{"id":3367,"date":"2022-07-05T18:44:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T17:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opendoorsuk.org\/?p=3367"},"modified":"2024-02-14T13:13:39","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T13:13:39","slug":"vietnam-family-expelled","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/connect.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/blog\/news\/latest-news\/vietnam-family-expelled\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian families in Vietnam expelled from community as government plans to tighten religion laws"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \n\n

Xong Ba Thong, his family and three other families were thrown out of their home in Vietnam after they became Christians. The Vietnamese government are also planning to amend their 2018 religion law to further limit freedom of religion or belief in the country.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Xong Ba Thong and his family have lost access to public services and cannot obtain vital identity documents<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Four Vietnamese families\u00a0who converted to Christianity have returned to their village after being expelled from their village because of their faith – only to face more persecution.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Xong Ba Thong from Na Ngoi commune in Ky Son district, in Vietnam\u2019s north central Nghe An province, sent a report to the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (North). In it, he reportedly said his family, because of their faith, faced ill-treatment at the hands of local authorities \u2013 even though they had permission to join a state-approved religious organisation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thong\u2019s whole family, including his parents, converted to Christianity in 2017 after listening to radio broadcasts, he told Radio Free Asia. Despite pressure from local government officials to renounce their newfound faith, the ethnic Hmong family joined the state-approved Evangelical Church of Vietnam (North). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the harassment continued, including house visits and summons to the commune headquarters. Local officials also confiscated their plough and cut off their electricity, undermining their livelihood.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following a community vote on 4 June, Thong\u2019s family and three other families were officially expelled from the village and, as a result, no longer had access to public services or could obtain vital identity documents such as birth certificates.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Vui*, an Open Doors partner, the families have been allowed to return – but not without facing new challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAccording to our local contact, these believers have already been allowed by the local authority to return to their village and conduct worship services after the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (North) (registered church) lobbied their case to the authority,\u201d Vui says. \u201cHowever, now that they are already back in their village, village authorities have instructed market entrepreneurs within and in neighbouring villages to prohibit these believers from selling or buying any goods or produce. They have to travel to another district, which could take hours by land travel, if they want to sell their produce or buy their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNghe An province is one of the toughest places in Vietnam for Christians to be living in,\u201d Vui continues. \u201cThe province is the birth place of Ho Chi Minh, founder of the Indochina Communist Party. Several incidents recently have been reported that believers were beaten, their properties destroyed, and some kicked out of their villages because of their faith in God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n