At around 7 O’clock in the morning of September 25, 2009, a security police officer from the communal village of Ia Piar and a security police officer from the district of Phu Thien, both dressed as civilians, went to our Christian Brother Siu Wong’s house and ordered him to go with them to their office in the district of Phu Thien.
Siu Wong was born in 1972 in the village of Bon Broac II, commune of Hdok, district of Dak Doa in the province of Gia Lai, but he married a woman name Ksor H’Boan, and was living with her at the village of Ploi Ksing, commune of Ia Piar, district of Phu Thien in the province of Gia Lai. They have six small children.
When Siu Wong and the police officers arrived at their station, the security police asked Siu Wong if he intended to celebrate Christmas this December. Wong replied, “Yes, of course I will celebrate Christmas and this is what we do every year.” The police then told Wong that Degar people are not allowed to celebrate Christmas and are not allowed to worship God. Moreover, they were so angry at Wong because he had bravely admitted he was a Christian, that they began to mock him, threatening to punish him like Jesus was punished. The security officers then tied up Wong’s left arm to one of the house poles and his right arm to another pole – stretching him out like was on the cross. Then they began to beat and torture him. They kicked him on both sides of his ribs and his chest with their heavy military boots, struck him on the back of his neck, punched him in his face and continued to beat him even after fell in and our of consciousness, limply hanging by his two arms. They kicked him in his groin with their boots and he completely passed out. They continued to savagely beat him until his injuries became apparently fatal. Then, the security police officers took him back to his family to die.
At home, Siu Wong’s family did not have money to take him to the hospital so they treated his injuries as best as they could at home. His condition continued to deteriorate, however and so his family sold everything they had and took him to the hospital on February 25th of 2010.
The internal injuries received from the beating could not be repaired and Siu Wong died in the hospital on March 4th of 2010. His parents took his corpse back to their village of Bon Broac II, commune of Hdok, district of Dak Doa in the province of Gia Lai and buried him there. His wife and six children moved in with his parents because no one else can provide for them.
We would like to let the world to know that when the Vietnamese security police arrest and torture Degar Christians, even if they do not immediately die, the police know how to inflict injuries that will be fatal after their victims return home. The officers are trained and very skillful in their techniques and they are able to destroy a person’s internal organs so that they die days, weeks or even months later. Even though the Christians are officially released, they still die and so the sentence is still the same - death.
We, the indigenous Degar people, have been crying out to the world since 1958 after the French left Indochina in 1954, but our cries have been repeatedly ignored by the world. It is dangerous and often fatal to be a Christian in the highlands of Vietnam because the government seems to hate Jesus. Our brothers and sisters bravely follow Christ even though they are being tortured and murdered for it. Because the world will not help us, we appeal to our Christian brothers and sisters around the world. If you will not stand up for Degar Christians or help us, please at least pray for us. Pray that we might receive the strength of the Lord so that we can endure. We know that if we can endure this persecution for the sake of Christ, our blessings in heaven will be great. Therefore, pray that we do not lose hope and falter in our walk with God.
Article by the Montagnard Foundation