My Story
“David and I were best friends as well as brothers. This is the story of our paths in life, what happened to David, and why I am trying to fight the hate terrorists seek to sow, by spreading a message of unity, tolerance and understanding.”
- Mike Haines
Growing Up Together
Our parents were in the armed forces, as children David and I lived in many different countries. There were always new things to see and new friends to make, but they were left behind when mum and dad were posted to a different station.
So, David and I were the only constants in each other’s lives. We were best friends as well as brothers, even though he was four years younger than me, and could be a right pain in the rear.
Mum and dad brought us up with love and care. They taught us respect for other people’s cultures and a dislike of prejudice and discrimination. And when we grew up, David and I both joined the RAF. But then our paths diverged. I became a mental health nurse, while David went to serve with the UN, and then to work in humanitarian roles, helping people in need, no matter who they were or what they believed in.
Always Brothers
Mum and dad brought us up with love and care. They taught us respect for other people’s cultures and a dislike of prejudice and discrimination. And when we grew up, David and I both joined the RAF. But then our paths diverged.
I became a mental health nurse, while David went to serve with the UN, and then to work in humanitarian roles, helping people in need, no matter who they were or what they believed in.
March 2013
David travelled with a French organisation called ACTED to help refugees in Syria.
I never saw him again
Barely a week later, I got a phone call from ACTED telling me that David had been kidnapped by a group calling themselves the ‘Islamic State’, otherwise known as ISIS.
What Happened To David
However, within the space of a month in the late summer of 2014, ISIS posted footage online of the murders of three of its hostages. The first two were Americans, Jim Foley and Stephen Sotloff, and the third was my brother, David.
His barbaric and very public death was a huge shock for all the family, and it left us bereft.
I found it hard to come to terms with the fact that my brother was dead.
I’m not going to make out my brother was perfect. Like us all, he wasn’t. But his heart was good. He put himself in danger to help others.
He was a true hero !
“So, what do I do? Do I live with anger and hatred?
Do I point the finger and blame a people or religion?
The answer to these questions is NO"
Since my brother died, I’ve been to see the good work he did. Here I am in Jordan visiting a refugee camp managed by Acted.
“IT WAS HATRED THEY WERE TRYING TO SPREAD –
AND I HAD TO STAND AGAINST IT.
HATRED IS A CHOICE, IT ONLY DESTROYS.
IF WE HATE THEY WIN.”
Global Acts of Unity
If I live with anger and hate, the terrorists have won. Through creating fear and distrust, they want to turn us against each other. They want to turn community against community.
So, I want to talk of unity, tolerance and understanding.
“So, what do I do? Do I live with anger and hatred?
Do I point the finger and blame a people or religion?
By reaching out and talking to someone from a different faith or background, we can break down the walls that terrorists seek to build between us.