The Wall Street Journal reported that the families of five missionaries are suing Chiquita. The missionaries were killed by Colombian guerrilla fighters. The suit comes after the company paid a $25 million fine when it admitted to paying money to the FARC, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the state department.

The protection money was "motivated to protect the lives of our employees and their families," company spokesman Ed Loyd said. "We are contesting the suits vigorously and believe we have a strong defense."

The missionaries were members of the New Tribes Mission, which has had its own controversy over whether or not to pay money to terrorist groups.

Posted by Rob Moll at March 13, 2008 | Comments (1)

Taliban officials recently told media outlets that the South Korean government paid at least $4 million for the release of 21 hostages.

Newsweek reports that an anonymous senior commander said the South Korean government delivered the cash to the insurgents in the Pakistani frontier city of Quetta.

Twenty-three church volunteers were abducted in July while traveling in Afghanistan on a medical-aid trip. The missionaries were released after six weeks and two men were killed.

The commander told Newsweek that the Taliban knew that U.S. and Afghan intelligence were closely watching the hostage negotiations that were taking place between South Korean and Taliban officials so they agreed on a secret payoff.

South Korea has been criticized for negotiating with the Taliban. After the hostages were released, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi told the Associated Press that he plans to abduct more foreigners, reinforcing fears that South Korea's decision would create more hostage situations.

A South Korean presidential secretary told Newsweek, "We aren't aware of any new developments in the case. Our government position is we didn't pay any ransom for the hostages."

Considering the Taliban's militant reputation and that they spoke on the condition of anonymity, it is difficult to trust anything the officials say.

Kidnapping foreign citizens is not new. In 2003, Christianity Today covered Philippines missionary Gracia Burnham, who believed her husband would be alive if someone had paid a proper ransom. CT has also covered the United State's Kidnapping Policy.

Previous coverage of the hostage situation includes:
In the Aftermath of a Kidnapping | The South Korean missionary movement seeks to mature without losing its zeal.

Costly Commitment | In wake of abductions, Korean Christians take heavy criticism.

South Korean Politicians Blame U.S. for Taliban Hostages | Korean officials seek direct negotiations with kidnappers.

Posted by Sarah Pulliam at February 7, 2008 | Comments (0)

Compass Direct
A news service that provides reports, interviews, and analyses of Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith.

Dictionary Of African Christian Biography
An ever-growing collection of African Christians’ biographies, written largely by African Christians. Many people profiled here whom you won’t find in print.

Lausanne
Site of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. Includes the Lausanne Covenant and Manila Manifesto, the Lausanne Occasional Papers, newsletters, conference materials, Lausanne World Pulse, among other resources.

Mission Atlas Project
Interactive site with up-to-date information, maps, tabular data sets, and more. Will help you assess the current status of missions throughout the world.

MisLinks
This directory of links, which I helped create, is like a bibliography of bibliographies. Provides links to several thousand missions sites arranged by topic (including short-term missions, people groups, member care, and so on).

Mission Network News
A news service dedicated to keeping Christians informed on evangelical missions activity around the world.

Strategic Network
Over 17,000 articles on missions in a “knowledge base,” as well as support for professors who want to use any of those articles for reserve readings.

World Christian Database
Provides comprehensive statistical information on world religions, Christian denominations, and people groups. Full use requires subscription.

Posted by Susan Wunderink at December 21, 2007 | Comments (1)

Many news outlets, including CT, have covered the Department of Homeland Security’s refusal to grant refugee status to anyone who gave “material support” to terrorists under the 2001 USA Patriot Act.

The law was riddled with problems: many who are seeking refugee status are doing so because they were forced to give ransoms and temporary housing at gunpoint.

And then there’s the problem of governments that operate much like terrorist groups, including Myanmar’s military junta. Chin Duh Kam, a Burmese pastor in America, told me about government officials forcing Christians in Chin State to make ropes and transport military equipment. The New York Times referred to another UN report that

3,000 villages of the Karen and nearby tribes have been destroyed, and more than 500,000 people have been driven from their homes. Government troops are accused of systematically raping girls and forcing children to join their ranks.

So the law’s broad ban on everyone giving “material support” unfortunately includes those who are victims of terrorists.

But there is good news for some refugees: Homeland Security has begun to issue waivers for those who were clearly forced to give material support to terrorists, said Jenny Hwang of World Relief.

