Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world, the state secretary stressed.Continue reading
The Hungarian government is committed to the future of its initiatives like Hungary Helps, in support of persecuted Christians, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said at a conference in London.
Persecuted Christian communities of the world can count on Hungary’s support despite economic difficulties, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said at a conference organized by the UK Foreign Office on the prevention of sexual violence in armed conflicts in London on Monday. He stressed that the government is committed to continuing the programs implemented so far.
Hungary, as a nation with more than a thousand years of Christian statehood, feels responsibility towards persecuted Christians around the world,
the minister said. As Szijjártó recalled, the Hungary Helps program was launched five years ago and has already provided some 80 million dollars for rebuilding homes and institutions, for running schools and hospitals, and providing economic support to enable those affected in order to help them stay in their home countries or to return home. Hungary has provided assistance to around one million people in 54 countries.
Szijjártó said it was regrettable that in the 21st century, extremist ideologies continue to spread rapidly and that many people are still subjected to ethnic and religious persecution, often accompanied by sexual violence.
According to Szijjártó, Hungary is paying particular attention to this area and has provided special support to the Catholic Church in Nigeria and the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq, for example, to help rehabilitate girls and women who have been victims of Islamist terrorists.
The foreign minister shared a video of his discussion with Iraqi human rights activist Nadia Murad. “There were a lot of us in the room today, but one person really understood what Hungary’s policy is all about, what it really means to bring help where there is trouble,” he wrote, adding that Hungary is ‘directly supporting local communities and churches so that people do not have to go on the road, but can live in dignified conditions in their homeland.”
Szijjártó noted that Nadia Murad survived the atrocities of the Islamic State and is now fighting to ensure that no one else has to go through what she did. “Hungary helps not only with words, but with real action, and we both know it,” he added.
Featured photo via Facebook/Szijjártó Péter