Plain Talking – Episode 19

Gethin starts by talking with Jim Stewart, Open Doors Lead Officer for Wales, who discusses their latest World Watch List – an annual report listing the fifty countries in which Christians face the most extreme persecution.

Jim highlights the changing trends of persecution with autocratic regimes gaining influence. He goes on to discuss Manipur State in Northeast India, where tensions between the Kuki tribe (who are majority Christian) and the mainly Hindu Meitei people have led to the burning of more than 230 churches and the deaths of more than 60 Christians.

We hear further details about the situation in Manipur from a Christian leader based there, followed by Sharon, a woman who fled Manipur and is now living in the UK.

The Open Doors report also covers the troubles in Iran, where authorities view conversion to Christianity as an attempt by the West to undermine Islam and the Islamic government of Iran. We hear from Dabrina Bet-Tamraz, a Christian who escaped from Iran and talks about the current situation in Iran for Christians and other minority religions there.

We end the podcast, as always, with a positive and inspiring message from Brother David Jardine. This time, he tells us about a remarkable Belfast lady who had three different kinds of cancer, but her peserverence in prayer has led to her being cancer-free for 24 years.