Rev Harrison Summit, Jimmy Gunn Leader of Let’s Find Alison Campaign, BPCA’s Wilson Chowdhry, Hannah Chowdhry and Alison Houghton
The British Pakistani Christian Association are helping relaunch a campaign to find Alison MacDonald who went missing thirty years ago on the border of India and Pakistan. Alison’s family have never given up hope of finding their daughter alive, despite the length of time that has passed, as they believe that a vision her father Reverend Kenny MacDonald had of meeting his daughter will come to fruition.
Alison was brought up in the Free Church of Scotland, of which her father is an ordained minister, and had a strong Christian faith. At the time of her disappearance she was a student and had travelled to India with her friend Liz Merry, as she believed God was calling her to serve Him in India and visiting would give her confirmation of this. The two friends arrived in Kashmir on 7th August 1981 and during their travels they visited the city of Srinagar, in the state of Jammu and Kasmir. They left there on 17th August 1981 and continued to Sonamarg (northern India) where they stayed in the Glacier Guest House. It was at this point that they agreed to separate for a few days as Liz wished to go on a guided pony trek up the Kolahoi glacier, Alison preferring to stay in Sonamarg. It was whilst Liz was away Alison went missing and she was last seen at a bridge near the border with Pakistan. She was only 19 years old at the time.
When his daughter was reported missing, and the search was initiated, Rev Kenny MacDonald visited India – a journey which he has since repeated seventeen times over the years. He was often accompanied by his wife Rita and their sons too. The local Indian army, the police and many influential people were involved in the search for Alison, but to no avail.
Rev Kenny MacDonald said:
“Somebody must know her whereabouts. Her white skin would be very recognisable, and coupled with her distinctive Scottish accent it would be impossible for anyone in Pakistan to meet her without recognising these traits. There is absolutely no evidence that my daughter is dead and I firmly believe that she will be found alive”.
Jimmy Gunn, a friend of the MacDonald family, and also a member of the Free Church of Scotland, has been spearheading the campaign. He said:
“There have been many different leads over the years but we are still no closer to discovering Alison’s whereabouts. We now have a strong belief that Alison was abducted and possibly married off to someone with influence. Our search, as a result of advice and the Lord’s leading, has now focused our attention on Pakistan, Lahore in particular. We wish to contact various people groups in Pakistan and so approached Wilson Chowdhry, the chairman of the BPCA to assist us in reaching as many as possible with the details of our search for Alison.”
Wilson has offered his support to the cause of searching for Alison Macdonald and he fully supports the MacDonalds in any further investigation of their daughter’s abduction. He wishes to enlist the support and assistance of Pakistanis, and the Pakistani Christian communities both in the UK and in Pakistan, particularly in the Lahore area. To start the campaign off on Sunday 4th October 2015 we visited Scottish Asian Christian Fellowship, at Pollokshields Church of Scotland, Glasgow and together with Jimmy Gunn, had a wonderful time at their service worshipping God, fellowshipping and sharing Alison’s story. The congregation led by Rev Harrison Summit were deeply moved and pledged to help in every way possible including spreading the news about Alison’s disappearance via social media and personal networks. They also expressed a strong conviction that Alison is alive and healthy and they are in hope and faith that she will indeed be found.
Wilson Chowdhry said:
“Previous investigations have focused on India but various factors have led the family to believe Alison was abducted and taken to Pakistan, which has a close border to this disputed territory. We are asking for any information that could lead to finding Alison which will be passed on to Jimmy Gunn. He will share this with Rev Kenny Macdonald and his wife Rita. Kenny is now 80 and his sight is not improving so this is a special appeal for help from the people of Pakistan.”
He added:
“This family have suffered enough and we hope that Pakistanis of all faiths, especially Christians, respond to this appeal with love and compassion. Any evidence that leads to the discovery of Alison will be met by a reward of £20,000 that has been set aside by her family.”
Visit the campaign facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/letsfindalison?fref=ts
Anyone with any information regarding Alison should email: admin@britishpakistanichristians.org or telephone: +442085140861
Jimmy Gunn has written a song for Alison which can be heard here: http://jimmygunn.bandcamp.com/track/alison
