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EMERGENCY IN BANGKOK
THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC IN Thailand
Thailand's economy is mainly based on tourism. Due to the Covid19 pandemic, the country has had its borders closed since March 2020, causing a serious economic crisis, closed companies, and unemployment.
The government has implemented social assistance programs for its citizens, but these do not cover immigrants, who have no one to turn to.
With a new wave of covid19 cases, on August 1, 2021, the capital, Bangkok, adopted a very strict lockdown, which aggravated the crisis.
A small portion of the immigrants in Bangkok are Pakistani, more specifically, persecuted Christians who went to Thailand in search of refuge.
PERSECUTION
Pakistan, a mostly Muslim state, is one of the 5 countries where Christians are most persecuted in the world. Radical fundamentalists impose their will by force (understand Sharia Law), and any non-Muslim person is subject to false accusations of "blasphemy", which however unreasonable, can turn into death sentences. For Christians there, daily life is one of constant tension, because at any time, on the street, at work, in the supermarket, even at home, they can be targets of threats.
Shafqat Emmanuel e Shagufta Kausar, cristãos acusados de blasfêmia
ESCAPE TO THAILAND
For some victims of this religious radicalism in Pakistan, the last and most extreme alternative to preserving life was to flee to Thailand in search of refuge. It turns out that, whether out of simple ignorance or deceived by human traffickers, they didn't know that the country is not a signatory to any international convention for the protection of refugees!
As a result, a few weeks after their arrival, they became, in the eyes of the government, illegal immigrants, subject to detention. To discourage the arrival of new immigrants, the immigration police from time to time carry out real terror campaigns, surrounding neighborhoods, invading homes, and taking entire families, including children, arrested. The Immigrant Detention Center in Bangkok is internationally renowned for the poor quality of its facilities and food. They are overcrowded cells, where heat, high humidity, and intentional delay in providing medical care are used to reinforce the atmosphere of terror.
For Pakistani Christians seeking refuge, this situation has become their worst nightmare, as they are forced to live with the same climate of tension that they lived in their country, only now in a country that is not their own, in a culture and language they do not understand, and no prospect of a solution.
Barred from returning because of persecution, without local or international support, they ended up at the mercy of criminal networks, which do not hesitate to exploit their vulnerability. They survive precariously, living in tenements, in constant fear of being arrested, surviving from underemployment, most of the time, in a system of slave labor.
Abuna Thailand Action
When we became aware of this reality, in 2015, our first reaction was to identify the families, collecting testimonies, documenting, and assembling dossiers to seek resettlement for them in other countries, including Brazil. So far, however, despite our efforts, we have not been heard.
Our local Etnos partners, in a survey, carried out in 2016, identified many cases of chronic health problems within the community, caused by stress, sedentary lifestyle, and poor diet. In response, a program called "Clínica na Bolsa" was started, led by two nurses who provided basic health care from house to house.
In 2018, we took a bolder step, opening a shelter to shelter single women and/or widows, extremely vulnerable, victims, of violence and exploitation.
emergency campaign
The pandemic, and more specifically this last lockdown, directly affected these families, who were already needy, eliminating any form of income generation, causing more HUNGER.
To face this situation, with your support, ABUNA intends to assist 30 FAMILIES with basic food at the cost of US$ 48.00 per family, in the next 2 months (August and September).
Join us in this action! "Adopt" one of these families for the next 2 months.
Participate. Deliver. Share. Donate.
All support is welcome.
Be the Father's answer to our brothers and sisters!
FOR BANK TRANSFERS
ABUNA
Bank: Banco do Brasil
Branch: 8053-5
Account: 36.341-3
CNPJ: 29.615.177/0001-84
SWIFT – BRASBRRJSBO
IBAN – BR24.000000000.8053.0000.363413.C1
For your donation to be directed to this campaign, send us the receipt by email to admin@abuna.org.br, or by WhatsApp: 44.9.9117-8644 with the word "EMERGENCY".
For other forms of donation, please contact: admin@abuna.org.br