Ministry Leader Refutes Media Depictions of a Widely Hated America
by Allie Martin
December 12, 2005
(AgapePress) - - The president of a Christian ministry to India says the United States is appreciated throughout most of the world, despite media reports to the contrary. Although reports in the national and international media often show anti-U.S. protests and demonstrations in European, Asian, and Middle Eastern nations, Dr. Samuel Thomas of the Hopegivers International ministry says the U.S. is known for its leadership and compassion in responding, especially when natural disasters strike, to need all over the world. The media would have the public think the U.S. is "hated by the world" or that "Americans are no longer loved," the ministry president observes, but he insists, "That is a lie of the devil."
Thomas, who describes himself as a "full-blooded Indian" and a native of India, says he is one of many people in his country and other nations around the world who have developed a deep appreciation for the U.S. "I can tell you, with all sincerity and praise to God," he asserts, "with a heart of gratitude, I am thankful to the United States of America. I am thankful for your people."
In 1960, Here's Life America founder Dr. Bill Bright was in India and gave money out of his own pocket to help Dr. Thomas' parents travel to Kota in the state of Rajasthan, where they began Emmanuel, the outreach that laid the foundation for Hopegivers International. Today, he notes, Hopegivers trains church leaders, produces Christian tracts and literature for its ministries, and operates 87 children's homes in India that provide shelter, food, and education for thousands of orphans.
Also, the ministry's Emmanuel Institutes graduate thousands of students each year, all of them committed to reaching out to more needy children, orphans, and others in desperate need. Helping Hopegivers to continue its work are its international supporters and sponsors, many of them in the U.S., who give money to help rescue orphaned and abandoned children in India and to spread hope in that country by spreading the good news of Jesus Christ.
And just as India has benefited from American generosity through Hopegivers, so have many other countries seen similar benefits, the ministry's president points out. He notes that, thanks to numerous U.S.-based agencies and Christian organizations, America has become known for its compassionate outreach to the needy in other nations throughout the world.
"You know, the media tells us that the world doesn't want [the U.S.]," Thomas says, "but as soon as the tsunami comes, guess who India looks to. As soon as the earthquake takes place in Pakistan, guess who Pakistan looks to." Despite the picture the mainstream media often paint, he insists that America enjoys great respect among many nations throughout the international community.
When disaster strikes, Thomas observes, "It is amazing how, all of a sudden, then the favorite names are Red Cross, Samaritan's Purse, World Vision, Compassion International, Food for the Hungry. Where are all these based out of? They're based out of the United States."
If given the privilege of titling the Americans, Dr. Thomas says he would call them "not the military for the world, not the policemen, but the 'Good Samaritans' who are looking out for human life." And that positive view, he asserts, is shared by countless others in many Third World and developing nations.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
