Exloring Life Eternal

I saw only one (1) citation of trafficking specifically in Aceh. However, _my_guess_ is that Aceh was not unaffected in previous years since North Sumatra borders Aceh province & people can & could travel. There are indications by Indonesians which would agree with this.

Since the Tsunami:
http://www.childtrafficking.org/cgi-bin/ct/main.sql?ID=1311&file=view_news.sql&TITLE=-1&TOPIC=-1&YEAR=-1&LISTA=No&GEOG=-1&FULL_DETAIL=Yes

This site is a conservative political site but was written not long
after the tsunami. It was referred to me by someone:
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/articles/article.html?storyid=1976

On the conference held in Medan (info about increased enforcement of
laws in Indonesia):
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_20246.html

Young women / girl children used for military purposes (an opion
piece):
http://203.2.218.61/asiapacific/specials/indon/opinion_child_informants.htm

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18245.htm
The years I looked at: 2002-2004 each had some issues with
women/children & trafficking in North Sumatra / Medan & Aceh/Banda
Aceh.

- During the year, some Acehnese women turned down marriage proposals
by security force members, only to have their parents threatened. Women
who did become engaged to security force members sometimes became
targets for GAM rebels.
- East Java, Jakarta, West Java, North Sumatra, and South Sulawesi
Provinces have the largest street children populations (see Section
6.f.).
See section 6.f.
Also under RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From: item b. Disappearance.


This site on women includes a line on Aceh, but does not all pertain to
trafficking of children:
http://www.catwinternational.org/factbook/Indonesia.php

This document was written before the "peace" accord which was signed
between the Aceh separatists & the Indonesian national Government this
year.

http://lfip.org/laws822/docs/indhumantraffrpt%5B1%5D.pdf

A Citation on page 45:
Majalah Kalingga, February 2000 (characteristic of trafficking in
children in North Sumatra);

Pages 53-54
- Were offered and promised to work in restaurants, karaoke, houses and
hotels to children.
- The recruiter operated at malls/other recreational places, suburbs,
information were spread from mouth to mouth
- Were promised instant jobs (without having to apply)
- Were promised jobs with high salary and interesting facilities
All referenced to: Majalah Kalingga, February 2002 (character of
children trafficking for prostitution in North Sumatra)

Page 64:
Provincial office for Department Social North Sumatra discerned that to
combat children trafficking was a difficult effort especially when it
is done voluntarily. They stated to not having legal instrument to
combat children trafficking and the authority was laid in other
institution.

Page 68:
Saudi Arabia as a destination for domestic workers only began in the
1970's


From a table on page 46:
d) In 1999 1,712 cases were revealed and addressed and were brought
into trial for 1,390 cases. Data gathered based on the location where
women trafficking cases were revealed are as follows:

CITIES 1999 2000
Medan 286 282
- From Page 46

From tables on pages 59, 60:
Sumatra : Medan is source & region of transit.

Children trafficking in Medan showed as follows:
Region of origin Tembung, Helvetia, Tanjung Gusta, Semarang, and
Tangerang
Region of transit Padang Bulan
Target location Bandar Baru, Deli Serdang, Sicanang, Belawan, Warung
Bebek, Firdaus, Rampah, Dumai, Tanjung Balai
Karimun, Pekanbaru, Riau.

(This is near Aceh & statistically would imply similar things in Aceh.
... The report elsewhere terms trafficking of women & children as an
iceberg type problem where really only the tip of the problem can be
seen due to the massive shoreline in Indonesia! I have seen stats
indicating 200,000 domestic servants from Indonesia in Saudi Arabia,
often subject to mistreatment & usually with little recorse if they are
Indonesian. According to 2 witnesses closer to the fact, Indonesia no
longer knowingly permits domestic workers to go to the Arabian
Peninsula due to the serious problems that have resulted which the
Indo-govt cannot help with.)

===
Yemen:
http://www.childtrafficking.org/cgi-bin/ct/main.sql?ID=2117&file=view_news.sql&TITLE=-1&TOPIC=-1&YEAR=-1&LISTA=No&GEOG=-1&FULL_DETAIL=Yes

http://www.childtrafficking.org/cgi-bin/ct/main.sql?ID=1864&file=view_news.sql&TITLE=-1&TOPIC=-1&YEAR=-1&LISTA=No&GEOG=-1&FULL_DETAIL=Yes

http://www.childtrafficking.org/cgi-bin/ct/main.sql?ID=1335&file=view_news.sql&TITLE=-1&TOPIC=-1&YEAR=-1&LISTA=No&GEOG=-1&FULL_DETAIL=Yes

Bahrain:
http://www.childtrafficking.org/cgi-bin/ct/main.sql?ID=1349&file=view_news.sql&TITLE=-1&TOPIC=-1&YEAR=-1&LISTA=No&GEOG=-1&FULL_DETAIL=Yes

INJUSTICE!!
Muslims rebel against Quran.
Muslims kidnap - a capital punishment, according to the Law.
Egyptian Muslims must change this way or be called into account by God!
Egyptian Muslims must turn to the Lord Jesus or else they will miss His mercy.

