17 February 2009
Methodists in war-torn Sri Lanka appeal for help
As fighting in Sri Lanka reached a climax this month, The
Methodist Church in Britain has urged people to pray for hundreds
of thousands of displaced civilians.
Reports from the President of the Methodist Church in Sri Lanka
have revealed the extent of the devastation. Rev Ebenezer Joseph
said that 95 per cent of the seven congregations in the Wanni
region had been trapped in an area now under control of the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
"The Methodist Church of Sri Lanka has received reports of civilian
causalities in the Mullaitivu District, which seems to take place
even in areas disclosed as 'safety zones'," said Rev Joseph.
"Therefore, we appeal to the Government of Sri Lanka to take all
measures to prevent civilian causalities in the present military
campaign. We appeal to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
to allow free movement of civilians to safer areas without forcibly
detaining them or using them as human shields. "We make this appeal
to both warring parties purely on humanitarian grounds keeping the
innocent civilians foremost in mind."
All seven Methodist Churches in the region have been displaced, but
relief work has continued. The Methodist Church in Britain called
for people to use day 19 of the Methodist Prayer Handbook to pray
for an end to people's suffering in war-torn, northern Sri
Lanka.
Rev Joseph said: "The conditions for the ordinary civilians are
very, very difficult. We also extend relief to those families who
have managed to come out of the Wanni and who are now in various
camps in the Mannar and Vavuniya areas and the Jaffna
Peninsula.
"We also need to be ready to reconstruct the Churches and help with
settlement of the people once the people are allowed to return back
to their dwellings in the cleaned areas."
Further aid from the Fund For World Mission, which gave £20,000 in
October, will be sent out to the Church to help people rebuild
their homes and their lives.
Anyone wishing to donate to the Fund For World Mission's aid relief
to Sri Lanka can do so online at the World Church page
www.methodist.org.uk
http://www.methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=opentoworld.content&cmid=1492
or contact Steve Pearce, Partnership Coordinator for Asia and the
Pacific, at the Fund For World Mission on 020 7467 5161 or via
email pearces@methodistchurch.org.uk