Indiana Native Kassig Remembered As One Who Served, Regardless Of Risk
The U-S government confirmed the authenticity of a video released Sunday showing the murder of 26-year-old Abdul-Rahman Kassig, formerly known as Peter. Kassig felt compelled to serve others, regardless of the risk.
When Peter Kassig graduated from North Central High School in 2006 he enlisted as an Army Ranger, briefly serving in Iraq.
He received an honorable discharge for medical reasons the following year. He returned home and studied at Hanover College, then Butler University. He became a certified Emergency Medical Technician along the way.
But as the “Arab Spring” unfolded in 20-11 and civil war erupted in Syria, Kassig found himself compelled to serve once again—not in the name of war this time, but in the name peace.
At a prayer service last month, Kassig’s father Ed recalled a phone call he’d received from his son while on spring break from Butler in 20-12.
“'Hey dad, I’m in Lebanon.’", the elder Kassig remembers his son's message. "He wasn’t talking about Boone County. When others headed for the beach, He headed for Beirut.”
By May, Kassig was living in Lebanon. He first worked as a volunteer EMT in a Tripoli hospital. In September he founded Special Emergency Relief and Assistance, or SERA. The organization provided first-response assistance to Syrian refugees—providing food, medical supplies and first-aid training to local populations.
Sarah Pollom is Kassig’s friend from Hanover College. Speaking last month, she said his relief work in Syria had finally given him the sense of direction he’d been searching for back home.
"He was just searching for something here for so long, and he was trying to find his place", said Pollom. "And he finally found a cause that was worthy of this attention. I feel he wanted to jump in whole heartedly and do as much as he possible could with his entire heart and his head."
By summer 2013, Kassig had moved SERA operations to southern Turkey. It was on an aid supply run to northeastern Syria that militants stopped the ambulance Kassig was traveling in and detained him. It was October 1st last year.
Kassig would remain in captivity until some point within the last month. A video released Sunday shows he was killed by the same Islamic State executioner believed to be responsible for the deaths of two other American and two British civilians—three of them journalists and one a fellow aid worker.
In a 20-12 interview with CNN, Kassig explained why he felt the urge to help those in need, regardless of threats to his own well-being.
“We each get one life and that’s it", said Kassig. "You get one shot at this. We don’t get any do-overs, you know, and like for me, it was time to put up or shut up. The way I saw it, I didn’t have choice. You know, like, this is what I was put here to do. I guess I’m just a hopeless romantic, and I’m an idealist, and I believe in hopeless causes.”
Peter Kassig willingly converted to Islam while in captivity. He changed his name to Abdul-Rahman Kassig. In a letter smuggled out by one of his former cellmates, Kassig told his parents he was at peace with his faith and scared to die, but that he could “seek refuge and comfort in knowing that I went out as a result of trying to alleviate suffering and helping those in need.”