= Mert Hershberger

=======

EGYPT - COPT FINDS MISSING SISTER IN MUSLIM HOME
from: Compass Direct (http://www.compassdirect.org)
March 31,
2006

Following a three-month search, an Egyptian Christian has discovered his missing sister living with a Muslim family near her home town and professing faith in Islam.

Spurred by a brief telephone message from Theresa Ghattass Kamal saying that she was being held against her will and forced to convert to Islam, Sa'eed Ghattass Kamal last week tracked his sister’s suspected captors to the Bedouin desert area of El-Ga'ar, near his home in Wadi El-Natroun, 50 miles northwest of Cairo.

=====
INJUSTICE!!

Full story with pictures:
http://www.compassdirect.org/en/newslongen.php?idelement=4279

A Christian friend wrote:
"Once he dared to think, he was killed.
Islam is against people thinking."

Western Politically-correctness and Islam both love non-thought.
Perhaps it is why they make such ready bedfellows.

Hindo-Buddhism in some lands is the same.

IF (as some political leaders maintained)
the example made of a man named "Servant of Mercy"
& who steadfastly looks to the Lord Jesus for hope,
is to kill him,
then what remains for those would attack compassion & faithfulness
which are the foundations of the throne of God?

"OH, King of Glory, intercede for Your name's sake!"

Christ alone is our redeemer.

Psalm 2


=====
Various Responses to the case of Abdul Rahman in Afghanistan:

http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=19149

Many leaders show much less Political Correctness on this issue than on cartoons. Both Bush and Rice have spoken out quite clearly on the situation in the USA:
http://www.localnewsleader.com/kindred/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=162870


Australia, Germany and Italy have also all spoken against the trial.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,18574818-421,00.html).

Even CAIR, has come out against the trial:
http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/news/news.php?article=10811

BUT their web site hasn't spoken against the injustice:
http://www.cair-net.org/

In response to all this, the statements coming out of Afghanistan so
far are a bit defensive
http://tinyurl.com/r3m3d

An accusation of insanity can cover the face for a moment, but can the Muslim world face God by throwing around accusations of insanity?

Murder, riots, execution, etc. are simply not justified on the basis of disagreeing with the importance of a dead Arabian poet who never clearly claimed for himself the divine status which many Muslims seem to accord him.

For example, Bush has said,

"I'm troubled when I hear, deeply troubled when I hear, the fact that a person who converted away from Islam may be held to account."

[What about Saudi Arabia which has had & continues to have the same pattern of killing & imprisoning those who refuse to subject themselves to the irrationality of Islam??

When will they be free??]


From the New York Sun
"Intolerable Trial"
http://www.nysun.com/article/29616


"And now, on the heels of the cartoon controversy and the port deal,
comes perhaps the worst of it all: Afghanistan's trial of Abdul Rahman, who grew up as a Muslim in Afghanistan, but converted about 15 years ago while working with a Christian-run refugee aid group in Pakistan.

If you wanted to write a tale designed to get Americans furious with
the Muslim world as a whole and with the Afghani government in particular, you would be hard-pressed to come up with an outrage more effective than this."

On Christmas Day as we celebrated the Light coming into the World, a group of European nurses who had been convicted and held prisoner in one Arab Country were rejoicing as they were promised a retrial and their death sentences were repealed. There had been concern amongst Western governments for some time that this case may be a miscarriage of justice.

* Pray for a fair and speedy resolution to this situation - believed to be the final hurdle to complete normalisation of political relations with the West.

* Remember also the victims and their families: that their ongoing
physical, emotional and spiritual needs may be met.

Hi David,

This book was one that you commented on more ... & the notes you gave also showed something I have noticed about most people: we tend to get our perspective messed with when we engage with another/our own culture for a long period of time. Many missionaries to Arab countries have a slightly more Palestinian perspective. I sometimes wonder, "Why can't we all just get along?" But then, I remember that this is really only possible at the foot of the cross of Jesus, when we realize that the Lord Jesus effected reconciliation for those who will receive it.

