Christian Vietnamese family forced out of home
Barnabas Fund, 24 June 2022
A Christian family in Vietnam’s Nghe An province have been forced from their home village for refusing to re-convert to a local animist religion.
The local authorities on 4 June voted to expel them from their home village in Ky Son district, confiscated their livestock, a plough, and wood for building a house, as well as cutting off electricity supplies for a week. The family home was also attacked with stones.
A child was denied a birth certificate without which they may be unable to access healthcare or attend school.
The family has sought refuge elsewhere, requesting help from central government to resolve the ongoing issues.
In a report to the Evangelical Church of Vietnam, 26-year-old Xong Ba Thong said his family, his parents and younger siblings converted to Christianity in 2017 after hearing evangelistic radio broadcasts.
He explained that in 2019 local authorities told the family that “it was against the law to follow another religion”.
The family applied to join the Vietnam Evangelical Church General Assembly, a legally recognised religious group, and their application was approved in April 2022.
According to Thong, “they said the law has no effect here, in this province.”
The family are from the Hmong ethnic group who suffer the worst persecution in Vietnam.