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Parallels seen in Pakistan to U.S. civil rights struggles

Jan. 13, 2006

NOTE: A photograph is available with this report.

A UMNS Report
By Kelly Martini*

For Andris Salter, a trip to Pakistan - where Christians suffer
persecution and have seen their churches burned - served as a reminder
of the struggles of the U.S. civil rights movement.

Salter, an executive with the Women's Division, United Methodist Board
of Global Ministries, traveled to Pakistan in November with a group of
four women from different denominations and countries. They represented
a women's solidarity delegation sponsored by the World Council of
Churches.

With the United States celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan.
16, Salter reflected on how her Pakistan experience evoked intense
feelings about civil rights, persecution, and her belief that the work
started by the civil rights leader must continue, both nationally and
globally.

"Being an African-American woman in Pakistan, I could relate so much to
what the oppressed people there are struggling with," Salter explained.
One of the stopovers for her delegation was a Pakistani town where
protesters had burned five churches, as well as homes of Christians, to
the ground.

Hearing the stories of Pakistani Christians and seeing the burned houses
and churches paralleled her experiences of living through the civil
rights era in the United States.

"I could not help but relate it to the black church burnings," she said.
"I kept stopping myself because I was having difficulty separating black
church burnings in the United States with the church burnings in
Pakistan."

Salter recalled the hatred that drove people to burn churches in the
1960s. Hatred ran so deeply that people obliterated black houses of
worship to ensure nothing could be saved.

"They would make sure to throw rocks through every single window pane,
not just one.  They would smash every flower pot and decimate every room
in a building. They wanted to destroy people's souls," she said.
"Burning a church is destroying something people have wrapped their
lives around."

Seeing the burned churches and houses in Pakistan - knowing that, in one
instance, 400 Bibles were burned - also reminded Salter that the Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr. started a movement that has to press forward and
look both internally and globally.

"Look at what is happening around Hurricane Katrina," she added. "The
media does not pay attention anymore. People are still suffering.
Imagine all the things black people have lost, and yet, they do not get
the justice they deserve. Insurance companies are refusing to pay claims
or are paying only small portions of the claims."

In Pakistan, Salter witnessed instances where the country has been
taking care of its neighbors better than the United States has for its
own citizens following the hurricanes.	In one camp for Afghan refugees,
Pakistan has created schools, health care centers and markets for
handmade goods where refugees can sell their wares for fair prices.

"We sit in judgment of these folks (Pakistanis), but go to Louisiana,
Mississippi or Florida - we have made them refugees by not treating them
fairly in our response."

Salter recalled one story of a black man whose house was destroyed
because of the hurricane. Although his house was valued at $165,000, he
received only $8,000 in insurance. The insurance company defended its
decision, saying the house was destroyed by winds, not flooding, which
was all the insurance covered.

"We need to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, but we need to
speak up for the injustices that we still have not cared for in our
nation," Salter declared. "Martin Luther King struggled so we could get
to the place where we didn't have to struggle and so we wouldn't see
people's skin. Yet, skin color is still the barometer by which we judge
people in this country."

In other countries, the struggle for justice may not be due to skin
color, but it's very real. "I was most impressed with the women in
Pakistan who choose to be Christian, even though they face persecution,"
Salter said. "When they make this choice, it often comes with a harder
life."

Many women are pushed into the sex market for economic reasons. They
live as second-class citizens because they are women. They struggle with
their own dreams for their daughters. Injustice and discrimination have
close ties.

"These women have lived this life for so long that they often cannot see
a new dream for themselves," Salter pointed out.

"For me, these are the injustices that Martin Luther King tried to stop.
We've made some strides, but we have a long way to go."

*Martini is communications director for the Women's Division.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org

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