In a desperate attempt to bring attention to the drama lived by their 26 year old so, the parents of Peter Kassig have released a letter he had written to them during his captivity. The Islamic State captured Peter Kassig a year ago, in Syria. His parents received the letter in June. In it, he admits to being “scared to die” and is extremely sad to know how much his family has to suffer because of the situation he is in. Peter Kassig had been working for the organization he founded: Special Emergency Response and Assistance (SERA), when he was captured a year ago while on his way to Deir Ezzor.
His parents, Paula and Ed Kassig say they decided to release certain fragments of their son’s letter so everyone can understand why their son is so admired and respected by everyone who knows him. In his letter, Kassig wrote: ” I am obviously pretty scared to die but the hardest part is not knowing, wondering, hoping, and wondering if I should even hope at all. I am very sad that all this has happened and for what all of you back home are going through […] If I do die, I figure that at least you and I can seek refuge and comfort in knowing that I went out as a result of trying to alleviate suffering and helping those in need […] In terms of my faith, I pray everyday and I am not angry about my situation in that sense”. The letter ends with the words “I love you” and it is signed with Peter Abdul Rahman.
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The previous week, the Islamic State posted a video which shows the beheading of Alan Henning, a UK hostage, in great detail. As in the previous videos, it ends with the threat of another beheading, this time naming Peter Kassig. Peter Kassig seems to have been forced to convert to Islam, as hostages before him. He is referred to as Abdul Rahman. Previous victims beheaded and filmed by Islamic State militants were James Foley, an American journalist, Steven Sotloff, also an American-Israeli journalist and British worker David Haines. It is believed that the Islamic State militants still have more than 20 hostages.