Martyr's Children Suffer

Allie Martin of Agape Press has written a good article titled Martyrs' Children Suffer as Indonesia's Anti-Christian Persecution Escalates.

The Voice of the Martyr's, Director of News Services Todd Nettleton, is quoted in the article saying, "Children whose mother and father are killed by radical Muslims -- what do they do? How do they continue to get their education?" Nettleton asks. The answer, he points out, is a well-meaning but frequently impractical generosity on the part of relatives.

"The Indonesian culture has a great love for children, and so it's very common for family members to take in the orphans and to allow them to live with them," the ministry spokesman says. "But obviously that's a financial strain, and to continue your education costs money."

Orphans that are taken in by family members may be wanted and loved, Nettleton asserts, but the care and education of these children are still expensive. "So if the family is very poor, that's a very difficult thing," he says. "And if there is no family, obviously that's a difficult thing," he adds.

...

"I think that the radical Muslims have gained more and more political power," Nettleton says, "and they have used that to pressure the government to support their efforts to close down the churches."

Indonesia's constitution purportedly guarantees religious freedom, and "the government talks a good game about religious freedom," the VOM spokesman contends, "but more and more in the last 12 months, we're seeing [that government officials] don't actually step up to the plate and protect Christians."

Please continue your prayers for Indonesia.