Joseph Francis, a minority rights defender in Pakistan, was jailed by Islamists in Pakistan on July 12th, according to Compass Direct News. According to a statement from the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement in Lahore, “His only crime was to help suffering parents of a young Christian girl who was taken away from her family.” Francis was involved in an all-too-typical case in Middle Eastern countries: a marital dispute between a Muslim and a Christian, in which the Muslim man claims to have become a Christian in order to convince a Christian woman to marry him, but after the marriage, pressures his wife to convert to Islam. These kinds of cases can be extremely difficult to resolve, because in Islamic countries, preference in laws governing all family matters is given to the Muslim spouse.
Middle Eastern human rights advocates like Francis often pay a heavy price for their moral calling on behalf of others. Human rights defenders in countries where human rights abuses flourish often suffer to a greater degree even than those for whom they advocate. This is really no surprise. Government and societal leaders who use oppressive tactics against a minority population figure that targeting the “ring leaders” will cause a serious blow to the morale of a persecuted people being denied fair treatment. They hope to instill fear in those who may then feel too weak to continue pressing for more humane treatment. Targeting a ringleader is an effective way to scare others into compliance.
Journalists and indigenous attorneys who defend minority rights, in particular, pay a heavy price. Often, human rights abuses are closely tied to government corruption. Since those who are victims of corrupt officials often seek out journalists to hear their stories, journalists often find themselves the targets of corrupt officials. Attorneys who represent those persecuted for their faith often find themselves besieged with threats of violence, even death, and harassment from governmental authorities and police.
It can be difficult to separate out the various factors that contribute to human rights abuses. Minority populations are always more susceptible to being victimized, and in the Middle East, being a member of a minority religion often means being mistreated. Government policies can either encourage or discourage what is often long-standing societal discrimination. Unfortunately, it’s uncommon for a government in the Middle East to urge its people toward tolerance and away from discrimination. As a result, people grow up with a bad attitude, essentially.
I heard of one young woman raised in an Islamic family, who as a schoolgirl, chaffed in indignation at the placement of her desk next to a Christian girl’s desk. She had been raised to view Christians as inferior. She worked hard to make life as uncomfortable as possible for her desk mate. Later, she herself became a Christian, and was confronted as a young adult with life-threatening abuse from the same family members who had reared her to hate Christians.
Magnify this story by millions of people, and you begin to see the immensity of the task these native advocates face daily.
When governments confront corruption, and expose it, there is a greater opportunity to make real progress on improving human rights. But, before governments can confront corruption – particularly in the Middle East – someone needs to confront government. Most people will take a lot of abuse before they reach the breaking point and start forming into angry mobs in the streets that demand justice, perhaps at the risk of being shot or arrested. Even though we have seen this kind of anger erupt this past year in Egypt and Iran, most people remain too afraid, and all too aware of their frailties to mount serious opposition. But, native human rights defenders are those courageous people who have counted the cost and are willing to lay down their lives on behalf of defending those suffering persecution and mistreatment.
Without these native advocates, there would be little likelihood that we in the West could effectively improve human rights in this region of the world. We’re outsiders, but they are insiders – native sons and daughters who hear an inner voice of conscience and respond.
Many of these advocates have suffered greatly. Some have been murdered. Others have had to flee for their lives. Some have had their names posted by vigilantes who urge those who may spot them on the streets to murder them in the name of God. Some have had to move from apartment to apartment- from village to village – from city to city- fleeing persecutors who are one step behind them. Others willingly allow themselves to be taken captive, hoping for an opportunity to testify in courts that have been corrupted by bribery and the darkness of prejudice, hatred, and ignorance. Still, these native advocates hope that someone will hear their voice – that conscience will be pricked and someone holding the gavel or the power to effect change will catch the vision and become part of the solution.
When we are fortunate enough to even hear their testimonies in the West – many never have their stories told outside their own countries – we should thank God for their courage and love for their fellow man. It is difficult work these advocates do. It is very hard. They work under extremely difficult conditions. There is rarely enough money available to them to take care of those among them who need medical help, legal help, and emotional comfort. Their work endangers their own families. Some never marry for that very reason. They endure all these difficulties because they have a fiery love for their fellow man, and a strong sense of both justice and mercy. They hate injustice; yet, they know that the only way to overcome persecution is to love mercy and to be willing to forgive those who abuse them.
In the end, it is this love that makes them most dangerous of all to those who fear them and seek to silence them.
Remember these native defenders.
