FACING TERRORISM
OUR NEW VIDEO
HOPE IS RISING THROUGH IT ALL:
TERRORISM & THE INTERNALLY DISPLACED
Since 2017, Northern Mozambique has been targeted by radical insurgents
causing trauma and chaos in regional areas.
Unfortunately this has escalated in recent months, with the UN reporting over 210,000 people being forced to leave their homes and are now officially internally displaced within their own country.
This is in just one state of the country, our home province Cabo Delgado.
Villages have been burnt down, women kidnapped, lives brutally taken and livelihoods destroyed.
The rebel group appears to grow more confident. Now even taking over small towns for short periods and claiming to be involved with ISIS, demanding by force the province becomes an Islamic state.
Where we live, the port-side city of Pemba, remains the safest and closest area for these refugees to flee to for refuge. Our heavy military presence and location is a huge advantage. Most of the attacks have taken place in defenseless remote bush villages 6 hrs away, higher up north. This is also where large amounts of natural resources have recently been found.
I know you must think we are mad, going there to volunteer – but I assure you we are safe and would leave if that changed. Our city really isn’t a target and is hours away from the fighting and oil discoveries. But really that’s what humanitarian aid and missions work is… going to the broken and those in need. We also didn’t just start this work yesterday, it’s been 5 years now being in Pemba and we have worked through cyclones, floods, extreme poverty, cholera outbreaks and now Terrorism and covid19.
The world doesn’t know much about what is happening here, and until recently even us at Iris Global haven’t been able to publicly address the civil unrest – due to security reasons and safety. But now it has been made public with a detailed UN report; we can start to shed insight to what’s happening, what we are doing and also enlarge our capacity to help those in need.
(View their report by clicking Here.)
This is where we come in. Our role is to create media to bring awareness to situations just like this. Praying it will educate, promote a response to the injustice, share how we are responding as a movement on the ground and give a voice to those feeling ignored, unheard and marginalized.
This project have been created solely by James and myself and this video is just a preview of another mini documentary we hope to release in a few months.
We feel privileged and honored that we can sit with the survivors of these attacks, cry with them and listen to their stories. It’s isn’t easy, these are beautiful people whose lives matter and are more valuable than any oil, gas, gold or riches. The injustice is huge, but we believe the power of love is the remedy to the pain they have gone through.
This is the work we signed up to, and we have no regrets. We see the value in it and know the sacrifices and the hard work is worth it.
Just one small video we made already raised 100,000 USD in one day, for us to help feed, shelter, council and equip these precious people . Another video generated $20,000 AUD, and another raised $100,000 AUD for us that makes it worth it. When you sit with these children who have lost a parent, when you cry with a mother who’s husband was decapitated and when you see the multitude of families now homeless – any small act you can do, to see them restored and to show them God’s love, is worth it.
The need is huge and there are few people willing to go and help because the cost is so much; but the little we all can do is better than our nothing. What we have to offer isn’t much, but it is something. We are learning there is nothing more valuable or worth investing into during this life, than life its self. Cars, houses, careers, investments, holidays, luxurious items etc etc all of it is worthless in comparison to seeing a life transformed. So we pray God continues to give us the strength and endurance, to learn how to love others and Love Him.
Something we are very faraway from grasping, but pursuing with all our strength.
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.
For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:10
We love each other because he loved us first. – 1 John 4:19
