The daughter of murdered aid worker David Haines has told a memorial service “the pain has never gone”. Bethany Haines, 27, paid tribute to the dad, who was killed by IS terrorists in 2014, after being captured the year before.
To mark 10 years since his death, family and friends gathered near his home in Perth to celebrate his life and to remember all other hostages. Bethany told the service: “It’s hard to believe it is 10 years since my world was shattered and I had to accept that I was never going to see my dad again.
“It has been a long and hard 10 years with many ups and downs. The pain has never gone away and probably never will but I learned to cope with it and channel my energies into positive things.”
She said her dad would not have wanted to be remembered as “the man in the orange jumpsuit” but as someone who loved his family. Bethany also told how she was inspired by a brother and sister she met on a trip to Syria in 2019 who had witnessed the massacre of several members of their family in their home but had created something positive by turning their living room into a library and community hub.
She said: “This inspired me to keep living my life to the best and enjoying myself, that’s exactly what my dad would want. He would not want to be remembered as the man in the orange jumpsuit, he would want to be remembered as the man who loved his family, who was generous, who wanted to help in any way he could and who loved life.”
She described her father as “strong, kind and caring” and said he would have loved becoming a grandfather and spending time with her son. Bethany also stressed that her father’s death was not about religion but was due to “bad men doing bad things”.
David was 44 when captured by militants in Syria in 2013 while delivering aid to the war-torn country. The father of two was beheaded in 2014 after being held by a terrorist cell dubbed The Beatles because of their English accents. Footage of the murder was posted online. His remains have never been discovered.
The service also paid tribute to six other hostages who suffered similar fates – aid workers Alan Henning, Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig and journalists James Foley, Steven Sotloff and John Cantlie. A slide show featuring photos of them and David was played during the service at Perth Congregational Church.
Minister Gordon Campbell, who led the service, said: “We are here to remember David and all the other hostages and it’s important that we do so. In the most difficult of circumstances David was supporting others, mediating in disputes, keeping spirits up and being strong for others.”
Two British nationals, El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, are serving life in US jails for their involvement. A third man, Mohammed Emwazi, dubbed Jihadi John, who featured in videos of IS beheadings, was killed in a drone strike in 2015.
Bethany thanked those who have supported her over the past decade, including the families of other hostages, the US government and the charity Hostage International. She hopes the service will help raise money for the charity and donations can be made through JustGiving.
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