Our View: A shining bright light extinguished
So good, so selfless, so brave. The tragedy of Kayla Mueller’s death can only be grasped by understanding who she was – a 26-year-old woman who was making a difference in the most dangerous place on the planet.
Few people of any age possess the kind of courage and selfless determination required for such sacrifice.
Mueller died while being held captive by Islamic State – the vicious, depraved killers of the defenseless in Syria and Iraq. She died when Jordan, in retaliation for the killing of a captured pilot, unknowingly bombed a building in which she was held. Don’t blame Jordan; Islamic State caused her death.
Riven by civil war and run by a corrupt dictator, Syria is a free-fire zone for fascists, zealots and corruption. None of that mattered to Mueller. Since her high school years in Arizona, her life had been dedicated to serving others.
It was no different when she went to Aleppo, Syria, in 2012 to become an aid worker. She said in an interview that “for as long as I live, I will not let this suffering be normal.”
Normal? Normal 20-somethings go off to college, start families and prepare for the long journey ahead. Some volunteer; some don’t. For Mueller, helping others was her identify. It was her normal. She helped victims of HIV/AIDS and domestic abuse; she assisted the poor in India. She volunteered with AmeriCorps, Big Brothers Big Sisters, America’s Promise and Open Inn. She was learning French so that she could go to Africa.
But Mueller decided those stunningly selfless efforts weren’t enough. So she traveled into the heart of human darkness, volunteering to help the Danish Refugee Council and Support to Life. That put her in ISIS’s path. In August 2013, terrorists abducted Mueller outside a Doctors Without Borders hospital. They demanded a ransom of $7 million. Her parents and the United States government kept her identity secret during negotiations.
The depravity of ISIS is difficult to convey. Last week, ISIS posted a 26-minute video of the death of a Jordanian pilot, who was put in a cage and immolated. They have beheaded journalists, murdered aid workers. A UN report accuses ISIS of crucifying children.
Even in captivity, Mueller didn’t complain. She said she was being treated well. She worried more for her frantic parents than for herself.
“Don’t worry, Mom and Dad. I’ll be fine,” she wrote.
There is selflessness in the world. There is altruism and there are loving daughters. But it is impossible to fathom the depth of character Mueller demonstrated while in the clutches of her captors. In the same note, she wrote: “I have come to see there is good in every situation, you just have to look for it.”
This is eerily reminiscent of Anne Frank’s diary: “It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
Most people are. But in the Islamic State, pure evil exists.
Mueller was good at heart. She never lost her ideals. She also wrote this: “I will not give in no matter how long it takes.”
Neither should we, no matter what it takes.
This story was originally published February 11, 2015 at 10:46 PM with the headline "Our View: A shining bright light extinguished."