...
Peace in Christ Jesus,
Mert

-----Original Message ==>with comment-----
Book Notes by David Mays See more book notes at www.davidmays.org

UNDERSTANDING IRAQ: The Whole Sweep of Iraqi History
William R. Polk
HarperCollins, 2005, 219 pp., ISBN 0-06-06468-6

“Nationalization of the IPC (foreign petroleum conglomerate) was perhaps the most popular move Saddam ever made. It is difficult for foreigners, particularly modern Americans, to understand how bitter the Iraqis were about foreign domination.” (127)

==> My wife is from Indonesia. Aceh had long been a sore spot with Indonesians about USA interferance & "raiding" of oil. Indeed, most American men-Indonesian women couples that we know were involved with the oil trade. Dirty business & a means of spreading Islam in many instances, sad to say!

By God's tremendous grace the tsunami came. Since then Indonesians (including my wife) have come to see that not all those who hold American passports enter their land to steal resources. Which, of course, makes things a little more pleasant when we discuss matters of global politics (Happily, this is not as frequent now). She had also been moved to help raise funds for the region ... & God moved in the hearts of those we knew to give rather generously. I think that if we as the church were to really pray for the worst situations / conflicts, then even greater things would happen.

=====
In 1983 the U.S. identified with the Iraq cause. According to Polk, “To this end, the United States either supplied directly or arranged for others to supply conventional weapons, cluster bombs, anthrax, and other biological weapons materials as well as components for nuclear weapons and equipment to manufacture poison gas.” (132, footnote) [Polk cites a German newspaper article (footnote, p. 146). But I find it difficult to believe. dlm]

==> I do not see why it would be difficult to believe the factual basis for this. The greater question seems to be rather, why would God permit the USA to become so corrupt & yet still have such power? I can only think of one reason: there are still those who go out & spread the good news. Under Clinton, the USA could have had Osama bin-Laden & tried him for involvement with the earlier car bomb in the Twin Towers, but the US declines. ... then the USA reaped the consequences. The USA government is one more rod in the hands of God. But the question we must face is: will the church be willing to serve as the Lord's staff, gathering the flock to Himself? I googled "Iran Iraq USA 1983" and came up with a couple of interesting links rather quickly. Some of the conspiracy sort, yes. But that is essentially what most political books are about anyways.

=====
[That Saddam sold the food for arms, allowing his people to starve, is openly admitted but receives no condemnation here. dlm]

The facts speak for themselves. Saddam will one day have to report to a higher authority (God). However, my understanding is that Polk is a USA citizen ... he is therefore called upon to first call the USA to account. Why should he meddle with other nations before critiquing his own government?

=====
In a 2003 interview with Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, he “cut me off, saying that ‘America has long since decided to attack Iraq and nothing Iraq could do would prevent it.’” (169) [Polk seems to have taken this statement at face value and judged all else by it. dlm]

==> I agree with you here. This is the key problem: listening to politicians too much. They can be sly foxes at times! They want to stay in power & that means "protecting" their own people (i.e. saying what will make them/us feel good = re-election / re-appointment).

=====
American ideologically-driven Neo-Conservatives “proclaimed that America had the right, indeed the obligation, to impose its way of life on the whole world. Iraq was an early step in what was to be a new ‘crusade,’ which would be accomplished by warfare, essentially unending and everywhere.” (186-87)
[Polk’s political bias is stated strongly here! dlm]

==> I am personally concerned about a seeming open acceptance / sometimes delight/comfort in war that is too readily received in the church. I believe we must remember to keep the Good News as our mission, not political aspirations or international expansion & "homeland security." The Methodist Church lost the advance of the Gospel after the Revolutionary war when they put politics ahead of an independent stand. During the Revolutionary War, they were the one church movement that grew. Why? Because they preached a Jesus who was Lord over both the USA & Britain (& the whole earth!) In time they lost view of the Lord's sovereign holiness as a movement & the Lord has shown himself to/through other movements more effectively in later times.

=====
"Those Iraqis who aspire to complete sovereignty are prepared to create complete insecurity." (193)

==> "complete sovereignty" that certainly sounds like a devilish way of putting it! This has the same meaning in English as the Hebrew idiom "knowing good & evil." I take it that this is an exact quote. Indeed, radical independence always tends towards chaos!

December 1, 2005

An open letter to the AATA (Ann Arbor Transit Authority):

I just saw the saddest thing while riding on a bus in Ann Arbor. By God’s grace, I was able to board without needing a handicapped space or undue financial strain. The bus driver was courteous enough to encourage me to put some trash that I had in the trashcan.

