I hope all of my readers had a Merry Christmas and enjoyed taking time to celebrate Jesus’ birth. In Sri Lanka, Christians in rural areas cannot celebrate without fear of persecution. Here is my latest story for World:

Christmas is a time of joy, but also of fear for Christians in rural areas of Sri Lanka.

Yamini Ravindran, National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka’s (NCEASL) advocacy officer, said, “Christmas is commercialized for the Christians residing in the main city areas; however, for most Christians in the rural or Buddhist-dominant villages it is a completely different scenario. It is an event filled with joy and fear for them. Joy to remember the birth of Christ—fear to conduct services boldly and fear of attacks against churches, pastors, or Christian members.”

Read more at World.