Opposing Oppression

0 Comments | Insight on the News, August 20, 2001 | by Emily Rahe

Braving guns, land mines and contagious diseases, Christian relief workers conduct missions in territories more befitting paramilitary groups than nonprofit organizations.

It's only a small, two-story wooden house on a quiet street in Front Royal, a sleepy northwestern Virginia town, but from this unimposing base, Christian Freedom International (CFI) members strategize to sneak doctors into Burma, slaves out of Sudan and supplies to oppressed Christians in Indonesia. "It's not the sort of thing for the faint of heart," says Doug Bandow, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute who has accompanied CFI on trips to Burma and Indonesia. "It's not a picnic. You can't come away without a sense of hideous tragedy."

CFI, a human-rights advocacy group that helps persecuted Christians in oppressed areas and war zones, began in 1983 as the U.S. branch of the Christian Solidarity International group based in Switzerland. It broke away in 1995 and began functioning under its current name in 1998. Its small staff and modest accommodations help maintain a low overhead. Funded by private donations and small foundation grants, the organization directed 84 percent of its $653,000 budget toward its programs in 2000.

The group has devoted significant resources to help the Karen, a persecuted ethnic group in Burma. Some 300,000 refugees, many of them sick and malnourished, are hiding in remote villages or have fled to camps on the Thai-Burmese border. "The military junta of Burma is one of the most repressive regimes in the world" CFI President Jim Jacobson says. "I believe the ongoing, systematic oppression in Burma, especially in the minority areas, is one of the most underreported stories of our time."

CFI has developed "freedom hospitals" to aid the Karen, each costing $7,740 per month to operate. There currently are six -- all simple structures consisting of a few rooms enclosed by bamboo planks and leafy roofs (in the last three years, the Burmese militia have burned five others). CFI also operates five "jungle schools" staffed with Karen teachers. For those who manage to flee the jungles, CFI gives aid at refugee camps, and it has established Karen orphanages, a self-help program and a child-sponsorship program.

In addition to its Burma activities, CFI sponsors an Indonesian project, where it distributes hammers, saws, fishnets, chisels and other necessities. It encourages business development around Ambon in the Moluccas, also known as the Spice Islands, devastated by a recent religious war. The group also operates an "underground railroad" in Sudan for runaway slaves.

"We have worked hard to move legitimate cases of slavery and persecution from bondage to freedom, without providing financial incentives for the abduction of others," Jacobson says. "CFI does not support slave buybacks in Sudan or any other place." Its former parent organization, Christian Solidarity International, favors the redemption of slaves. The differing philosophies led to the split between the groups.

CFI will play host to the "Christian Freedom Conference 2001" at the Washington Court Hotel, Sept. 13-14, in the nation's capital to educate the public and government about religious persecution. For more information about the organization, visit CFI's Website (www.christian freedom.org).