ISIS TAUNTS BRITAIN: THE HUNT FOR JIHADI JOHN
'My hero dad... I want him home for good': Plea of daughter of British aid worker who devoted his life to helping war victims - but who is now threatened with execution
Desperate efforts were under way last night to save the life
of a British father threatened with beheading by jihadi fanatics. David
Haines, 44, a married man with daughters aged 17 and four (pictured
left and centre), was named yesterday as the hostage seen in a video of
the murder of a fellow captive. Forced to kneel on the desert sand
(right), the aid worker was warned he will die next. Although he was
identified on the video in both Arabic and English as David Cawthorne
Haines, UK media outlets did not name him, in line with a request from
the Foreign Office. That situation changed yesterday when he was
identified on websites and in newspapers around the world.
The brother of murdered Iraq hostage Ken Bigley today told how the execution of hostages by Islamic militants had 'brought back horrible memories'.
Paul Bigley told of his anguish as it emerged that the Isis militants who killed two American journalists were now threatening the life of a British man.
Mr Bigley, a 62-year-old engineer from Walton, Liverpool, was working in Iraq when he was kidnapped by terrorists along with two American co-workers in 2004.
He was held captive for 22 days by Iraqi insurgents who recorded his gruesome death on camera before releasing the video online.
Paul, 63, told how seeing harrowing images of the last moments of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff brought back the horror of his brother’s killing.
Speaking from his home in Amsterdam, Paul said: 'The situation surrounding these two horrific and senseless deaths brings back lots of thoughts and horrible memories – not that I don’t think of Ken each morning when I wake up.
'I just don’t know when this will all end and what can be done to rid the world of these evil savages. I hope and pray that there is a swift resolution to it.
'I know exactly what the families of the hostages will be going through right now and my thoughts and prayers are with them.'
He also criticised some Western nations for their handling of the ISIS hostage crisis.
The
couple had been living near Zagreb and running a supplies business. Mr
Haines is believed to have been abducted in Syria along with Italian aid
worker Federico Motka, 31, who was also doing relief work for ACTED
with Syrian civilians affected by conflict.
'My hero... what I want most is to have my dad home for good': Heartbreaking wish of British hostage's teenage daughter reveals family's anguish at kidnapping horror
- David Haines, security expert from Scotland, is father of girls aged 17 and 4
- Eldest daughter spoke of 'really tough year' while he has been in captivity
- Revealed family have been ordered not to talk about his kidnapping
- Croatian wife posted image of him and baby with words: 'This is my world'
- Hostage snatched by ISIS last March as he worked at Syrian refugee camp
- The 44-year-old was threatened after execution of journalist Steven Sotloff
- David Cameron today vowed to 'squeeze ISIS out of existence'
- The PM said he was not ruling out using the RAF to bomb the terrorists
- Military chiefs have briefed ministers on options for rescue operation
- Former colleagues said Mr Haines was described as 'The Crazy Scotsman'
- He worked extensively with Muslim communities during the Balkans war
As
the Government worked desperately to save the life of British hostage
David Haines, the harrowing effect of his kidnapping on his family has
been laid bare by a series of heartbreaking messages posted online by
his teenage daughter.
Mr
Haines, a 44-year-old father of two, was threatened with execution at
the end of the ISIS video released this week in which American
journalist Steven Sotloff was beheaded.
The
British aid worker was snatched from a Syrian refugee camp in March
last year, and his 17-year-old daughter has spoken of him being her
‘hero’ and wanting him ‘home for good’.
It
came as David Cameron said he will try ‘every option’ to rescue Mr
Haines and revealed that the Government had attempted to negotiate with
his captors.
The
girl – who lives in Perth, Scotland, and is his daughter from his first
marriage - described her agony in a series of online posts over the
past year.
Scroll down for video
Captured: David Haines with his second child, who is now four, two years before he was abducted
She has planned a gap year doing aid work in the Third World, inspired by her ‘hero’.
‘I miss my dad. I would do anything to have him home,’ she wrote last year.
In
an online question-and-answer forum, she was asked what she wanted most
in her life. The schoolgirl, who is not being named by MailOnline,
replied: ‘To have my dad home for good.’
