Gayle Williams
Gayle Williams (18 December 1973 – 20 October 2008) was an
Education and early career
Williams was born in
Work in Afghanistan
Williams had been fascinated with Afghanistan, and worked with Afghan refugees in camps in Pakistan, starting to learn
The charity SERVE Afghanistan is Christian in its beliefs, but denied that it tried to spread Christianity.[4] Colleagues stressed that Williams was extremely careful not to try to convert Afghans.[2]
She was well aware of the risks of working in Afghanistan. Some 4,000 people had been killed there in 2008, of whom one third were civilians. Taliban violence had been targeted against aid workers to spread fear and undermine the Government's claims to be bringing security.[4] In April 2008, because of the danger to charity workers there, Serve recalled its staff from Kandahar to Kabul.[2]
Williams had attended the funeral of a colleague a few weeks before her own death, and expressed a wish to be buried in the same Christian cemetery in Kabul if she were to die in Afghanistan. A friend recounted at her funeral that she said, "These bodies are only temporary. When I get to heaven I will have a new body."[4]
Responses to her death
On October 20, 2008, Williams was shot, at close range, while walking on a quiet street in Kabul.[2]
Mike Lythe, head of Serve Afghanistan, said, "This is a tragedy... She knew the dangers, but Afghanistan is where she wanted to be."
The London-based scholar Ziauddin Sardar described the killing as "another barbaric act in the name of Islam" and called on all Muslims to condemn the Taliban.[6]
Following Williams' funeral, her mother and sister met President Hamid Karzai who wished to express his condolences.[4] Her sister Karen Williams stated that they had forgiven the killers as Gayle would have done.[5]
The family arranged a memorial service in London the week after. They asked for no flowers but for donations to be sent for the welfare of deprived Afghan children.[3]
Responding to the murder of Gayle Williams, there were calls for Christians to end
A "prayer walk" for Williams' family and colleagues was arranged for 8 November 2008 in London, stopping to pray outside embassies of countries where Christian believers face persecution.[8]
The Centre for Safety and Development, which gives training to avoid
References
- ^ UK charity worker killed in Kabul, BBC News, 20 October 2008
- ^ a b c d e f g Killed for being Christian, front page headline in The Independent, 21 October 2008
- ^ a b 'So angry' says Mother of murdered aid worker, Independent, 25 October 2008
- ^ a b c d Slain British aid worker buried in Afghanistan[dead link], Reuters Africa, 26 October 2008
- ^ a b Shot Gayle 'would forgive killer', BBC News, 25 October 2008
- Comment is freeon The Guardian, 21 October 2008
- ^ Embracing a Holistic Gospel: Being the people of God in light of a world in need Archived 28 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Evangelical Alliance, 24 October 2008
- ^ Prayer walk for Gayle Williams[permanent dead link], Premier Christian Radio, 7 November 2008
- ^ Training prepares aid workers for increasing dangers abroad, NRC Handelsblad, 20 July 2009