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By Ali Hasnain A Christian medical student was denied his place at university despite achieving the required marks. Kamran Safdar claims Muslim students with lower grades were awarded seats simply because they had memorised Hafiz-e-Quran. The son of a fruit hawker from Sargodha, District of Punjab in Pakistan, Kamran Safdar’s ambition of becoming a doctor was shattered despite securing the appropriate entrance level of his chosen medical university with an 89% pass in his intermediate high school exam – even though his fellow Muslim students were accepted on lower grades. As a result, he was forced to retake the year…

By Hannah Chowdhry On 30th June 2020, I was able to attend a zoom panel with the Deputy Mayor of London for ‘Social Integration, Social Mobility and Community Engagement’, Debbie Weekes-Bernard, as a volunteer for the BACA. We were invited to talk about how the Pakistani community has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The invite said: “We invite British Pakistani Christian Association to a discussion on impact of COVID-19 on the Pakistani Community and how City Hall can address this issue for your community as we develop responsive recovery plans post COVID 19. We would be delighted if your…

By Desmond Fernandes The UK government last week sought to project itself as the champion of religiously persecuted people worldwide when it announced its Global Human Rights sanctions regime targeting those involved in religious persecution. The announcement was made during a House of Lords webinar titled the ‘Anniversary of the Launch of the Independent Review of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians’ which was attended by Hannah Chowdhry from the BACA with around 600 other guests. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab sought to reassure the public and human rights organisations that “everyone, no matter their faith or belief, deserves to be able…

Hannah Chowdhry an Essex and Redbridge Youth Councillor warns that black men are being treated unfairly by police stop and searches, as current police data reveals that searches of white and Asian men in London, has a higher yield of success. The death of George Floyd, a 44-year-old Afro-American, while being arrested by Minneapolis Police was internationally condemned for the exhibited police brutality in videos, that were shared across social media. For 8 minutes and 46 seconds, a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee to the neck of Mr Floyd who was lying face-down and who was already handcuffed with…

British Asian Christian Association has begun to reduce its homeless provision in Redbridge since the announcement by the Government that the UK lockdown is easing. Already some people who had lost their jobs, as a result of the pressure of the pandemic, have begun to find work, which had reduced the number of visitors requiring our food.  Please watch the video below before you read on: Whereas initially our morning collections had the larger attendance, we found that the numbers of visitors had reduced to around 15 people. With that in mind, and knowing that other homeless support establishments had begun…

Image of Hannah Chowdhry serving food to financially hard up and homeless people, from the Prince of Wales Car Park in Ilford. 16-year-old Hannah Chowdhry cares passionately about making a difference to her community and during the Coronavirus Pandemic, she is on the frontline helping at a daily project to feed the homeless and vulnerable in Ilford, East London as the youngest volunteer for the British Asian Christian Association. Hannah interviewed on the BBC Hannah started volunteering at the Association’s food bank and “Meals for the homeless” project in January 2020, which included cooking meals for the rough sleepers, putting…

A 63-year-old grandmother, Mrs Rasoolan Bibi, who was arrested in a crackdown on asylum seekers and refugees in Thailand, just days before Christmas (19th December 2019), has escaped the brutal detention she suffered in Bangkok’s infamous Immigration Detention Centre, thanks to BACA. Since Rasoolan Bibi’s arrest, her daughter and only caretaker Amreen Latif faced many difficulties to reunite with her mother. With the help of Thai Lawyer Mr. Wathanin Boon and a bail of 50,000 baht (£1300), she has called for the release of her mother on medical grounds. The Thai Lawyer has acted as the guarantor of Mrs Rasoolan Bibi.…

By Ali Hasnain The power and devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic has reached far and wide over the past few months, as the globe has struggled with its consequences. Lock-down is the new normal for millions of people, that also compounds the misery of the poor and in particular the Pak-Christian refugees in Thailand. Though in desperate need and despite the agonies of isolation, there remains a hope in Christ and a belief that sooner or later restrictions will be lifted. Families currently hiding in Thailand whilst seeking asylum after escaping persecution in Pakistan are already enduring dilapidated living conditions,…

The food distribution programme launched by British Asian Christian Association has been able to reach new converts to Christianity. So far around 6 ex-Muslim and ex-Hindu families that have only come to the Christian faith just a few months before the pandemic started, are now benefiting from British Asian Christian Association’s programme of food distribution. Since the impact of Covid-19, BACA has been working hard to reach many of the deprived and starving Christian communities of Pakistan and so far a total of 158 families have been reached. All the converted families have plans to be baptised later this year…

A family of four who escaped Pakistan for Thailand to avoid false blasphemy charges, have been given official refugee status from Australia and hope to travel soon. The news comes after the family have been receiving financial help and support from British Asian Christian Association to support the wife and child while the husband has been detained in the brutal Bangkok Immigration Detention Centre. Charles Bhatti (41 yrs), Sapna Charles (34 yrs) and their three children, Ashir Azeem (8 yrs), Abiah Charles (5 yrs) and 3-year-old Ethan Charles have been waiting for their release from Thailand after false blasphemy charges…