Turkey: entry ban for Christian student
Ryan Keating, a Christian PhD student in the department of Philosophy of Religion at Ankara University has requested prayer for his situation as his residency has been cancelled and he has been issued with an entry ban into Turkey. On 17 October Ryan returned to Turkey after a week-long trip abroad. At the airport, police took him into custody and told him that he had been issued with a life-long entry ban into Turkey. No explanation was given as to the reason for the ban despite Ryan asking for information. Ryan had Turkish residency because of his enrolment at Ankara University. Ryan’s wife Ness and their children remain in Ankara, and it is not known if their residency has also been cancelled. Ryan was involved with the Ankara Refugee Ministry and is a member of Kurtulus Church. It is believed the entry ban is related to these activities, which are completely legal.
Ukraine: bitter winter brings great suffering
The Ukraine war is entering its third year of daily bombardment. Homes, churches and businesses are ruined. The conflict is in the ‘Grey Zone’ between western Ukraine, held by the army, and the eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions held by separatist forces. Those who could flee the Grey Zone have left. Those remaining are the most vulnerable - families with children, widows, the elderly, the sick, people with disabilities, and those displaced by conflict. Most factories have closed, miners have not been paid for seven months, and people can’t support themselves. Life is hard. There are no government pensions or social security, and some towns lack water. In November temperatures plummet to -20°C (-4°F). People cannot afford coal or gas for heating. The winter temperatures will kill. Western Ukraine churches have provided basic crops in season - potatoes, tomatoes, cabbages and carrots. Russian churches are providing food in eastern Ukraine, prioritising elderly church members, but they do not have the resources to help all who are in need.
Yemen: the toll of war
The Yemen war combines tragedy, hypocrisy and farce with 10,000 casualties, almost 4,000 of them civilians. The Saudis have included in their bombing targets cows, farms and sorghum – which is used for bread or animal fodder – as well as numerous agricultural facilities; funerals and markets are ‘military’ targets. Britain and America help the Saudi onslaughts. Theresa May has failed to say whether civilians in Yemen were killed by British bombs. This war costs Saudi Arabia over £200m a month, but Saudis cannot pay debts to construction companies. There is substantial evidence emerging that the Saudis and their coalition allies are deliberately targeting Yemen’s tiny agricultural sector in a campaign which, if successful, would lead a post-war Yemen not just into starvation but total reliance on food imports for survival. Much of this would undoubtedly come from the very Gulf states which are currently bombing the poor country to bits.
Pakistan prayer letter
A believer writes, ‘Pakistan and India have fought three major wars over Kashmir or over water rights of five rivers flowing into Pakistan. There is a UN resolution that allows India to use the water from two of the rivers. India has built dams on two more of the rivers and is now planning to build a dam on the fifth, the Indus. Pakistan has the largest canal system in the world and totally depends on the water from these rivers for their crops. There have been droughts and starvation leading to war when the water from the rivers was cut off. The line between these two countries is the "zero line". Both countries have nuclear weapons. War is being talked about in both countries’ papers and news media. War happens here when the leadership is about to fall, to divert people’s attention and rally people behind them. In each country there have been calls for their prime minister to be removed.’
