Upper Egypt's Copts are demonstrating against the Governor of Minya, Ahmed Dia-el-Din, over his decision to have a home for the handicapped in the village of Deir Barsha demolished. The demonstrators, some 10,000 in number, are calling for the Minya governor's resignation, saying that he made the decision because they stopped paying him bribes to protect the care home.
The five-storey center in Deir Barsha was built by the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Mallawi to provide care for handicapped children and youth and to give them vocational training. Governor Dia-el-Din inaugurated the building himself 4 years ago and never stated anything was wrong with the building until he stopped receiving bribes from the community this past year.
The Minya governor also recently ordered the demolition of 10 newly built homes in Said Abdelmasih village belonging to Copts. This came after the villagers in the completely Orthodox Christian village refused to donate land for the construction of a mosque near the village's parish church. While the Deir Barsha center is being protected by a sit-in, the homes in Said Abdelmasih were destroyed on 28 February by the Minya Governorate's police and members of the Egyptian Armed Forces.
More here.
Musings from the Fourth Rome: A Source for Orthodox Christian News and Events
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