RMM Workers Deported from Uzbekistan
(From the July 2006 Mosaic) An RMM missionary family and a single missionary intern have been forced to leave Uzbekistan as part of that country’s increased crackdown on religious activity and western non-governmental organizations. The workers were employees of a community-development organization. The family had lived in the country since 2000 and the intern had joined them in September 2005. In early June the legality of the organization was challenged in court by the Uzbek government. The family made plans to leave the country by the end of the month and will return to North America to evaluate their options for continued ministry with RMM.
In May of this year the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom once again included Uzbekistan in its list of countries that “have engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom” in the past year. In the commission’s annual report, which is sent to the U.S. Secretary of State, they noted an Uzbek law that “severely limits the ability of religious communities to function.”
The RMM workers leave behind a small group of believers who have been meeting regularly for Bible study and worship.