Former US Army Ranger turned humanitarian was said to have been kidnapped by the ISIS group on October 2013. According to WTHR-TV, he was on his way to Deir Ezzour in eastern Syria, while on a SERA relief effort, when the incident happened. The abduction was never made known to the public though, as requested by kidnappers to the kidnap victim's family. Kassig has converted to Islam while in captivity and former hostages informed Kassig's family that his faith has sustained him during his imprisonment.
 |
| Photo Credit: http://time.com/ |
On Friday, October 3 2014, ISIS released a video claiming that the 26 year old American Muslim convert Peter Edward Kassig is in custody and will be the next Westerner to be executed.
Shortly after learning about the video, the Kassig family released their statement:
The Kassig family extends our concern for the family of Alan Henning. We have read about his work and his generous character with great respect and admiration. We ask everyone around the world to pray for the Henning family, for our son, and for the release of all innocent people being held hostage in the Middle East and around the globe.
Kassig is a native Indianapolis, joined the US Army Rangers in 2006 and was deployed in Iraq in 2007 as a U.S. Army Ranger. After that, he attended Butler University majoring in Political Science from 2010-12.
It was in one spring break from Butler University that he came to Beirut. Kassig has great interest on knowing about the Syrian crisis firsthand and also want to learn more about the Middle East in general from a civilian perspective. From there, he develop his NGO he named SERA or Special Emergency Response and Assistance.
According to Kassig:
This work(as a humanitarian) is important for the message that it sends to people back home, that one of the best aspects of the American way of life is our ability to come together in the face of adversity and to stand beside those who might need a helping hand. In five years, if I can look back on all of this and say that our organization is able to truly help people, that I was able so share a little bit of hope and that I never stopped learning then I will know this all stood for something.
SERA is focused on the distribution of aid materials to populations with an acute and immediate need. They administer aid in the form of food and cooking materials, medical supplies, and clothing.
U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, a Democrat from Indiana, issued a statement Friday evening regarding Kassig.
"This is an unimaginably devastating situation for any parent to endure. My prayers are with Peter's parents at this terrible time ... I ask for respect of the Kassig family's privacy as they seek to navigate this heartbreaking situation."
 |
| Photo Credit: NY Daily News |
Source: NY Daily News, Heavy News, Time
No comments:
Post a Comment