Once on the bus, I noted that there was a seat open about half-way back. The back of the bus was crowded, so I sat down in the set of empty seats, as I had a backpack & did not care to offend anyone by bumping it into anyone’s face. I noticed that the seat next to me had a sign that said the seat closest to the window was reserved as a tributary memorial to Rosa Parks, who had ridden on a bus in Birmingham many years ago. When I realized that the sign was taking up the seat & that the bus might fill up sooner than expected, I got up.

Figuring, “Why waste a seat on me? There are surely more important, more historically significant, and more infirm people who will ride. I can walk if need be, some are not so blessed.” At the next stop, an elderly lady entered the bus. She also saw that the back of the bus was crowded & followed the practice of a dutiful & responsible rider. She went as far back in the bus as able. Though she was not an African-American, she was not ashamed to sit next to the sign. She was however carrying something, and set in down in the seat next to her that was empty, apart from the memorial. When I saw her, I said something foolish: “You get to sit next to the memorial of Rosa Parks. That’s pretty neat!”

Sadly, the bus-driver asked the elderly lady to pick up her package from the seat since “We are trying to have a tribute to Rosa Parks!” The disgraced elderly woman moved her package & herself to another seat entirely. I talked to the driver about Rosa & how she was desiring respect. The fellow didn’t think that enough had been done yet to atone for the sins of the past in Birmingham, though he is not a resident there. I reminded him of the Lord Jesus & his pattern.

It is sad that a memorial to a dear saint who for a time lived in another town & has left this wretched world should become a reason for causing those who are alive today in Ann Arbor to suffer and be offended. May God save the people of this town from the day when there are so many grave-stones that lost souls cannot find their way because there are too many stumbling blocks in the way. May God’s peace come to this town & to the bus system of this fair town. I believe that Jesus died because he loved the sinful people of this town (especially me since I tend to sin more than others) & I believe that He rose again the third day, as the Holy Writings record, and is alive today praying for all peoples everywhere.

I do not want any harm to come to any bus drivers, but simply wish to remind all that Rosa Parks did not live or die only to protect her identity as an African American. She did not live or die simply to ride the bus. She certainly did not live or die simply to have memorials named after her. She believed in God & desired to do the right thing according to the lawful dictates of her conscience. May the AATA not find either of these offensive today.

P.S. I found it very instructive to read that the first sentence of Quiet Strength Mrs. Rosa Parks records, “As a child, I learned from the Bible to trust in God and not be afraid.”
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1215/p14s02-ussc.html
http://www.leaderu.com/critical/colson-parks.html
http://faithfulprogressive.blogspot.com/2005/10/rosa-parks-progressive-christian.html
ISBN: 0310235871
===

P.S.S. I also noticed that the sign was moved today. Praise the Lord. Thanks for responding before I sent this complaint.

Monday, October 24, 2005

"How long, O Lord?" - The cry of the saints from under the altar. (Revelation 6)

Pray for the judge presiding over the assault case involving a female tentmaker in the AP. Please pray for justice to be served. Pray too that upon his eventual release this Saudi man will be restrained from hurting other women in the future.

Pray for Emir Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the ruler of Bahrain. Pray that he would rule his country justly and preserve the freedom currently held by Christians to worship. Pray for the majority Shiite population that they would hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Pray for National single MBBs (mostly men) to be determined in spite of family pressure to marry only a believer, and in the meantime to grow spiritually, financially and in taking responsibility.

Pray for the upcoming Marriage Course at the expatriate church. Pray for strengthening of Christian marriages and relationships in this dry country. Pray that those attending would be blessed and strengthened in their marriages and would, in turn, have a stronger "base" from which to reach out to others.

Please pray for the National believers during this month of Ramadan that they will be able to challenge and raise issues within their families that will question the strict religious practices which are largely ignored during the other 11 months of the year.

Please pray for a seeking National woman in our city who has been deeply wounded by her husband taking a second wife. May she be comforted by the one who knows her best and help her to see the truth of the situation.

Please pray for a young Muslim woman who wants to meet weekly with a missionary and be taught the Bible, and another who had been zealously pursuing the Truth but has now is apparently being restrained from contact with Christians.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Praying Thru the Arabian Peninsula
www.pray-ap.info
USA #: 800-376-5876 (Eastern Time)
Encouraging & equipping believers & churches everywhere to pray through the heart of the Muslim world so that church planting movements will spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula and beyond for the Lord's glory.

====
To learn how you can support this & other work in the Middle East, visit:
http://www.srginc.org

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