Attacks during Covid-19: a letter from an Open Doors partner

An Open Doors partner in a Muslim-majority Asian country shares how Christians are being attacked during Covid-19 restrictions.

This article was written by an Open Doors partner in a Muslim-majority country in Asia.

While the world is trying to get a grip on the changes Covid19 has brought, Christians here are reeling from a whole new type of trauma that comes from realising we are really hated. 

Today, we are asking you to pray with us for yet another teenage Christian girl who was beaten badly by Muslim leaders of the area she lives in. According to victim’s family, all this happened as a result of an old hostility toward them for being Christians. People from the neighbourhood, who had been bothering the teenager for days, finally entered her home, grabbed the girl and started to throw her around and hit her. The family were in shock as all this happened and each tried to stop the violence but they were all shoved and kicked as well. Every member of the family has injuries.

Please pray for justice and courage as they are still under pressure and being threatened. Local law enforcement has refused to do anything as they have been paid off and threatened by the influential people."

“No one listens”

She goes on to say that cases like this happen daily. "No one listens. Nowadays if something does not have a Covid-19 tag, no one does anything at all."

She means that the lawlessness has increased. "But then again, it was the same as before", a local pastor told our partner. He lives in a neighbouring town and was obviously still shocked from what happened to this Christian girl and her family a few kilometres away. "We are Christians. Who cares about us?", he sighed.

Through Open Doors partners, we try to provide help to the pastor – has had been through Open Doors training - and the family who were attacked.

Many Open Doors field workers and local church partners in Asia report that the Covid-19 and lockdown crisis lead to traumas of an already hurt and vulnerable Christian community. The need for spiritual restoration and trauma care seems evident.

"Violence against Christians continues to go on in many places and it's harder to run from it,” an Open Doors spokesperson says. "One field worker said that in his country there are no explosions of violence. No bomb attacks. But there are many more little incidents that will never grab the news headlines. 

“And then there are small pockets of Christian communities who are simply left out of official aid distribution, because they are Christians. Imagine the pressure millions of brothers and sisters currently experience and the long-term traumas this may lead to."

Even though Open Doors and its local partners are in the midst of delivering urgent aid and relief, we are also prayerfully planning ahead to see how we can help persecuted Christians in their physical and spiritual needs.