Dan Terry Family Fund: Former Afghanistan Country Director Killed in Afghanistan

 On August 5, 2010, friend and former Country Director of Future Generations Afghanistan, Dan Terry, was killed in Afghanistan while returning from an eye camp with nine other aid workers.

In honor of our friend and colleague, Future Generations has established the Dan Terry Family Fund to help family members attend the funeral service in Kabul, Afghanistan. To donate, click <here>.

Future Generations Afghanistan has NO direct connection or ties to the International Assistance Mission (IAM), the organization that Dan Terry was working for at the time of his death. But, the organization honors the work of Dan Terry, who served as Future Generations Afghanistan Country Director in 2007-2008, and seeks to help his three daughters and their husbands attend the funeral services in Kabul.

Connections with Dan Terry and his family are also rooted in Pendleton County, West Virginia, the international offices of Future Generations. Dan and his wife Seija, of Finland, lived in the county in the mid-1970s, and again in the mid-80s, while on leave from their work in Afghanistan. Dan also earned his Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling at West Virginia University before returning to Afghanistan.

With Seija, Dan served rural health and development programs in Afghanistan for over thirty years. Just over two weeks ago, Dan accompanied an international health team of IAM into the countryside to conduct a clinic at which rural residents could receive specialized eye care. After completing their work, while en route back to the capital city, the team was ambushed; all foreign members and two Afghans were executed. One Afghan was spared. A fourth Afghan had left the group to return to his home before the attack occurred.

Reports as to exactly what occurred and why remain confusing. The interplay of conflicting forces in Afghanistan is very complex. Based on the way the killings were conducted and the location in which they occurred, individuals knowledgeable about the area question statements made by two different groups that have claimed responsibility for the deaths. Those interested in additional information about the event can read informed articles at www.aan-afghanistan.org for an article by Kate Clarke, and to Irishtimes.com for an article by Michael Semple.

Dan Terry will be remembered for his great love of the land and people of Afghanistan, his commitment to “putting his body on the line” for peace.

As one news report stated, “Dan was big-hearted, ebullient, full of enthusiasm and kindness.” He loved nothing better than crawling underneath a broken-down vehicle with a couple of Afghan truck drivers to get things rolling again, perhaps delivering emergency food to isolated villagers, or supplies to a far away health center.  He believed wholeheartedly that the road to peace was to listen intently and respectfully to the concerns of others, and to stand up for those in greatest need. Afghanistan was wracked by war during all the years that he worked there. 

Dan became skilled at defusing hostility through his patient and respectful treatment of all. It would be his deepest desire that his death might lead, not to revenge or further conflict, but to renewed efforts to promote peace and the well-being of the everyday people of Afghanistan. In Dan’s own words: “Afghanistan’s present conflict will either lead to more violence, or resolve itself when everyone realizes that fighting won’t end the war.”

Dan’s wife, Seija, continues to work in health care in Afghanistan. They have three daughters,  three sons-in-law, and one young granddaughter. Their eldest daughter, born in Morgantown, lived for a time in Pendleton County while employed by Future Generations. She is currently completing her medical degree at Marshall University in Huntington WV. All three daughters and their husbands continue the family pattern of service. It is expected that Dan will be buried in Kabul beside his longtime friend and colleague, Tom Little, in the land they both served and loved so dearly.

Future Generations thanks Jennifer Taylor-Ide for her contributions to this article.