The Associated Press reports that the U. S. State Department also “waived provisions of the Patriot Act that barred 9,300 ethnic Karen from entering the U.S. because of their association with Myanmar rebels.” These Burmese refugees fled their homeland long ago; they are not among those who participated in the August to September protests.

The AP story says the exponential growth in refugee immigration to U. S. cities such as Utica, St. Paul, and Minneapolis is overwhelming aid groups:

Resettlement agency Exodus Refugee has doubled its Indianapolis staff to eight people over the past 11 months but still can't keep up, job specialist Zach Tennant said recently while handing out envelopes with $25 spending money to each adult refugee arriving at Indianapolis International Airport.

In Utica, the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees has received 300 people over the past 11 weeks, including 109 one week, before the end of the federal fiscal year brought a respite. Director Peter Vogelaar said the biggest challenge is finding them safe, clean homes and jobs. He's finding work for 30 to 40 refugees per month.

"Refugees are survivors and they are incredibly resilient," Vogelaar said.

* * *

I wondered whether “Burma” or “Myanmar” was more proper, so I asked.

Chin Duh Kam prefers “Burma,” which he pronounced with great warmth. “I use the old name,” he told me. Pastor David says he uses “Myanmar” in the country and “Burma” outside it.

It turns out that as far as Burmese grammar goes, “Burma” is the colloquial name of the country; “Myanmar” is the formal, literary name. But the names took on a political cast when the government decided in 1989 that it wanted the country to be officially known as the Union of Myanmar. The U. S. State Department still calls it the “Union of Burma.”

As far as adjectives go, “Burman” is usually the majority ethnic group, and “Burmese” refers to nationality.

Posted by Susan Wunderink at October 16, 2007 | Comments (2)

The 19 South Koreans freed by the Taliban returned to Seoul Sunday as the church that sent the group fields critical remarks for sending members to such a volatile country.

We've moved the rest of the story to our main site, here.

Posted by Ted Olsen at September 2, 2007 | Comments (3)

The Taliban freed the seven remaining South Korean missionaries it was holding hostage in Afghanistan this evening, The New York Times reports.

The freeing marks the end of a six-week hostage situation, after 23 church volunteers were abducted in July while traveling in Afghanistan on a medical-aid trip.

“After brokering a deal in face-to-face negotiations with a South Korean delegation on Tuesday, the Taliban freed 12 hostages on Wednesday. All 19 of the freed hostages are expected to fly back to South Korea together in the ne[x]t several days,” the Times reports.

Shortly after taking the hostages, the Taliban killed two men and released two women earlier this month.

The Korea Times reports that the government will seeks compensation from the church because the costs were covered by taxpayers’ money.

“This is the first time for the government to seek compensation from any organization in Korea for freeing hostages,” the newspaper said.

South Korea agreed to withdraw its 200 troops in Afghanistan before year's end and vowed to prevent missionaries traveling to the country.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi told the Associated Press that he plans to abduct more foreigners, reinforcing fears that South Korea's decision to negotiate directly with the militants would create more hostage situations.

"We will do the same thing with the other allies in Afghanistan, because we found this way to be successful," he told the Associated Press via cell phone from an undisclosed location.
While politicians around the world fear that South Korea’s deal could set a precedent for future Taliban action, religious leaders are discussing how this might affect short-term missions.

Posted by Ted Olsen at August 30, 2007 | Comments (0)

The Taliban is apparently releasing the South Korean Christian aid workers a few at a time. The Associated Press reports:

The first group of three women were released in the village of Qala-e-Kazi. Several hours later, four women and one man were released in a desert close to Shah Baz, said the reporter, who witnessed both hand-overs. None of the eight said anything to reporters.

It is remarkable that the Taliban agreed to terms that require no additional effort by anyone. (There are no news reports of any ransom being paid.) It's almost a happy ending. But the kidnappers have killed two of the Christian aid workers to prove they were serious about their demand for a prisoner exchange.

So is the freeing of the hostages today a testimony to the power of face-to-face negotiations with terrorists? Or is it testimony the power of not negotiating with them? Both forces were at play here: The Korean government held the talks, but had no power to meet the Taliban demands. Those who could release military prisoners -- the U.S. and Afghanistan governments -- refused to consider the possibility. It looks to me like this resolution came about precisely because the South Korean government was talking face-to-face (giving the Taliban something they wanted even more than a prisoner exchange: an air of legitimacy) and because the South Koreans couldn't really do anything.

