Myanmar (MNN) — The Rohingya of Myanmar continue to brutally suffer at the hands of the Burmese military. They aren’t the only ones. Since a military coup three years ago, Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations says over 5,000 people have been killed in Myanmar. Just this month, a church bombing by the military killed nine people near the border with China, seven of them children.
“This same group that has been tormenting the Rohingya staged a military coup in February 2021,” says Kelley, “and that has resulted in over 3 million people being displaced other minority ethnic groups like the Rohingya, who have been just savagely targeted, oppressed, beaten, persecuted, killed.”
Forty percent of those 3.4 million displaced people are children. This war zone is where Unknown Nations sees gospel ministry unfold. They have been present there for the past 20 years, and Kelley says the Burmese are one of ht largest unreached people groups in the world.
“It’s not like they’re just targeting Christians, although Christians absolutely are a threat to them (the military) because they have a different worldview. But everyone’s suffering,” Kelley says.
“When you have never had access to the gospel, and this military is so oppressive, you become open to a message of hope. In the midst of this chaos, as crazy as it seems, hearts are open and responding to the gospel.”
Please, become aware and pray for these tragedies in Myanmar. Learn more about the history of the Rohingya here. Don’t forget about them in the midst of widespread displacement crises across in the world today.
“Every two seconds, someone is newly displaced in the world because of war, violence, persecution, human rights abuses. The Body of Christ needs to come and lean into these situations,” says Kelley.
“They don’t fit nice and cleanly into a box, like a lot of missions initiatives we try, but that’s okay. Jesus gave His life for these situations.”
Connect with Unknown Nations here.
“Engage with organizations like Unknown Nations, send out an email or give us a call. We can tell you how you can intimately be a part of bringing the good news of Jesus Christ into this dire situation,” says Kelley.
Header photo Rohingya refugees gathered in Bangladesh for Genocide Remembrance Day (2023). Photo courtesy of Md. Jamal / VOA – via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain.
