In an unprecedented act of officially sanctioned repression, Egyptian security forces opened fire on Coptic Christian demonstrators in Cairo on Monday, leaving at least 26 dead by the official count and hundreds injured. Despite media reports implying that the Christians attacked security forces, One Free World International’s sources in Egypt confirm that these actions were carried out against an unarmed crowd of protesters staging a peaceful demonstration with no plan for a violent confrontation with security forces.
“Egyptian Christians are in urgent need of our help,” stated Rev. Majed El Shafie, President and Founder of One Free World International. “We cannot afford to sit idly by and leave our brothers and sisters to face this crisis alone. Please stand up and make your voice heard on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Egypt who live and worship in daily apprehension and fear of violent reprisals.”
Thousands of Christians had gathered in the Shubra district of northern Cairo to stage a peaceful sit-in at the state television building to protest the interim government’s lack of response to a string of anti-Christian attacks in recent months. The violence erupted when bands of armed young men began attacking the Christians. After initially standing by without taking any action to protect the Christian demonstrators, the Egyptian security forces themselves then engaged the demonstrators directly with lethal force. According to One Free World International sources on the ground, security forces fired indiscriminately into the crowd with live ammunition and drove armored vehicles and tanks into the crowd, ruthlessly crushing any demonstrators in their path.
The assaults by Egyptian authorities continued even after the Christian protesters began to disperse from the area. Gangs attacked cars thought to be carrying Christian passengers and the security forces went so far as to follow wounded Christians to the Coptic hospital where they attacked both the wounded and the medical staff caring for them. At least 150 Christians have been arrested, in the words of Egypt’s official state media outlet, as “instigators of chaos.”
The Christian community in Egypt, which makes up approximately 10% of the population, has been under increasing pressure from ultra-conservative Islamic forces whose influence has grown in the power-vacuum left by the demise of the Mubarak regime earlier this year.
“Remember that the persecuted Christians are dying every day, but they are still smiling,” says El Shafie. “They are in a very deep dark night, but they have the candle of the Lord. The enemy can have a very strong weapon and a very strong army, but we have the Lord Almighty. They can kill the dreamer, but they cannot kill the dream.”
For more information, visit www.onefreeworldinternational.org.
