Join us in Prayer on World Refugee Day
20 June is the Feast of the Irish Martyrs. It is also World Refugee Day. ACN’s Mark von Riedemann spoke about the current refugee situation in Africa. Please join us in prayer for the intercession of the Irish Martyrs for refugees around the world.
By ACN Staff
Internal Displaced Persons in Burkina Faso. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
On the 20 June the world marks World Refugee Day. Recently Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) published our Religious Freedom Report. One of the most worrying trends to be observed in the report was the increase in Islamist extremism in Africa. Almost 50% of the countries that ACN identified as suffering from the most severe levels of religious persecution are in Africa. These Islamists insurgencies have forced millions of people to flee their homes in fear of their lives.
Mark von Riedemann representing ACN at the European Parliament. (Credit: European Parliament, EPP Group)
ACN’s Mark von Riedemann was chair of the editorial committee for ACN’s Religious Freedom Report. He said the following about the worrying trend in Africa:
“According to a January 2021 report by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, there was a 43 percent spike in militant Islamist group violence in Africa in 2020. The almost 5,000 reported events linked to these groups represent a record level of violence. The resulting movement of populations fleeing the violence, whether as internally displaced persons (IDPs) or as refugees to neighboring countries, is of great concern.”
Mark further explained that this mass displacement of people can have serious impacts on the countries involved. Most of the people who are forced to flee work in agriculture. This means their mass displacement has huge consequences on agricultural produce on top of the refugees no longer having access to their usual food and income. This can lead to famine.
A map produced by ACN detailing religious freedom around the world. Red indicates the countries suffering from the worst religious persecution. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need).
ACN currently identifies 15 million internally displaced people in 12 countries suffering from severe levels of religious persecution in Africa. Some of the countries with the worst refugee crises include Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burkina Faso. Other parts of the world also have a large number of refugees as result of severe religious persecution. The Middle East is one of the places that springs to mind. In recent years, ACN has been supporting project in both Lebanon and Syria to help displaced Syrian Christians. The 20 June is the Feast of the Irish Martyrs on top of being World Refugee Day. Please join us in prayer for the intercession of the Irish Martyrs for refugees all around the world.