Paul Calvert spoke with Nashat Filmon from the Palestinian Bible Society

Nashat: There are several figures. There are some official figures and there are unofficial figures, but one of the official figures is talking about 2,500, but in reality I don't think there is more than 1,000 Christians in the Gaza Strip.

Paul: One of your colleagues Rami was murdered in Gaza a few years ago; is the fear building as it was in that time when Rami was murdered?

Nashat: Because of the case of a wife running away or being brain washed to take her three under-age daughters and leave her husband and being fostered under Muslim care and then ultimately conversion to Islam, the fear has built up. Christians felt that they are penetrated in their families and they don't know what is going to happen next. The talk is about two young men and a girl who are going to announce their conversion to Islam and the challenge here is that drugs have been used. On the You Tube channel, on the declaration of their Islam, they look different. They don't look normal as they always look. It seems that they have been given either drugs or something else that has caused them to do so. However, saying that, I wouldn't say that no people have with all their free will converted to Islam, there are some, but I would say in the majority of these stories that we are hearing, they were Christians that were forced into Islam. As a result of that, yes I would say there is lots of fear and uncertainty. People are very sceptical of the Government support to the Christian community there. They started moving against these things that are happening; even the Bishop of Gaza, Bishop Alexios had a big gathering of the Christian community in his church and they made a very strong statement, 'We need protection'. The situation is getting very bad. We don't have the freedom to live as Christians in Gaza, we are forced to convert and we need international help.

Paul: Do Christians want to leave Gaza at the moment?

Nashat: I am finding out in my visits to Gaza that the younger generation wants to leave because they feel that there is no hope. The older generation does not want to leave. The younger generation wants to go and look for a better opportunity in life. They don't want to get married in Gaza. They don't want to commit to anything inside Gaza, because they look for any opportunity to travel light and just leave Gaza. A young man in my last visits to Gaza told me, 'Any opportunity I have, legal or illegal, I will just flee Gaza'. That's on one side and on the other side the older generation who have spent most of their lives in Gaza don't want to go anywhere else. They feel that this is their home and they want to live in it. The end result in this is that when the young generation leave and the older generation dies, you are talking about a place empty of Christian community and no testimony of Christ and this is very sad.

Paul: What is your prayer for the Christians in the Gaza Strip?

Nashat: I pray that the Church would wake up in the world, to start moving towards Gaza and for the Christian community in Gaza and for the remnant, what is left of the testimony of Christ in Gaza; I think this is a great responsibility on the shoulder of every Christian in any place in the world.

You can move by prayers. This is the minimum you can do. Remember to pray for the Christians in Gaza, because this opens heavens doors and pushes God to move. You can support financially if you want to do something practical; support the Christian community there; support the employment. The Bible Society is involved in relief work in Micro Enterprises. Just this month we gave two Christians in Gaza taxis to start working and supporting their families; of course economy affects the family relationship. If there are enough funds to feed the children, to take care of them, then there is less tension in the family. Also visits; I would encourage you to come and find a way to get into Gaza and visit the Christian community and encourage them.

We are also praying that the Church in Egypt would wake up as well and start caring for Gaza. We know that the borders between Gaza and Egypt is easing up, so we pray that more Christians would be able to support the Christian presence in Gaza from the West Bank and from Jerusalem if that's a possibility.

Pray that the Lord would preserve the salt and light of Gaza. Pray that the Christian community in Gaza would not be only Christian by name but would be a true testimony. Pray that no people would be forced into conversion and also pray for the Muslim community in Gaza, that the Lord would open their eyes to see the light and to see Him. We also pray for those who persecute us in Gaza, as this is what the Lord has taught us to do. Pray for your persecutors, pray for your enemies. We pray and ask for forgiveness also; pray that the Lord would open their hearts and minds. We do remember five years ago, Rami Ayad was martyred in Gaza. He was brutally killed and his wife just recently issued a letter of forgiveness in a book called, 'Rami and Ami' and this letter of forgiveness is also a prayer letter, that the Lord would open the eyes and the hearts of the people who killed her husband, to know the Lord. We pray exactly the same, for forgiveness and for the hand of the Lord to be over this dark place; also for the body of Christ to be united and show solidarity for the persecuted believers in Gaza.