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A daily brief about the world's most dangerous places from international war correspondent Chuck Holton
Episodes
Friday Dec 14, 2018
Friday Dec 14, 2018
Christians being persecuted around the world, The US military is busier than you think in Africa, and we take an in-depth look at why many migrants from Central America might be worse off if they come to the United States. It's Friday, December 14, and this is the Hot Zone.
[Intro]
Happy Friday Folks! For all you who have been kind enough to try out this brand new endeavor of mine, I just want to say thank you. Please give me your feedback - if you'd like the podcast to be longer or shorter, cover different topics or whatever, I want to hear from you. You can get in touch with me through the Hot Zone Podcast facebook page, my personal page, or send me an email at HotZoneHolton at gmail
Also, if you are enjoying this podcast and would like to get involved - consider becoming a subscriber at patreon.com slash hotzone. I will enable us to tell better stories and help more people. Also, there's an option there to become a virtual foster parent. We're going to talk later today about how it's so much better and so much cheaper to help someone where they are, rather than bring them to the United States. And with our virtual Foster Parent program you can change the life of a young person and little by little help pull their whole country out of poverty.
Now, let's talk about religious persecution. Unfortunately, we are seeing it spread around the world, and in the last week I've come up with a top ten list of places you don't want to live if you are a Christian.
Number five - Burma. The Burmese military junta has been killing up to ten thousand Christians per year for decades. The hill tribes people who live in Burma - also called Myanmar - were converted to Christianity over a hundred years ago by Adoniram Judson, the first white missionary to preach in Burma back in the mid 19th century. But the government of Burma is Buddhist, and they make no bones about the fact that they plan to drive every Christian out of their country.
Number four - Iran. Last week the Iranians began a crackdown on Iranian Christians, and rounded up more than a hundred of them. Converting to Christianity is a crime and proselytizing can get you ten years in prison. This is common in many countries across the middle east. Surprisingly, there is a growing trend of people converting anyway.
Number three - China. About a hundred worshippers were snatched from their homes in coordinated raids last week. They were members of an unauthorized home church. While the christian church is not officially banned in China, freedom of worship is non-existent, and with the Chinese government's new push to use technology to monitor every detail of their citizen's lives, and assign them a social score based on their behavior, even those Christians who are not arrested could find themselves unable to travel, get loans, or jobs or perhaps even go shopping. Extrapolate this out a bit and you can definitely see how Christian end times prophesy could come true.
Number two - Nigeria. Human rights groups are reporting that upwards of 60,000 Christians have been killed in that country since 2001. Near daily violent attacks by the ISIS-affiliated Boko Haram organization, as well as hostile Fulani tribesmen have killed thousands and have driven up to 2 and a half million Nigerians from their homes. Boko haram burns churches, closes schools and kidnaps women and children, forcing many of them into "forced marriages." That country is a serious mess, and about as close to a failed state as a country can get.
Number one worst place to be a Christian this week: Afghanistan. There is only one actual Christian building in the entire country, which is a Christian chapel at the Italian Embassy. No Afghans are allowed inside. Afghan citizens are not legally permitted to convert to Christianity. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan does not recognize any Afghan citizen as being Christian, though I happen to be friends with a Christian missionary there who believes there may be perhaps a thousand Afghans who follow Christ who live secretly around the country. Being exposed as a believer in Afghanistan is a quicker way to die than walking through Erp, Texas carrying a sign that says, "I'm here to take your guns."
Now when I say these are places a Christian wouldn't want to live, I'm being a little bit facetious. Because Christians aren't called to be safe and comfortable. And in many ways, living in a place where you are free to practice your faith means you are also free to do anything but practice it. If you are a Christian in Burma or Nigeria or Iran, you have to COMMIT. And I could tell you some amazing stories of believers I've met in some of those countries whose faith is so strong I actually envy them for it.
Now, let's move on to what the US military is up to in Africa. That's a question many US politicians were asking a year ago in October when three American Green Berets were killed and two more wounded in an ambush in Niger. The men were part of a small team of operators who were there training that countrie's forces, and had been out on a routine patrol. Their deaths shocked America, and led to lots of questions about what exactly we are doing there.
Well, the war on terror hasn't ended, folks. I know you don't hear a lot about it on the news, and that's partly because the American people are tired of war, and partly because the US military became a lot less transparent under the Obama Administration. For example, were you aware that in addition to the tragedy that happened in Niger last year, the US military has suffered casualties in Somalia, Kenya, Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon? And that there are as many US troops stationed in Africa today as there are on the ground in Iraq? More than 6,000 US troops are spread across that continent, and almost all of them are actively engaged in the Global War on Terror. Many are with the US Special forces, but there are also lots of intelligence gathering units, medical units and more.
The US military has troops stationed in more than 170 countries around the globe and many of those men and women will be away from their loved ones this holiday season. The same goes for thousands of our troops here at home. My own beloved son Mason won't be able to join us this year for Christmas, and it'll be the first time we've ever been apart from any of our kids for that holiday. It's part of the price of freedom, though. One way the troops connect with those back home is to post shout outs to their families, and here's one from a young marine who hails from our neck of the woods - Cross lanes, West Virginia.
[cross lanes wv marine]
Now, let's move on to immigration. On Wednesday a group of over 100 migrants from the caravan went to the US embassy in Tijuana demanding $50,000 each from the US government to get them back home. Sure guys. Line up and get your money. Right. Sign me up for that one. I daresay most Americans would gladly head to Tijuana to get in that line. So would about a billion people from other countries.
I want to address this sentiment that we hear so much of today regarding the migrants in the caravan at our southern border. It's the idea that they are fleeing poverty. And the implicit message being given, both to the American people and to the migrants themselves, is that if they could just get some more stuff...more money, better food, free education for their kids...that the benefits of MORE justify leaving everything and everyone you've ever known, trekking thousands of miles across dangerous countries, and breaking into a place where you have no right to be. Well I want to address this idea by showing you a guy who could be the poster boy for what Americans consider the poor central american.
[ sebastian piece]
I've spent a good portion of the last fifteen years outside of the United States. And I've learned something by looking at US culture from the outside in. America is a fantastic country. But what makes America great isn't it's outlet malls, it's walmarts, targets and Amazon.com. Those things make America convenient, perhaps, but they don't make America great. What makes America truly great is the goodness of her people. Americans are the most generous nation of people on the entire planet. And sometimes in that generosity, if we aren't careful, we can do more harm than good.
That's one reason I started this podcast. I want to help you get a better handle on the issues surrounding charity and help you have a more direct impact on people in need. I want to take you to them and let you see what your charity is doing in their lives. People like Sebastian don't necessarily need more money, but there are many I meet every year who are having their worst day ever, because of some tragedy. And those are the people we can help. As for Sebastian, I'm going to go give Sebastian some special treats to make his family's Christmas dinner special just because I love the guy. If you'd like to join me, send whatever you want to give through paypal at hotzoneholton at gmail.com or visit my patreon page at patreon.com/hotzone. And don't just watch the news, change it.
That's all for today. Have a great weekend and I'll see you back here on Monday. On the Hot Zone.
[outro]
Show Notes:
Christian Persecution:
US Troops in Africa:
Migrants want Money:
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/dec/12/migrant-caravan-members-demand-50000-apiece-go-bac/
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