forced displacement – FoRB in Full

Where justice fails: How cultures of impunity lead to forced displacement in India and Mexico

Posted on 29/07/2025 by cswpress in Asia, India, Latin America, Mexico

On 11 June the families and loved ones of Neelkant and Pushpa Verma gathered for what should have been a day of celebration. The young Christian couple were due to marry in Raipur in India’s Chhattisgarh State, no doubt filled with excitement at what should have been one of the happiest days of their lives, and all the joy to follow in the years to come.

But this excitement was cut short when three villagers in in their early twenties stormed the wedding venue, cutting off the electricity supply and declaring that Christians were not allowed to hold celebrations in the village. When Neelkant’s family attempted to contact the electricity board, over 30 villagers gathered outside of the venue, vandalising guests’ vehicles and setting the building on fire.

The mob proceeded to hurl abuse at the women and tear some of their sarees. When the women’s children tried to defend their mothers, they were pelted with stones and forced to seek refuge in a nearby house. Once the victims were inside, they called the police who arrived quickly and escorted them to safety, managing to disperse the attackers.

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Donde la justicia falla: Cómo las culturas de impunidad conducen al desplazamiento forzado en India y México

Posted on 29/07/2025 by cswpress in Asia ES, español, India ES, Latin America ES, Mexico ES

El 11 de junio, las familias y seres queridos de Neelkant y Pushpa Verma se reunieron para lo que debería haber sido un día de celebración. La joven pareja cristiana debía casarse en Raipur, en el estado indio de Chhattisgarh, sin duda todos estaban llenos de emoción por lo que debería haber sido uno de los días más felices de sus vidas y por toda la alegría que les esperaba en los años venideros.

Pero esta emoción se vio truncada cuando tres mienbros de su comunidad de alrededor de veintite años de edad irrumpieron en el lugar de la boda, cortando el suministro eléctrico y declarando que los cristianos no podían celebrar bodas en el pueblo. Cuando la familia de Neelkant intentó contactar con la compañía eléctrica, más de 30 residentes se congregaron frente al lugar, destrozando los vehículos de los invitados e incendiando el edificio.

La turba comenzó a insultar a las mujeres y a rasgar algunos de sus saris [prenda tradicional india]. Cuando los hijos de las mujeres intentaron defender a sus madres, fueron apedreados y obligados a refugiarse en una casa cercana. Una vez dentro, llamaron a la policía, que llegó rápidamente y los escoltó a un lugar seguro, logrando dispersar a los atacantes.

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A year since over 170 Protestants were forced from their homes, authorities in Mexico’s Hidalgo State must take action to protect religious minorities

Posted on 25/04/202525/04/2025 by cswpress in Latin America, Mexico

It was the end of 2015 when Rogelio Hernández Baltazar returned to his community in Rancho Nuevo in the Huejutla de Reyes Municipality of Hidalgo State. He had spent several months working in the fields of Coahuila in Northern Mexico, because there were no opportunities for work or to generate income to support his family in his own village.

This time things were different; he returned to his community transformed after having struggled for years with alcohol addiction and anger management. While he was working in Coahuila a colleague had invited him to the local Fundamental Baptist Church, where he made the decision to convert to Christianity. What he did not know was that it would have serious consequences within his community.

When Rogelio returned home things seemed not to have changed much, but something inside him had. He had only been attending the church in Coahuila for two months, but when he returned to his indigenous Nahuatl community, people noticed such a significant change in him that they began to wonder what had happened to him in his workplace. With the little understanding that he had, Rogelio began to explain that his radical change was due to what he had read in the Bible, so he invited people to Bible studies in his home.

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A un año de que más de 170 protestantes fueran expulsados de sus hogares, las autoridades del Estado de Hidalgo, México, deben tomar medidas para proteger a esta minoría religiosa

Posted on 25/04/2025 by cswpress in español, Latin America ES, Mexico ES

A finales de 2015, Rogelio Hernández Baltazar regresó a su comunidad en Rancho Nuevo, municipio de Huejutla de Reyes, estado de Hidalgo. Había pasado varios meses trabajando en los campos de Coahuila, en el norte de México, porque no había oportunidades de trabajo ni de generar ingresos para mantener a su familia en su propio pueblo.

Esta vez las cosas fueron diferentes; regresó a su comunidad transformado tras años de lucha contra la adicción al alcohol y controlar la ira. Mientras trabajaba en Coahuila, un colega lo invitó a la Iglesia Bautista Fundamental local, donde decidió entrar al cristianismo. Lo que no sabía era que esto le traería graves consecuencias en su comunidad.

Cuando Rogelio regresó a casa, las cosas parecían no haber cambiado mucho, pero algo dentro de él sí. Solo llevaba dos meses asistiendo a la iglesia en Coahuila, pero al regresar a su comunidad indígena náhuatl, la gente notó un cambio tan significativo en él, que empezaron a preguntarse qué le había pasado en su lugar de trabajo. Con la poca comprensión que tenía, Rogelio comenzó a explicar que su cambio radical se debía a lo que había leído en la Biblia, así que invitó a la gente a participar en estudios bíblicos en su casa.

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From faith to exile in Guerrero, Mexico

Posted on 14/02/202414/02/2024 by cswpress in Latin America, Mexico

Damián and his family live on the outskirts of the centre of Ayutla de los Libres¹ in south-western Mexico. In May 2022, they and two other families bought the land after they were expelled from their village because they belong to a religious minority.

On 25 March 2021, Damián, age 38 at the time, was called before the Ahucachahue community assembly in Ayutla de los Libres Municipality, located in the Costa Chica region of Guerrero. The people of Ahucachahue are Mixteco, and the majority practice Roman Catholicism. At the meeting, community leaders informed him that he had been appointed to lead the festivals in honor of San Isidro Labrador,² their patron saint. Damián would be responsible for contracting musical groups and suppliers of alcohol and food, in addition to the administrative tasks that accompany the rituals specific to the Roman Catholic saint.