World Vision explosion

A story posted today on MNN reports that someone threw a hand grenade into the World Vision offices in Sri Lanka last week.

To attack an organization that provides food, shelter and medical care to the poor and homeless, is lower than the slime on a slug's underside.

World Vision is a Christian organization which, according to MNN,

has been working in the Asia-Pacific region for some time. Their staff was crucial in organizing a response following the tsunami, the landslides and now, helping with the Internally Displaced Persons fleeing the civil war.

This means sometimes advocating for and with children; in other places it is as simple as giving a child a satchel and some books and helping them go to school, or it might mean assisting families to help them stabilize against the backdrop of war.

Persecution in Sri Lanka

Christians often face attacks by atheist Communists in China, by Hindus in certain areas of India and by Muslims all over the world. Now there is a report from Sri Lanka that Christians are coming under violent attack by Buddhists who are normally peaceful. You can read the entire article in Assist News Service but excerpts appear below:

"SRI LANKA (ANS) -- Amid growing violence in Sri Lanka that Church leaders have likened to the “killing fields” of Cambodia, Christians in the island are facing increased persecution from Buddhist extremists, Release International has reported."

"According to a story carried by TamilNet (www.tamilnet.com), Christians in Sri Lanka are appealing to the international community for help, RI which monitors persecution of churches around the world, said."

"Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) also says Christians in Sri Lankan are facing more intense persecution as mob violence becomes an increasingly visible trend in the country."

"Violence and militancy are not normally associated with Buddhism, which is usually seen as peaceful,” says RI’s Chief Executive, Andy Dipper."

"But in Sri Lanka religion has become mixed with politics and nationalism - creating a toxic brew of hatred and fear. And Christians are often caught right in the middle - as so often happens when a nation slides towards civil war."

"Extremists believe this country belongs to the Sinhala Buddhists, and if you are a true Sri Lankan you must be a Buddhist,” Godfrey Yogarajah, the General Secretary of the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL), Christian Today reported."