In
March, Mr Haines’s daughter uploaded a picture of a Fathers’ Day card
she had written him, stating: ‘Hey Daddy, just because you’re not here
doesn’t mean you should miss out.’
Alongside the card was a picture of them together when she was a little girl.
She
also uploaded a photograph of him cradling his younger daughter from
his second marriage to Croatian Dragana Prodanovic in 2010. The child is
now four.
Mr
Haines’s elder daughter described her father as her ‘biggest influence’
and her ‘idol’, adding: ‘It’s been a really tough year without my dad. I
think heroes exist, but they don’t all show off in a stupid cape.
‘This sounds really cheesy, but I think my dad’s a hero.’
Speaking
this week, the girl, who lives with her 43-year-old mother, said she
had been told not to talk about her father’s abduction.
Family man: David Haines with his younger daughter in a picture posted on Facebook by his wife
Video: Mr Haines was hauled in front of the camera after a British jihadi murdered US journalist Steven Sotloff
She told The Times: ‘We’ve been told we are not allowed to speak to anyone about my dad. It’s been like that for ages.’
Christopher
Porritt, who went to school with Mr Haines in Perth, said they have had
no direct contact with the aid worker since he was kidnapped.
He
said: 'We all know where Britain and America stand when it comes to not
paying for terrorism, so you can't really blame David Cameron for the
situation.'
He
told The Times: 'We have been instructed by the Foreign Office not to
say anything this whole time. Even though his name and details of his
situation are now out on Facebook and across the internet, we still
can't talk about
family are just trying to get through it. The world just heard about it
yesterday but they have been living with this for more than a year.'
Mr
Haines’s Croatian wife has also posted heart-breaking pictures online –
many of their wedding day – and a series of photographs of his toddler
wearing T-shirts bearing the words ‘I love my dad’ and ‘Daddy’s girl’.
She has also posted a song called Far Away, with a note reading: ‘For my hubby... far away... miss you darling.’
The couple had been living near Zagreb and running a supplies business.
Miss Prodanovic posted a last picture of her husband and their baby daughter on Facebook with the caption: ‘This is my world’.
Although
he was identified on the video in both Arabic and English as David
Cawthorne Haines, UK media outlets did not name him, in line with a
request from the Foreign Office.
Prime Minister David Cameron has ruled out paying a ransom for Mr Haines' release
That situation changed yesterday when he was identified on websites and in newspapers around the world.
Prime Minister David Cameron today vowed to 'squeeze' ISIS out of
existence and indicated that he may be willing to use the RAF to bomb
the terrorist organisation.
He
also said that the terrorist, known as Jihad John, believed to be
responsible for the murder of the two US journalists, will also face
justice 'one way or another'.
Military chiefs yesterday briefed ministers on the options for a special forces rescue mission.
Lord West, a former Navy chief and ex-security minister, described Jihadi John as a 'dead man walking'.
And world leaders vowed to work together to crush the Islamic State fighters wreaking murder and mayhem in Iraq.
Mr
Haines was described this morning as an experienced aid worker who has
spent many years in some of the world’s worst trouble spots.
The
family was spoken to on Tuesday by Foreign Office officials soon after
the release of the video featuring the second murder apparently carried
out by ‘Jihadi John’.
The
fanatic, who has a multicultural London accent, killed another US
journalist, James Foley, in a video released two weeks ago.
Born in Yorkshire but raised in Scotland, Mr Haines is a veteran of front line aid work in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
He was captured in March last year near the Atmeh refugee camp, just inside the Syrian border with Turkey.
The
camp housing more than 30,000 refugees is less than a mile from the
hilltop of a village that has become a rallying point for foreign
jihadists who have targeted aid workers, journalists and members of the
Syrian Free Army.
Mr
Haines has a wife and four year-old daughter living in the Balkans,
parents in Scotland and the 17-year-old daughter from an earlier
marriage.
For
17 months his family has waited for news as ‘Jihadi John’, one of three
British militants known as ‘The Beatles’, has contacted relatives to
make ransom demands by email and Skype.
The
trio are said to have overseen mock executions, crucifixions, beatings
and even waterboarding – a form of torture where water is poured over a
cloth blocking the nose and mouth.
