Christian ministry Help The Persecuted is calling on people around the world to sign their
petition and stand with hundreds of Afghan Christian refugees who found sanctuary in the United States. If they are sent back to their home country, they will face extreme persecution including torture and potentially execution at the hands of the Taliban regime.
The US government recently revoked the legal status of numerous Afghan Christian refugees. The charity says the timing is devastating as these persecuted believers, who came into the United States through legal pathways, were given only seven days to self-deport to Afghanistan or face forced removal by the government.
In response Help The Persecuted has launched a petition calling on the US Department of Homeland Security to change the current policies putting Afghan Christians at risk of deportation.
“What happens to Christians in Afghanistan, practicing their faith in the shadow of the Taliban? The stories of those we have helped are devastating,” explained Help The Persecuted CEO Joshua Youssef.
He shared: “Timothy was imprisoned and tortured for his faith, with a gun held to his head. Hakim was placed in a prison cell where a person was beheaded every Friday. When it was his turn, he was miraculously spared. Nabi was tortured so severely for his faith that he could no longer walk and was later executed, leaving his wife Nagma and children destitute…Now, refugees are at risk of deportation right back into the hands of their executioners.”
Nashimus, one of the hundreds of Afghan Christians who found his legal status in the United States suddenly revoked, said “I cannot go back to Afghanistan….If I go back, it is like I am signing my suicide mission.”
Shuja, another Christian in the same situation, said, “Many people who are believers, we know they are in jail. Their children are in prison. There are hundreds in Taliban’s jail. They are raped. They are tortured…That is the reality.”
You can be a voice for Afghan Christians today by signing Help The Persecuted’s petition at htp.org/petition. It demands protection for these Afghan Christians and a change to the current policies putting them at risk for deportation, where they will face persecution and likely death.
Joshua Youssef concluded: “Today, I’m asking you to be a voice for the voiceless. For Afghan Christians whose very lives hang in the balance. For those who gave up everything to follow Christ and might lose everything again.”
For info on the work of Help The Persecuted go to: www.htp.org
Editors Note: To request a media interview with Help The Persecuted CEO Joshua Youssef or Help The Persecuted UK Ambassador Tim Osmond contact: Peter Wooding pete@htp.org+44 7500 903067
