Francis George Gill, commonly known as Dr. Sodagar Gill, is a renowned Christian Pakistani journalist who fled to Thailand with his family after he was charged in a false blasphemy case.

Gill was working for Community Advance Program, a faith-based Christian organization of Lahore. Christian Monitor, a weekly newspaper, was one of the projects of that organization, and I was theThe publisher of the Christian Monitor, Kaleem Dean and his wife.publisher. The paper used to highlight the plight of the marginalized, downtrodden and voiceless Christian community.

Francis was the chief editor of theChristian Monitor and played the key role in its continuous publications for four years, from 2008-2011.

The stories published in Christian Monitors were very much appreciated by the Christian community but equally hated by the Muslim fundamentalists. Abusive telephone calls, messages and threats to the editor and me were very common.

Twice Francis was attacked and was injured. However the situation became worse when I was forced to flee the country and all the abuse shifted to Gill.

Armed with only selfless determination, Gill continued to publish the paper until 2013, when he was accused of blasphemy, a serious crime un Pakistan under section 295-A of the penal code which rules against, “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.”

In the extremist society that Pakistan has become, the general Muslim public does not wait for government institutions and courts to rule on these cases. Mob justice, lynching the accused and blazing their properties is the current modus aperandi. In the name of Islam, all boundaries of laws and tolerance are crossed.

Being a journalist, Gill was well aware of the situation and fled the country with his family to Thailand, where he applied for asylum with the UNHCR.

Thailand is not a signatory of the Geneva Convention and not officially involved in accommodating asylum seekers or refugees. However, the UNHCR has established an office there as a gateway to other countries who are willing to accept refugees once they are approved by the UNHCR.

Because of the Middle East crises, along with thousands of Rohingya Muslims from the Western Myanmar and other neighboring countries, large numbers of Syrians and Iraqis have also rushed to Thailand in search of safe havens.

For poor Pakistanis, Thailand has been their favored destination. However, as more and more of the persecution-ridden Christian community started coming to Thailand, government-picked Pakistani Christian politicians started visiting Thailand to explain to the Thai government that Christians were perfectly safe in Pakistan.

Due to the indirect system of elections for minorities in the Pakistan, handpicked individuals are nominated for minority representation in the parliament. These members are not accountable to their respective communities but the people who select them, and thus, they obey their political masters.

The Pakistani government uses these people to lobby against Christians to avoid international criticism of their mal treatment in Pakistan.

As a consequence, Thailand’s UNHCR office considers all Pakistani Christians as “economic migrants” and refuses  99 percent of asylum applications.

“Life in Thailand is the most difficult. Every day we live and die. We do not know what will happen to us in the next moment,” says Gill. “Thai immigration and police conduct frequent raids to arrest the over-stayers. As all Pakistanis Christians are so poor that they cannot renew their visit visas, we are forced to live illegally in the country.

“In addition, asylum seekers are not allowed be employed. So people have to rely on churches or Christian organizations. But it is difficult for these organizations to feed such a large number of asylum seekers.”

Gill added, “In Pakistan, we suffered at the hands of Muslims, and now the Thai immigration officials are a continuous threat for us. We appeal to the Christian world to think about Pakistani Christians who are here not by their own choice but because of their unbearable circumstances.

“In this situation, if we go back, there is fire and death, but in front of us is total darkness. We do not know where to go. I have four young daughters who were studying in schools and colleges. Their future has been ruined.

“Bread and butter is a serious issue for us all. Children are unable to further their education because of our volatile status. It seems in this world, we are a different race and people, disliked by everyone.

“Europe has opened its borders for Middle Eastern people. But thousands of Christians struggling in Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and other countries are not a big deal for them. The world leaders have failed to understand the bitter realities of the lives we live.

“Pakistan is a hell for minorities, there is no space for them in the country. We struggled for our people but could not make any difference. Rather, we were forced to leave for a destination unknown to us.”

Kaleem Dean is human rights activist and journalist from Pakistan. He currently lives in the UK. He was the publisher of Christian Monitor in Pakistan, a leading Christian newspaper which covers minority issues. He presently writes for various Pakistani papers. Write to him atKaleem.Dean@mail.com. https://www.clarionproject.org/blog/christian-persecution/ftom-fire-darkness-story-pakistani-christian-journalist