State Secretary: Hungary provides direct help to persecuted Christians

Marking the International Day commemorating the victims of acts of violence based on religion or belief, Tristan Azbej, the foreign ministry state secretary in charge of programs helping Christians, said Hungary goes beyond talking about solidarity and provides direct help to persecuted Christians. The Hungary Helps international aid scheme launched seven years ago has supported the consolidation of Christian communities in the Middle East, and provided humanitarian help, food and drugs to Christians who lost their home in several African countries, Azbej told public television. Hungary has a vested interest in providing help because it can prevent a new wave of migration, he added. He cited statistics showing that some 300 million people around the world are subjected to discrimination or systematically persecuted by terrorist organisations because of their Christian faith. “There is not much talk about this tragedy globally, and especially in the West they try to hide and even deny that the majority of people persecuted because of their religion are Christians,” he added.