AFGHANISTAN: Sister of murdered British aid worker Gayle Williams says she forgives the Taliban

Record ID: 287634

  • Title: AFGHANISTAN: Sister of murdered British aid worker Gayle Williams says she forgives the Taliban
  • Date: 26th October 2008
  • Summary: (BN11) KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (OCTOBER 25, 2008) (REUTERS) GAYLE WILLIAMS' SISTER KAREN WILLIAMS AND MOTHER ARRIVING AT THE NEWS CONFERENCE ROOM CAMERAS (SOUNDBITE) (English) KAREN WILLIAMS, SISTER OF SLAIN BRITISH AID WORKER GAYLE WILLIAMS, SAYING: "I'd like to tell you about my sister who gave her life serving the Afghan people she loved. Gayle was working to help little children with disabilities some blind, some deaf, some with no limbs - including victims of the many landmines from the many wars in Afghanistan. Gayle was passionate about trying to help them." CAMERA (SOUNDBITE) (English) KAREN WILLIAMS, SISTER OF SLAIN BRITISH AID WORKER GAYLE WILLIAMS, SAYING: "If Gayle could talk to us now her view would not have changed. Her faith in the Afghan people would remain the same. I know Gayle would forgive those responsible for this act, and she would tell us not to hold a grudge against them. We also forgive them, just as Gayle would have done." WIDE OF NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) RINA VAN DER ENDE, SPOKESWOMAN FOR SERVE AFGHANISTAN, SAYING: "There is still no clue why Gayle was murdered. The police are continuing the investigation and we are hoping to know more soon. Our attention currently goes out to the care of our staff and to Gayle's family. For now the work of SERVE is indefinitely suspended in all areas where our organisation is working. The Taliban has claimed that Gayle was targeted for promoting her faith. That is simply not true."
  • Embargoed: 10th November 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Afghanistan
  • Country: Afghanistan
  • Reuters ID: LVA90YJEXOEV0PK11D1NVE8IT20J
  • Story Text: The sister of British aid worker Gayle Williams, gunned down by the Taliban in Kabul last week, said on Saturday (October 25) she forgave her sibling's killers.

    "If Gayle could talk to us now her view would not have changed.
    Her faith in the Afghan people would remain the same. I know Gayle would forgive those responsible for this act, and she would tell us not to hold a grudge against them. We also forgive them, just as Gayle would have done," Karen Williams said at a news conference in Kabul.
    Karen Wiilaims said her sister died serving the people she loved.

    "Gayle was working to help little children with disabilities some blind, some deaf, some with no limbs - including victims of the many landmines from the many wars in Afghanistan. Gayle was passionate about trying to help them," she said.
    The hardline Islamist Taliban said they killed Gayle Williams because she worked for SERVE Afghanistan which the militants said was promoting Christianity.
    A spokeswoman for SERVE, a British-based Christian aid organisation, denied the claim.

    "There is still no clue why Gayle was murdered. The police are continuing the investigation and we are hoping to know more soon. Our attention currently goes out to the care of our stuff and to Gayle's family.
    For now the work of SERVE is indefinitely suspended in all areas where our organisation is working. The Taliban has claimed that Gayle was targeted for promoting her faith. That is simply not true." said Rina van der Ende.
    Taliban insurgents have increasingly targeted aid workers this year in their campaign to spread fear and undermine statements by the Afghan government and its Western backers that they are bringing security to the nation.
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