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Pakistan: Christians Celebrate Christmas Under Threat of Attack

AP reports:

— “No Christmas decorations brighten the tent camp sheltering Christians left homeless by the worst violence against minorities in Pakistan this year. Instead, there is a pervasive sense of fear.”

— “The Christians have received cell phone text messages warning them to expect a ‘special Christmas present,’ they say, and are terrified of their tents being torched or their church services being bombed.”

— ” ‘Last year I celebrated Christmas full of joy,’ said Irfan Masih, cradling his young son among the canvas shelters and open ditches of the camp. But now ‘the fear that we may again be attacked is in our hearts.’ ”

— ” ‘They are threatening us, (saying) ‘We will again attack you and will not let you out of homes, we will burn you inside this time,’ he said.”

— “It was the fires that most traumatized Gojra’s Christian Colony, a neighborhood in the heart of this Punjabi city about 220 miles (354 kilometers) southwest of Islamabad. In early August, hundreds of Muslims rampaged through the dirt streets, looting and torching homes as panicked residents tried to flee and thick black smoke rose into the air.”

— “Eight Christians died — seven of them from one family trapped in a burning home.”

— ” ‘We are going to celebrate Christmas in sorrow because the whole family is hurt by this,’ said Almas Hameed, whose father was shot dead during the riots. His wife, two of his children and members of his brother’s family all burned to death.”

UCAN reports on Pakistan mob attack: "A Christian house set ablaze by Muslims"

UCAN reports on Pakistan mob attack: "A Christian house set ablaze by Muslims"

R.E.A.L. Postings on Gojra

Human Rights Day – Pakistan Christian Congress Address and Video