The other key factor in the freeing of the hostages was internal division within the Taliban. There were many within the group, as well as from key Islamic leaders outside the group, who criticized the kidnapping of women.

Posted by Ted Olsen at August 29, 2007 | Comments (4)

South Korean presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-sun said the Taliban will release 19 Christian aid workers "on the condition that South Korea withdraws troops by the end of year and South Korea suspends missionary work in Afghanistan." However, it sounds unlikely that the Taliban will wait until the end of the year to free the hostages.

The Associated Press notes that the agreement may not be as shocking as it sounds: "South Korea has already said it planned to withdraw its troops by the end of the year. Some 200 South Korean soldiers have been deployed in Afghanistan for reconstruction efforts, not combat." Similarly, the Koreans held by the Taliban probably wouldn't have been affected by a ban on "missionary work in Afghanistan" since the church that sent them has repeatedly insisted that the hostages are aid workers, not missionaries.

The Koreans have been held for a biblically resonant 40 days. Two have been killed, two others released.

The Associated Press will continue publishing updates from Afghanistan and Seoul, and I'll update this blog post as more details are available.

Posted by Ted Olsen at August 28, 2007 | Comments (0)

Compass Direct News is corroborating earlier reports from China Aid Association that there is significant crackdown underway right now inside China against Christians and other religious groups.

Compass says:

Christians throughout China fear tough restrictions on their freedom to worship in the coming year following the launch of a government crackdown ahead of August 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Christians across China are reporting a shortage of Bibles, even in cities where Bibles previously were readily available. There are reports of ongoing house church raids and arrests, and an unprecedented number of foreign Christians have been expelled from China in recent months. In addition, research presented at a government meeting in January revealed that the number of Christians in China may have reached 130 million, including 20 million Catholics – much higher than previous government estimates, according to a report from the China Aid Association (CAA).

If there are 130 million Christians within the borders of China, that is a staggering number and it suggests an utter failure of the central government's grand strategy of managing religion through the Public Security Bureau, the United Front, and the Three Self system.

If there are 130 million Christians within the borders of China, that forms the largest population of Christians in all of Asia's 3.9 billion people. Japan itself has a population of 127 million.

Who knew the church could grow so persistently?

Posted by Tim Morgan at July 13, 2007 | Comments (1)

From reporter Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra:

English Language Institute China (ELIC) denied that any of its English teachers have been expelled from China for illegal religious activity, as reported today by the China Aid Association Inc.

China Aid released a statement accusing the Chinese government of systematically deporting more than 100 suspected foreign missionaries since February 2007. Two of them were English teachers sent to Tibet by ELIC, the statement said. ELIC is a Christian organization that sends English teachers to China.

"We haven't had anyone who was asked to leave," said Gary Lausch, Vice President of Human Resources for ELIC. "We did call China Aid and let them know that was not accurate and they said they would correct it."

The story of government expulsion came as a surprise, Lausch said. He said ELIC has not been feeling any unusual pressure from China lately.

Posted by Ted Olsen at July 10, 2007 | Comments (1)

The highly credible China Aid Association on July 10 posted a news release that reports:

According to reliable China Aid sources and collaborated reports by at least five different mission agencies, over 100 foreigners accused of being involved in illegal religious activities in China have been expelled or
deported this year between April and June. Sources inside the Chinese government informed CAA that the Chinese government launched a massive expulsion campaign of foreign Christians, encoded Typhoon No. 5, in February 2007.

This development is an ill omen for supporters of religious freedom inside China.

In recent years, China's communist leaders have encouraged Westerners to come to China to teach English, work as university professors, and work in business. The government's crackdowns on religion have focused on indigenous pastors, evangelists, and others who create faith-based organizations that are outside the government mechanisms of control, including the Three-Self movement for Protestants and the state-recognized Catholic church.

But according to CAA, even American teachers of English are at risk. Two instructors working in Tibet were kicked out.

CAA reports:

This is the largest expulsion of foreign missionaries since 1954 when the Chinese Communist government expelled all foreign religious workers after taking power in 1949.

My hypothesis is that China's government needs to be watched for what it does, not what is says -- especially when it comes to management of religion.

Are China's leaders worried about religious protests during the 2008 Olympics, or what?

Posted by Tim Morgan at July 10, 2007 | Comments (4)