Nagorno-Karabakh - prayer still needed
In January we prayed for the 120,000 Christians stranded in Nagorno-Karabakh, a landlocked enclave between Armenia and Azerbaijan, asking God to halt the obstructions to one of Christianity's oldest communities. The situation continues and requires immediate action. Currently, inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh cannot travel freely out of the region; 954 are still stranded on either side of the corridor. Only the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers’ vehicles are allowed to travel along this corridor, which is clearly insufficient to fulfil the needs of the population. It is vitally important that goods can get through in time for the sowing season. Furthermore, the repeated disruption of gas and electricity supply to the territory has resulted in serious violations of the rights of the inhabitants: many have lost their jobs and children are deprived of education since schools had to close. Azerbaijani military positions are within Armenian sovereign territory, sometimes well beyond any disputed border.
Sudan: school for peace
‘Peace is the wish of everyone in Kadugli,’ says Bishop Hassan James. The area suffered decades of civil war and has recurrent tribal violence, cattle theft, murder, intimidation and displacement. Against this volatile backdrop a symbol of hope for the present and future has risen and flourished - the Peace Episcopal Primary School, supported by the diocese. ‘We started the school as the society needed more options for affordable children’s education; especially orphans, poor families and Christian children,’ said Hassan. ‘It’s called The Peace School because living in a war zone, needing peace, we must teach children about peace.’ Over 480 pupils from ages 6 to 15 attend, with a separate kindergarten for 80 children. Bishop Hassan works hard to promote peaceful relationships between the Christian and Muslim communities. He regularly speaks on the need for peace via local radio and advocates for peace and reconciliation efforts with local authorities.
Malaysia: Indonesian domestic worker's fight for justice
‘Help me, I am being tortured by my employer. I'm covered in blood every day, help me!’ Meriance Kabu wrote, then folded the note and threw it out of the locked iron gates of the apartment where she worked as a live-in maid. A passer-by found it and took it to a retired police officer. ‘If she had stayed there, she would have died,’ he later said. That same day Malaysian police knocked on the door of the apartment Meriance hadn't left in eight months. ‘I felt as if I was falling,’ she says, recalling when she saw the officers. ‘They said, “Don't be afraid, we are here”. At that moment I felt like I could breathe again. The officers called me closer and I told them the truth.’ Her story contained distressing details. Nine years later she still fights for justice. Recently Malaysia and Indonesia agreed to improve the conditions of Indonesian domestic workers. Indonesia is lobbying for the case against Meriance's employer to be resumed.
Global: lightning strikes causing fires
Researchers, including those from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia, say that lightning-ignited wildfires produce large emissions of carbon, nitrogen oxides and other gases, playing a key role in the climate crisis. Previous studies already found that the global occurrence of lightning flashes may increase due to global heating over land and in the oceanic region of south-eastern Asia. A warming planet could lead to more ‘hot lightning’ strikes in many parts of the world. Hot lightning bolts are much more likely to spark wildfires and the climate crisis could lead to more wildfire-inducing ‘hot lightning’. Lightning strikes of all kinds could increase by 30% by 2100, researchers say,and a new model suggests major ice sheet collapse will happen before the Paris Climate Agreement temperatures are reached.
