OPEN DOORS 12/13/2013

Christmas in Chains In December of 2011, seven Christians in Laos were arrested and imprisoned by the local police for organizing a Christmas celebration in their village. The village chief said that the event was "against local customs". The believers were detained, and authorities demanded that they pay 10 million Lao Kip for their freedom. "On the night we were imprisoned, the police threw a big rock at the house where we were gathered, which fell through the roof," recalled Akamu, a Christian farmer. "The guards threatened us, saying we each had to pay two million Lao Kip and a cow. They also threatened to throw us out of the village." "They put handcuffs on our hands and shackles on our feet," said Inoke, the only woman in the group. "We were kept together in one small room for twenty days. It was like ... Read More

Rumor Triggers Violence In Egypt The way Christians in the Egyptian town of Nazlet El-Badraman describe it, the deadly rampage that engulfed their village grew out of an unfounded rumor. When it finally blew over, nearly 20 houses had been burned, nine were wounded... Read More

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