“There’s danger out there.” With those words, volunteer medical workers headed into the harsh, remote mountains of Afghanistan, hiking at altitudes up to 16,000 feet, to reach isolated villages of needy Afghan people, offering medical care that many would never otherwise receive. That humanitarian help ended Friday in a hail of bullets that resulted in the murder of 10 doctors, nurses, and other volunteers who were ambushed by the Taliban, gunned down as they returned from their two-week mission.
Accused by the Taliban of spreading Christianity, that claim was strongly denied by the International Assistance Mission out of Kabul, the group that provided backing for the trip.
One of the Americans killed was 25-year-old Brian Carterelli, a James Madison University graduate from the central Shenandoah Valley, the final American to be publicly identified. His Facebook page still invites visitors to become his friend … his friends list includes 649 smiling faces of those he knew throughout the community, college, home schoolers, summer campers from his days as a counselor at Grace Bible Camp in Bath County, Va., and his work in Afghanistan.
Brian Carterelli graduated from JMU in 2009 with a degree in Media Arts and Design Digital Video and was the Public Relations Project Manager for the International School of Kabul. His love of Afghanistan came through in photos of that country that were posted on Facebook, pictures of smiling Afghan children, hard-working Afghan people, beautiful mountain ranges, blooming flowers and flowering trees, the architecture, pack animals of the region that included camels, horses, donkeys, oxen … images that are not shown by the U.S. media. Under them was Brian’s description: “It is not all war.”
Word began circulating Saturday night throughout the local home school and Christian community that Brian, who was from Rockingham County, was one of the Kabul ambush victims. A civilian, he was in Afghanistan to help those in need. His life ended along with the nine other volunteers from his team that included six Americans, two Afghans, one British and one German citizen.
Brian’s video talents were highlighted in a June 24, 2010, light-hearted YouTube music video filmed at the International School by “The Dough Boys” from the fictional “Donut King Records” titled One Thing On My Mind. With a tag line proclaiming, “When the last day of the work week fell on Tuesday instead of Wednesday, the Dough Boys wrote a song to celebrate ‘Donut Wednesday on Tuesday’ at the International School of Kabul,” it was directed by Brian.
Another of his videos shows Afghan craftsmen and another captures the raw ruggedness of dozens of Afghan men on horseback playing the ancient sport of Buzkashi. Additional photos reveal a culture that remains primitive in many ways, a culture far different than anything he grew up with in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Perhaps the reason Brian was with the humanitarian group was to use his talents to video and photograph the team of volunteers as they helped mountain villagers with medical needs and emergencies. Hopefully, if any images remain, they will be recovered and shown as a reminder of those who do good in the world regardless of the evil that surrounds them.
