Fear stalks Bangladesh’s Christians after attacks

NAGORI: As a young man Bidhan Kamol Rosario left his Catholic village to fight for bang lades h’ s independence. Now he questions his future in the country after a rise in extremism that has left minorities living in fear.

As Bangladesh’s small Catholic community eagerly awaits the irst visit by a pope in more than 30 years, many say it has never been more dificult to practise their faith in the Muslim-majority country.

Christian leaders say many have left Bangladesh in recent years as the community increasingly inds itself targeted by extremists.

“In the War of Liberation, we wanted a beautiful Bangladesh which embraced all types of people from all races, faiths, creeds and religions,” said Rosario, 65, of the 1971 war that brought independence for the former East Pakistan.

“I never wanted advantages or favours for myself, only that there be equal rights for all... But now I do not believe there is any equality for us.”

Christians make up less than 0.5 per cent of Bangladesh’s 160 million people, but lived for centuries in harmony with the local Muslim majority.

They have played a prominent role in the country’s history and even today, schools and hospitals run by Catholic missionaries provide a lifeline for poor communities. Rosario is part of a small Catholic community descended from Portuguese traders who settled in Nagori, a small cluster of villages near the capital Dhaka, in the 17th century.

The area remains a bulwark of Catholicism and is home to a small shrine where hundreds of thousands gather every February to celebrate the life of Saint Anthony.

Local Catholics there say they feel increasingly under threat after a spate of attacks by hardliners targeting religious minorities, foreigners and secular bloggers.

Tensions with Bangladeshi authorities have also risen, they say, boiling over in March when villagers accused plain clothes police of raiding the home of a local widow and stealing money.

When a group of villagers tried to prevent the plain clothes oficers leaving, armed police were sent in, leading to a violent stand-off in which at least 20 people were injured. More than 100 villagers were later charged with obstructing police work.

Alcohol has also become an issue. Non-muslims can drink legally in Bangladesh, but locals say they have come under scrutiny from police, who frequently arrest villagers they suspect of consuming alcohol.