Rome (AsiaNews) - “Speak about us, so the world does not forget us!”: that is what a Christian in India wrote to us, from Orissa, the region which has recently been the theatre of a systematic and cruel persecution of our many brothers and sisters in the faith.  Their “fault” lies in having found in Christianity the path towards affirming their dignity and the basis for their social and economic development.

The same message is shared by some Catholics in China: “Thank you for denouncing the regime’s violence against the Church, do not give in to the general trend that seeks to flatter China for economic benefits”.

The list could be a long one: there are Muslims, converted to Christianity, who risk being killed in those nations where Sharia reigns, who communicate with us to express their joy at having encountered the love of Jesus Christ and their fear of being suppressed as a scandal for the Muslim community; Buddhist monks, Burmese and Tibetan, who feel their desires and demands are “understood” who thank us because we tirelessly follow their dramatic situation.

The internet site AsiaNews.it, this small instrument that helps Asia and the world, the East and the West communicate, celebrates 5 years on December 3rd, the feast of St Francis Xavier, patron saint of mission.

Five years ago we could never have imagined the rate at which it is developing.  From a few thousand visitors a month in 2003, we have now reached tens of thousands of visitors a day, for a volume of 2-3 million pages a month.  If we then take into consideration that the news published on AsiaNews is reported by news agencies, television channels, newspapers and websites worldwide, then we can really say that our site has become a place of dialogue between Asia and the world.

The problem with current trends in globalisation is that each and every day we receive mountains of news that prevent us from sharing in the suffering of Orissa, the Chinese gulags, the Tibetan repression, the abandonment of Myanmar, the fear of Christians in the face of Islamic fundamentalism.  What makes AsiaNews special is its sharing in and attention to the human person from Asia and above all the fate of this continent’s Christians.

We do not hide our Christian identity.  Rather it helps us have greater sympathy for and understanding of the Asian people’s journey. Thanks to this compassion we are able to look beyond the economic stereotypes, that would see Asia only as a marketplace, or as a pawn to be used for political interests, to perceive the misery of its’ workers, the difficulties of the families, the anguished cry of the many dissidents, the desperation and the hope mingled in the heart of its youth.  We are also against catastrophic stereotypes that see Asia and its people as a human and social disaster, to be kept at arm’s length.  Our hopes in Asia are based on the fact that beyond the fundamentalism found there, there is also in act a palpable search for the religious experience, where God has a place alongside and before all other daily concerns.  The other pillar of hope comes from the vivacity of Asia’s Christian communities, which are in continuous growth, capable of courage until death by martyrdom, who offer a witness that knows how to conjugate love of God with love of neighbour, the dignity of man with the good of the nation, love of one’s own culture and openness to the world.

Dear friends, beginning a new year of activity and witness, join us in this our task, support us with your help.

Note: Photo chosen from a series taken during a Chinese mission in space.