Sometimes,
the hostages are shackled to one another. They are kept underground and
moved every few weeks to make rescue more difficult.
An Italian aid worker taken with him has since been freed, saying he was tortured and moved at least six times.
Mr
Haines worked with a German NGO that was resettling refugees who had
been uprooted by the civil war in the former Yugoslavia. He has also
worked in Libya and South Sudan.
A colleague said he was ‘very familiar with insecure locations’.
Speaking
to ITV1's Good Morning Britain, Mr Cameron said: 'We need to show real
resolve and determination, we need to use every power and everything in
our armoury with our allies, with those on the ground, to make sure we
do everything we can to squeeze this dreadful organisation our of
existence.'
KEN BIGLEY'S BROTHER: 'HORRIFIC AND SENSELESS' DEATHS BRING BACK HORRIBLE MEMORIES
British hostage Ken Bigley (pictured during his
captivity) was killed in 2004 in Iraq. Recent executions have brought
back unpleasant memories for his brother
The brother of murdered Iraq hostage Ken Bigley today told how the execution of hostages by Islamic militants had 'brought back horrible memories'.
Paul Bigley told of his anguish as it emerged that the Isis militants who killed two American journalists were now threatening the life of a British man.
Mr Bigley, a 62-year-old engineer from Walton, Liverpool, was working in Iraq when he was kidnapped by terrorists along with two American co-workers in 2004.
He was held captive for 22 days by Iraqi insurgents who recorded his gruesome death on camera before releasing the video online.
Paul, 63, told how seeing harrowing images of the last moments of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff brought back the horror of his brother’s killing.
Speaking from his home in Amsterdam, Paul said: 'The situation surrounding these two horrific and senseless deaths brings back lots of thoughts and horrible memories – not that I don’t think of Ken each morning when I wake up.
'I just don’t know when this will all end and what can be done to rid the world of these evil savages. I hope and pray that there is a swift resolution to it.
'I know exactly what the families of the hostages will be going through right now and my thoughts and prayers are with them.'
He also criticised some Western nations for their handling of the ISIS hostage crisis.
He said: 'I am absolutely convinced that the policy of not paying ransoms to terrorists for kidnaps is right.
'I'm
in no doubt that when countries have allowed ransoms to be paid, that
has ended up in terrorist groups - including this terrorist group -
having tens of millions of dollars that they can spend on kidnapping
other hostages, in preparing terrorist plots, including against us here
in the UK and in buying arms and weapons to wreak havoc.'
Mr
Cameron said while he rules out paying for hostages, he did indicate
that other measures in assisting hostages were possible.
He
revealed: 'Since becoming Prime Minister, I have ordered a number of
hostage rescues in different parts of the world, and there was a hostage
rescue attempt in this case as well - sadly not successful.'
Speaking
to BBC Radio 5Live, Mr Cameron said: 'The people who do this should
know that one way or another they will face justice. I'm absolutely
certain that this will be the case with this individual as well.'
A
former colleague of Mr Haines said he had no doubt that the aid worker
would survive his ordeal as he 'has a real Scottish character and I
believe he is unbreakable'.
At
today's Nato summit in Wales, secretary general of the organisation
Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned ISIS that the West is considering its
options.
Speaking
in advance of today's meeting, he said: 'We will discuss what
individual allies and what Nato can do to counter the threat from the
terrorist organisation - the so-called Islamic State.'
Crazy Scotsman' devoted to helping the victims of war - including Muslims
The
British father-of-two facing death at the hands of Islamic State
fanatics has spent his career as an aid worker helping to protect
innocent civilians across the Third World.
For
more than two decades, David Haines has travelled with aid agencies
through Syria, Libya, the former Yugoslavia and South Sudan.
He
has dedicated his life to promoting peace in places of violent conflict
and has overseen projects to save civilians from land mines.
Threat: The 44-year-old is now facing murder at the hands of ISIS, who captured him in March 2013
The
44-year-old has been described as a hero by his family, who have been
inspired by him to travel the world themselves on aid missions.
Mr
Haines was born in Holderness in East Yorkshire, before being brought
up in Perth, Scotland, by his parents Herbert, 77, and Mary, 79.
