Lord Alton visits Thailand Immigration Detention Centre
Please sign our petition (click here) Fox News report (click here)
In a few hours Chairman of the BPCA, Wilson Chowdhry, will be leaving for Thailand for a three day trip during which he will meet Lord Alton, senior officers of the UNHCR, and the British Embassy. During this meeting Mr Chowdhry will raise concerns about the mistreatment, brutality and destitution faced by thousands of Pak-Christians in Thailand.
After a series of email and telephone conversations with Mr Chowdhry in July, Lord Alton added a two day visit to Thailand (4th and 5th September) into his schedule in South East Asia, where he was visiting Karen Christians in Burma. During his visit he met with asylum seekers, and visited the notorious Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok. A report can be read here (click here).
The BPCA has commissioned a report entitled “Education, Human Rights Violations in Pakistan and the Scandal Involving UNHCR and Asylum Seekers in Thailand”. The book was co-authored by Professor Desmond Fernandes and Professor Rainer Rothfuss, two pre-eminent genocide experts and was completed yesterday. Mr Chowdhry will print out initial drafts which will be delivered to Lord Alton, the British Embassy and UNHCR. It is hoped that this will change the approach of the UNHCR who can take up to 10 years to resettle asylum seekers from Thailand, resulting in 8 deaths just this year of those with treatable and curable conditions. It is hoped the same report will also be delivered directly.
Producing and printing detailed reports such as this is an expensive process, however, these reports empower the
global political process and can help change legislative frameworks.
The BPCA is committed to bringing societal change that is longstanding
and not just reactive. From next week the report will be available on our website at a cost of £2.50, and in October a printed publication will be available both from our website and from Amazon. The profits from the sales of this seminal work, together with your donations, will enable our advocacy work to continue and grow.
Earlier this year in April Wilson Chowdhry visited Thailand to assess the needs of the thousands of Pakistani Christian asylum seekers in Thailand, which the UN believes to be in the region of 4600, however German NGO International Solidarity for Human Rights places the figure closer to 8000. Reasons for Christians fleeing Pakistan are numerous and include the notorious blasphemy law of Pakistan; biased Constitution of Pakistan; large scale bomb attacks and frequent mass mob attacks on Christian communities; untouchable status; “honour” killings for interfaith marriages; and lack of equality.
An alarming statistic uncovered by Muslim NGO “The Movement of Solidarity and Peace”, based in Pakistan, states that every year 700 Christian girls are kidnapped, raped and forced into Islamic marriage – is it any surprise then that Pak-Christians are fleeing their homeland in their droves? The majority of Pak-Christian asylum seekers in Thailand come from wealthy or middle-class backgrounds, forced to flee their homeland when blasphemy allegations have been laid on them by envious Muslims.
BPCA has now initiated a school that serves 50 Pak-Christian asylum seekers’ children and we have also been providing them with medical supplies and treatment. Additionally we are supporting people with food parcels and rent payments in order that they can maintain their squalid living conditions, as we simply do not have the resources to help improve them. The need is too great for NGOs to help and collaborative partnerships between charities working in Thailand are a beacon of hope and almost idyllic. But there is still great need and BPCA would ask that you please help us make the lives of these suffering minorities more bearable.
Please Pray:
UNHCR and The British Embassy will read the report and heed what is said
Lasting change for asylum seekers and refugees will be implemented
God will strengthen, sustain and protect Pak-Christian asylum seekers while they await processing and resettlement
Prejudice against Pak-Christians will cease and there will be more unity amongst believers
Please consider giving to our work for the innocent. Donations can be sent using these bank details:
Sort Code: 20-44-22
Account number: 43163318
Bank: Barclays
SWIFTBIC: BARCGB22
Cheques should be made payable to the BPCA to our address: 57 Green Lane, Ilford, Essex, IG1 1XG.
BRITISH PAKISTANI CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION is a trading name for BRITISH PAKISTANI CHRISTIANS LTD which is a charity entered onto the Register of Charities with the Registered Charity Number 1163363
Thank you.
With your support we hope to change the lives of millions of Christians in Pakistan.