wfn.org | Adventist News Network: Sri Lankan Pastor Receives Refugee

["Beckett, John" <BeckettJ@gc.adventist.org>]

> Adventist News Network
> www.adventist.org
> Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters
> February 5, 2002
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Sri Lankan Pastor Receives Refugee Status in Canada
> Toronto, Canada .... [Bettina Krause/ANN]
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Anthony Alexander, the Seventh-day Adventist pastor imprisoned in a Sri
> Lankan jail for more than two years, has been granted refugee status in
> Canada, along with his wife, Saratha. The January 24 decision ends more
> than 18 months of uncertainty for the Alexanders, who have been living in
> Toronto while their refugee application has been processed.
> 
> "We have to thank all our brothers and sisters for their prayers," said
> Alexander after the hearing. "I have no words to express how I felt when
> the judge read that they accepted our names as convention refugees. I
> couldn't speak. I never expected it would take just 20 minutes."
> 
> "The judge said that she had read all the Global Mission articles [about
> my case] on the Internet and was really convinced about our situation," he
> added. "She was sorry there had been such a delay [in hearing the
> application]."
> 
> Alexander expressed his particular gratitude to the public affairs and
> religious liberty department and the office of general counsel at the
> Adventist world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States,
> for their tireless work on his behalf.
> 
> John Graz, the church's public affairs and religious liberty director,
> said he hopes last week's decision represents a closing chapter in the
> Alexander's four-year ordeal. "Anthony has endured false imprisonment,
> torture, and separation from his family, but through it all he has
> continued to keep his trust in God," said Graz. "We are thankful that the
> family can now move on with their lives." 
> 
> Alexander, a longtime Adventist pastor and Global Mission Pioneer in Sri
> Lanka, was convicted and jailed in March 1998 on charges of terrorism.
> After a prolonged legal battle, he was exonerated by the Sri Lankan High
> Court and released from prison in May 2000. According to Graz, the
> political situation in Sri Lanka could make Alexander's return to that
> country dangerous.
> 
> The Alexanders will now apply for their landed papers, equivalent to the
> American green card, said Gary Krause, communication director for the
> Adventist Church's Global Mission initiative. "This process, usually a
> mere formality, should take six to nine months to complete," he explained.
> 
> Since arriving in Canada in June 2000, the Alexanders have established a
> new church for Tamil people in Toronto, and in March last year Alexander
> was hired as a half-time pastor for the Ontario Conference of Seventh-day
> Adventists. "Anthony started new congregations all through Sri Lanka, and
> his passion is sharing the love of Jesus," says Krause. "You can be sure
> he isn't working just half-time."
> 
> The Alexanders' refugee status clears the way for them to be reunited with
> their five children. "My children are good musicians and when they come to
> Toronto our church will really come alive," says Alexander. Currently the
> Alexanders' three eldest children--Dennish, Esther, and Dan--are studying
> in India, while their two youngest children--Elkins and Tenny--are in Sri
> Lanka.
> 
> For a history of the Anthony Alexander story, visit
> www.global-mission.org.
> 
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> USA 20904-6600 phone: (301) 680-6306. e-mail address:
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