Vu Pham Van / © Culture Trip
In Northern Vietnam, a 6-year-old girl and her family were shunned and driven out of their home because of their Christian faith. Worse, the beatings were so harsh for the little girl to handle that she fell into a coma.
According to Open Doors, an organization that supports persecuted Christians and helps them deal with the physical and emotional trauma, the family of three endured being mocked, beaten, and dragged over rocky grounds for over two hours. They suffered greatly in the hands of their neighbors after they refused to renounce their faith in Christ.
The little girl’s parents were beaten and forcibly dragged out of their village with ropes tied tightly around their hands. They were taken to the village entrance where they were ordered to leave. Members of their church saw the severity of their wounds from the beatings and took them to a nearby hospital where they were treated for three days.
However, the people weren’t too kind on the six-year-old Phouc and also attacked her. They punched her in the stomach and hit her on the head. She became so sick and suffered severe stomach and head pain that she had to be taken to the hospital. There she eventually fell into a coma for a month.
The brutal treatment comes after the local authorities found out that Phouc’s parents had converted to Christianity. They stopped the village practice of ancestor worship and followed Jesus instead, which angered the authorities.
Phouc’s parents were allowed to return home after a poster spoke to the authorities. However, the family still suffers every day. Each day is a “torture” because the villagers continue to curse and threaten them because of their newfound faith.
By the grace of God, the little girl has also awoken from the coma but cannot recognize her parents. She also cannot remember the attack and is sadly still too young to understand what happened. She also has a long way to go to recover from the attack.
Despite the daily struggle, the family continues to praise Jesus. They remain steadfast in their faith that God’s grace and love will sustain them.
Vietnam is an officially atheist country and ranks 20th in the Open Doors World Watch List of 50 countries where Christians suffer the most for their faith.
State and tribal forms of persecution are commonplace in Vietnam, according to the World Watch List’s country report, with Christians reporting being beaten and expelled from their villages because of their faith.
The country report states: “Both non-traditional Protestants and converts from indigenous religions are persecuted intensively. Estimates indicate that approximately 80 percent of the country’s Christians belong to the country’s ethnic minorities, like the Hmong, and face social exclusion, discrimination and attacks.
“Ethnic minority Christian children are discriminated against in schools; their medical needs also are often neglected. Some are not even allowed to attend school.
“Non-Christian relatives of Christians are also strong persecutors, cutting family ties and denying any family inheritance. In some cases, relatives force a Christian spouse to divorce and then withhold custody of their children. Believers’ homes are sometimes destroyed, forcing them to leave their village.”
