Rumana (9) in Bangaldesh faces rejection and bullying for being a Christian. She has extraordinary faith, but often feels alone.

Every morning, Rumana starts her day like many other nine-year-olds around the world. She washes her face and eats her breakfast. She prays about her day and asks God to bless her and her family. She packs pens, pencils and schoolbooks in her backpack, and she sets off for school.

But she walks the mile to school on her own. And when she gets to school, no one says hello or sits near Rumana in class. She’s surrounded by people at school, but she’s also completely alone.

All because she’s a Christian.

“I’m just alone”

In Rumana’s village in north west Bangladesh, almost everyone is Muslim. When her family decided to follow Jesus, the community turned against them. Even people who don’t hate Christians are reluctant to associate with the family, because it could mean they are also rejected by the other villagers.

This ostracism doesn’t just happen between adults. Children see how their parents behave, and they treat Rumana the same way.

“I don’t have any friends in school because I’m a Christian and my parents are also Christian,” she says. “If I sit with them, their parents scold them saying, ‘She is a Christian. You can’t mingle with them because Christians are bad.’ When the children say something unkind, I just keep smiling. But I cry when I’m alone.”

You might think that Rumana’s teachers stick up for her, but sadly the opposite is true. She explains, “My teachers scold children if they sit with me, saying, ‘Don’t mingle with the Christian. If you mingle with her, you might also become a Christian.’”

Rumana sums up her daily experience with heartbreaking simplicity: “I’m just alone.”

Young and vulnerable

“Christian children and youth endure considerable levels of violence as their parents choose to follow Jesus – including verbal, physical, psychological and sexual violence,” explains Sister Hadassah, an Open Doors partner in Bangladesh who supports Rumana and her parents, as well as many other persecuted children and their families.

She continues: “There are hundreds of young children of Christian converts facing similar issues. When someone is young, they are more vulnerable. Bangladesh has a strong community-based culture, so when the community cuts off the converts and isolates them, that brings huge emotional damage to the Christian children.”

Rumana’s remarkable faith

This isolation is a daily sadness for Rumana. When students have breaks at school, they are allowed to run around in a field nearby. But other children refuse to let Rumana join in as they play.

“I play alone with my toys,” she says. “I also made up a game. I draw a circle in my notebook and put some numbers inside. Then I close my eyes and try to randomly place my pen on one of the numbers. Then I award myself a gift based on the number I land on.”

Rumana has also faced persecution from the village children while walking to church. They mock her, throw stones at her and slap her. But Rumana shows a remarkable generosity and forgiveness to the children who torment her. She says, “I told God everything so I feel better. Why should I be angry at them? I forgive them. I pray to God every day for them.”

At just nine years old, Rumana’s faith and dependence on God are so strong. Her favourite Bible verse is Joshua 1:9: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be you wherever you go.” As she says, “It relates to my life story. I will not be fearful of my classmates. I will be courageous.”

Isolation and resilience

Sister Hadassah sees the same resilient faith in other young, persecuted Christians: “Even at this young age, parents taught them that these pressures or persecutions cannot separate them from the love of Jesus. They teach them to love and pray for those who persecute or push them down.”

But it’s clear that Rumana is very affected by the bullying she faces every day. And it comes from adults too. One day, when Rumana’s mother was away working, neighbours came to their house and started shouting at Rumana.

“They started verbally abusing me and then they began pushing against the iron wall of our house,” she says. “It felt like they were trying to break it down. They were abusing me by shouting insults at me! They said, ‘Come here, I’ll kill you today.’”

It’s hard to believe that people could treat a nine-year-old girl like this, simply because she and her family love Jesus. But the hardest day was yet to come.

Burned to ashes

Rumana was walking home from school when she saw something was seriously wrong. There was a thick cloud of smoke in the sky – and she realised it was coming from her home. It was on fire.

“The fire was massive. There was nothing left from our house. It had all gone,” she remembers with sorrow. “No one from our village offered to help. All of them were just watching.”

Rumana’s father was so overcome by trauma that he collapsed. The family asked if he could rest in a neighbour’s home, but they refused – saying they’d be targeted by the community if they helped Rumana’s family. Even her dad’s cousin refused to help.

“No one allowed us to stay,” Rumana says. “With nothing to wear and no food, we were utterly helpless. We were all crying.”

Eventually, one neighbour took pity and let them stay while Rumana’s dad recovered. An old friend of Rumana’s father, a Muslim man, paid for initial medical treatment. After a short while, the neighbour asked them to leave: she, like others, feared being rejected by the community for helping the Christian family. Rumana’s parents built a shed in the grounds of their destroyed house and had to live there until Open Doors partners came to help rebuild their home.

A special Christmas

This brutal rejection, bullying and ostracism is hard every day for Rumana, but the isolation can feel worst of all at Christmas. Rumana knows it’s a special time for Christians to remember the birth of Jesus, and she loves spending it with other Christian children.  

With the help and prayers of people like you, Open Doors partners can host a special, three-day Christmas celebration for Christians from a Muslim background from across Bangladesh – like Rumana.

Rumana’s joy

It’s not just a time when children like Rumana can celebrate the birth of Christ safely and joyfully, though that is so important – it’s also a time when she can meet and play with lots of other young believers who understand what her life is like. They share a deep knowledge of being a young, persecuted Christian, and can support and encourage one another. Open Doors provides a regular Sunday school that she can travel to, meeting children scattered in different villages across her region – but this Christmas celebration is something even more special, with a much wider community.

“I love to celebrate Christmas because all the Christians gather around together singing songs and reading from the Bible,” says Rumana. “Sometimes we read from a storybook. We recite the Bible verses we learned from Sunday school.”

Rumana knows the Christmas story from the Christian storybooks provided by Open Doors partners. “I like the part when they named him Jesus Christ,” she says. “Also, on the day Jesus was born, there was a big star. There was a nice big star. I saw it in the Bible storybook you gave me!”

They cut and eat a birthday cake for Jesus and share a special meal. At the end of the time together, each family gets a Christmas gift from Open Doors partners. These partners help in many practical ways – but the greatest gifts that children like Rumana receive are community, encouragement and love.

“Jesus loves me”

No matter how alone she feels when she goes to school each day, Christmas reminds Rumana that she belongs to the body of Christ. It’s why she can continue to walk with Him, even as she knows the path will be dangerous.

“Jesus loves me,” she says. “I’m very valuable to Jesus. It’s only because of Jesus’ love that I have survived until now, despite all the persecution. His love has guided me this far, and I know I am on the right path through His love.”

Sister Hadassah sees how important it is that children like Rumana are shown this love and support: “We need to understand that these children and youths are the future Christian leaders and influencers,” she says. “If Christian persecutors can damage or destroy them, they can destroy the next generation of Christians.

“Please give your urgent attention to the Christian brothers and sisters in Bangladesh who are paying a huge cost to follow Jesus. Without your help, the persecuted church in Bangladesh would die. Without support from the global church, building resilience and sustainability of the persecuted church in Bangladesh is virtually impossible.”

You can help Rumana

The next generation of the persecuted church need our support and love today. Rumana needs to know she isn’t abandoned or ignored by her global church family. She needs to know that both right now and for the long-term.

Today, will you give Rumana the Christmas gift of joy and show her that she isn’t alone?

Open Doors