Keith Davies
On August 17th, one thousand families fled as a result of a riot because of a false blasphemy charge against an eleven year-old girl named Rimsha Masih in Meharbadi, near Islamabad. Eight hundred of the families who fled have returned to their homes.
However, we have 200 families who were not able to return – as a result of damage to their homes or being too fearful to return to the area; some are living in fear in forests, residing in make-shift tents. We need to help re-settle them in new homes. Most are poor and can only afford one month’s rent from their meager wages. Our people on the ground are endeavoring to find new rentals and we need to provide (if we can) about $200 per family, which will allow them to pay the three months rent required in Pakistan to secure rental property, which is standard for the real estate market in that country. We have 200 families needing assistance, which requires about $40,000 of financial support. We would please ask all of you to consider sending in a donation to help us with this emergency effort. Please donate:
We thank you for your support in the past and we pray we can help rescue more people from the terrible persecution which is only becoming worse as Islamic fundamentalism takes root.
Blessings
Postscript:
Blasphemy Laws in Action: There are a large number of Christians living in the slum Areas of Islamabad, the federal Capital of Pakistan. Meharbadi is one of the un-authorized areas in the back yard of sector G -11 and F-1. It is about 1,000 meters away from the Kashmir Road . Poor Christians left Meharabadi on the night of 17th August, 2012 when thousands of Muslims from Islamabad and its surrounding gathered outside of Meharabadi and blocked the Kashmir road in protest of burning Quranic pages by the Christian Girl Rimsha, daughter of Misrak Masih ,aged 11, resident of Meharbadi .
According to the Muslim local man, named Al-syed Muhammad Ammad, he had seen her burning the book of Noorani Qaida (which is a basic learning Quran by Children). Within no-time this news spread in the Meharabadi and hundreds of Muslims gathered outside the house of Rimsha and they beat the little girl and her mother. Later the police in two mobiles arrived in the Meharabadi and arrested Rimsha Masih and taken Rimsha’s Mother, sister and Aunty in to the custody for the protection from the Muslims extremists. Police had lodged an FIR (First Information report) bearing number 303/12 under section 295-B.