The Presbyterian Church of Wales (PCW) has launched a financial appeal to help thousands of displaced refugees in north East India. The appeal is a humanitarian effort to support the people of Manipur, India, who are facing severe persecution and violence. It’s in response to the violent upheaval which took place in Manipur in May 2023, which led to the destruction of hundreds of churches, homes, and displacement of tens of thousands of people. Hundreds of people have since died. Many of the refugees are now displaced in refugee camps in neighbouring countries.

Rev Nan Powell Davies, General Secretary of the PCW recently visited a refugee camp in Mizoram. She was accompanied by Rev Rebecca Lalbiaksangi, minister of the East Montgomeryshire Pastorate and who comes from Mizoram. This camp, in the Mizoram hills, is now home to 40 families from Manipur.

Nan Powell Davies said: ‘When Thomas Jones arrived in north east India in the 1840s, he preached the gospel and made a solemn promise to them. He devoted himself and his denomination to fostering a special relationship with them. He made a covenant with them and we cannot walk away from them in their hour of need.

The tribal peoples who were attacked by the Metei people group in 2023 are the descendants of the tribes that the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist missionaries worked with in the nineteenth century. They are part of us and we are part of them. I met peace loving families who have lost everything and experienced unbelievable pain and yet find hope in each other and in God.

‘During 2025,  we are asking individuals and churches to give generously, to help our brothers and sisters return home and rebuild their houses and businesses.’

During their visit, Nan and Rebecca met two survivors, whose stories made a great impression on them. Their names (changed for security reasons), are Robert and Kimteii:

My house and business have gone, burnt to the ground.  I had spent all my savings on building and establishing a kindergarten. I was so proud of my business and my work with families. And now it’s all gone. Not only me this is true of many others. I had neighbours who had worked in the Army and spent their pension on building their own homes. These houses are also burnt down. I long to go home, we all do, but it is not possible. Everything has gone. There are no medical or school facilities. It has all been burnt down. When the Metei people attacked us, they set fire to everything and we ran for our lives. We ran down the valley, me, my wife and children. I looked back and all I could see was a sky that seemed to be on fire.

We had to flee when the fires started and we ran into the jungle, with our five year old son, my husband, parents in law and brother in law. My son is traumatised by what he saw and the terror of running away. We have lost everything, we have nothing now. Back in Manipur, we had a farm and a business, but that has all gone and we rely on the generosity of the Mizo people. We are exhausted and don’t know what the future holds for us. My son is terrified by the thought that we might go back to Manipur. He has terrible nightmares about the burning and violence he witnessed – but we must go back when we can. It is our home.

For further information about the Manipur Appeal please visit https://www.ebcpcw.cymru/en/manipurappeal/

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Editor’s note: The attached images feature Rev Nan Powell Davies, General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church of Wales; Rev Rebecca Lalbiaksangi, minister of the East Montgomeryshire Pastorate; Robert, a Manipuri refugee now living in Mizoram. For safety reasons we are unable to show an image of Kimteii.

For media interviews, please contact Gethin Russell-Jones press officer Presbyterian Church of Wales 07378 309268