PIN to commemorate 9 dead colleagues in Afghanistan
Published: Jun 1, 2016 Reading time: 2 minutes
It has been a year since nine of our colleagues were murdered in Afghanistan. People in Need would like to pay tribute to their work and extend its deepest sympathies to their families. While we honour the memory of the victims together with their families, colleagues, and community elders in Afghanistan, we invite the international community to join us in commemorating one of the most tragic events in the history of the humanitarian community.
On the night of 2 June 2015, a group of unknown gunmen entered a PIN field office in Zaré, Southern Balkh, and shot nine PIN employees point-blank in their beds. Faced with this unspeakable tragedy, PIN immediately offered assistance to the bereaved families, suspended its operations, and called for a thorough investigation of the incident.
A year on, this investigation has yet to produce tangible results. With the absence of assurances that our work can continue safely, and after careful consideration and consultation with our team, PIN completely withdrew from Southern Balkh, the region where the attack happened. Very probably the attack was not aimed specifically at People in Need and was not directly connected with our work in Afghanistan. This is why we remain in the country.
Committed to improving agriculture, education, rural infrastructure, conditions for urban poor and providing humanitarian assistance where needed, we took a number of measures to ensure the safety and security of all our staff. We also continue to provide support to the bereaved families, helping them ensure that the victims’ children can attend school and complete their education.
We would like to use this opportunity to pay homage to all the unsung aid workers, people who lost their lives while selflessly helping others.