recent war and the highest number of displaced persons in modern history.

Yet in May of last year, Syria was welcomed back into the Arab League, the same government invited to participate in talks to further international cooperation that, just a decade earlier, had deployed chemical weapons against its own civilians. Furthermore, in summer 2023, Russia vetoed the renewal of a mechanism that had enabled the UN to deliver aid without the Syrian government’s consent to parts of north-west Syria not under its control – a resolution that had been in place for nine years. The year rounded out four months later with Syria present at the COP28 climate conference even as France issued an arrest warrant for President Bashar al-Assad over alleged  complicity in the chemical gas attacks.

Additionally, the Turkish president currently appears to be working towards normalising relations with Syria, despite opposing the Assad regime for over a decade and the ongoing occupation of parts of northern Syria by Turkish forces and allied Islamist militia.

It is clear that the world is beginning to forget the atrocities of the Syrian Civil War as well as the chaotic campaign of IS that saw whole cities reduced to rubble, wreaking havoc on the nation. But beyond the short clips of media coverage that defined our news cycles for years, what exactly happened between 2012 and 2014, and why does it matter today?

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