He studied at Perth Academy before, at the age of 17, joining the military where he enjoyed a 12-year career.
Despite
getting married to his first wife Louise when he was 22 – and having
his first daughter five years later – Mr Haines was determined to
continue working across the world to help civilians trapped in war-torn
countries.
Between
1999 and 2004, he was at a German NGO helping to revive abandoned
villages and to return refugees to their homes after the civil war in
the former Yugoslavia.
The
work led to swift promotion and he left a few years later to become an
independent consultant, spreading his experience in dealing with
security to various charities and organisations.
He
worked as a consultant director for manufacturing company Astraea,
based in Croatia, and went to Libya three years ago, working with
Handicap International on demining programmes.
A
year later, the aid worker travelled to South Sudan, where he was a
security manager for Nonviolent Peaceforce, a civilian peacekeeping
group.
Wanting
more freedom and a shorter-term contract, Mr Haines left to join French
non-governmental organisation ACTED, or the Agency for Technical
Cooperation and Development, which works to support civilians affected
by wars, natural disasters and economic and social crises.
He
was with the organisation in Syria when he was kidnapped with a
colleague in March last year by IS forces near the Atmeh refugee camp,
by the Turkish border.
I miss my dad. I would do anything to have him home
Aid
workers desperately tried to secure Mr Haines’s release and his family
in Scotland spoke of their devastation at his capture.
Mr
Haines’s relatives has been informed that he is the hostage featured in
the barbaric IS video in which American journalist Steven Sotloff was
beheaded.
On Tuesday evening, members of the family travelled to his parents’ home in Ayr to come to terms with the news together.
They are being updated on his fate by Downing Street officials.
Mr
Haines’s wife has also posted heart-breaking pictures online – many of
their wedding day – and a series of photographs of his toddler wearing
T-shirts bearing the words ‘I love my dad’ and ‘Daddy’s girl’.
Pressure:
David Cameron and Barack Obama now face a race against time to recover
David Haines and stem the Islamic State's murderous rampage while
digesting the news that two US journalists have already died
Mr Motka was released in May. He said he had been tortured and moved six times.
Afterwards,
an ACTED spokesman said: ‘Our thoughts go towards all of those,
humanitarian workers and journalists among others, still held hostage in
Syria and throughout the world.’
One
of Mr Haines’s former colleagues said when she saw the IS video: ‘My
heart went into my throat.’ Tiffany Easthom, the South Sudan country
director for Nonviolent Peaceforce, added: ‘I just felt ill.
‘He
was hard working, very caring and had a good sense of humour. He
decided, when he finished with the military, he still wanted to
contribute, so he did it from a civilian perspective working for NGOs.
‘He decided to contribute to the humanitarian world from the civilian perspective.
‘He
was up for the challenge. He was willing to sleep in tents and build
compounds in the jungle for our team. A fellow he was abducted with was
released a couple of months ago. We were hopeful that he would be
released soon.’
She said Mr Haines was ‘very familiar with insecure locations’.
Describing
her former colleague’s appearance in the IS video, she said: ‘He looks
thinner. I guess that’s not surprising, but it’s a pretty horrible
thing.
‘This is a conflict that has taken on a whole new level of brutality that we haven’t seen before.
‘Let’s just hope that there’s a positive outcome for David and everyone else who doesn’t have their freedom.’
A former colleague, who worked alongside Mr Haines in Croatia, told the Daily Telegraph:
'I was so shocked when I heard he had been abducted, but I deeply
believe that he can survive this. He has a real Scottish character and I
believe he is unbreakable.
'He
is different from the journalists that were captured because he was in
there helping people, rather than just reporting. Even though he left
nearly 10 years ago, people still talk about him. They called him the
Crazy Scotsman.'
'I was helping him rebuild the community.
'He
used to help everyone — the Serbs, the Croats and the ethnic Muslims.
He was completely fair to everyone and wanted to improve their lives.
That’s why I was surprised that he had been kidnapped by Muslims,
because he tried so hard to help them.'
Read more:
- The Daily Telegraph
- The Times
- copy http://www.dailymail.co.uk
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