By Nell Green, Emeritus Field Personnel
As he logged onto the Zoom call, we saw a beautiful blue sky. Bernard* said he was out at the local market and realized it was time for the call. He did not want to miss talking to us, so he stopped and sat on a bench to visit with us.
Bernard is a refugee from Afghanistan currently attending a university in Pakistan. After applying and receiving refugee status from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), he needed a reason to be in Pakistan and a safer place to stay. He applied to the university and was accepted.
Earlier in a different part of the city, Bernard was attacked and beaten. Bernard was talking to a local priest about his faith in Christ. They overheard him and called him an “apostate’ and proceeded to beat him until some authorities came to help.
Bernard has felt God’s presence and God’s guidance since he was a little boy. As a young man, he heard about Jesus and knew that was to be his faith journey.
Persecution was immediate. Bernard’s life was threatened. He witnessed the murder of two family members leaving him with his mother and a sister who lived a good distance away. His mother begged him to leave before he was murdered. He fled.
Bernard dreams of finishing his education and becoming a businessperson. He wants to have a business that provides for other people who are persecuted. He wants to work for a better safer society.
He worries about his mom who is harassed daily because the neighbors and local authorities in his hometown know about his decision to be a follower of Jesus. He had finished all the paperwork for the UNHCR and had been referred to the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). The Off Ramp is sponsoring Bernard for repatriation to the United States through the Welcome Corps, a private sponsorship program through U.S. State Department. He had hoped that once he was repatriated, he could help his mom who is alone and persecuted.
That hope came to an abrupt halt on January 27 with the Executive Order suspending all refugee applications no matter how far along in the process they happened to be. Bernard was heartbroken. How could he become a businessperson and provide for his mother? How could he live in freedom and safety without being beaten up or killed because of his faith?
Bernard is living in a safer part of the city now and as long as he is enrolled at the university is relatively safe from deportation. Nevertheless, he hopes for a day when he can establish a home, a business, and be able to openly practice his faith.
As we were ending the call, we told Bernard we would call again next week. “Oh Ms. Nell, Mr. Butch you do not know how happy that makes me. I was going to ask you if you would call again. I feel so much better and encouraged after each time we talk. Thank you so much. I can’t wait till next week.”
Bernard is a delightful, thoughtful, dedicated young man. We look forward to the day he is able to complete his education and become a businessperson helping others who are persecuted.
Reverend Nell Green is Emeritus Field Personnel with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Co-Founder and Director of the non-profit organization, The Off Ramp.
*Names are changed for security and privacy purposes.