Here is the story of some of our Christian brothers and sisters in Kenya who are suffering terrible atrocity, and are threatened daily by the Muslim Terrorist group Al-Shabaab. This interview tells the heartbreaking story of one St. Louis based refugee, and his family who suffers unlawful detention in Kenya. Please sign this petition to help reunite these families: http://chn.ge/1j6DwDJ . More information is available at www.kenyarefugeecrisis.com. A synopsis of the story is as follows:
On Sunday, May 4th, Kenyan police stormed a small refugee church in a suburb of Nairobi and arrested 200 legally documented, peaceful refugees from the DR Congo. They were imprisoned for four days with no food or water, in a single cell with no bathroom facilities, and separated from their families, even nursing women from their babies. Pregnant women, sick individuals, and elderly alike were all detained inhumanely. They were beaten, tear gassed, and taken to a refugee camp in the desert. They are threatened daily by Al-Shabaab members inside the camp, lack access to clean water or sufficient food, and sleep on cardboard boxes on the ground.
This is a result of Kenya’s recent security initiatives, as they struggle to suppress terrorist threats from the Al-Shabaab Muslim extremist group. In response to these threats, Kenya has launched an initiative to rid its urban centers of foreign-born people. They are rounding up thousands of innocent refugees whom they’ve promised asylum, forcing those with legal documentation into refugee camps, and deporting those without. It’s tearing apart families who have already known terrible atrocity and long only for peace and a place to call home.
Our hearts break for the atrocities levied against Kenya, but we urge Kenya to adopt security measures that are in keeping with international human rights law and consistent with its long history of being a good global citizen and offering asylum to displaced people.
(Copy provided with appreciation by Lindsay Matush.)