Brother of aid worker David Haines – who was murdered by ISIS terrorists – awarded OBE says he will never give in to hate but continue legacy with Global Acts of Unity campaign ‘If I hate the people who killed my brother, they win. I will not let hatred e

It would have been easy for Mike Haines to give in to hatred. His brother – humanitarian aid worker David – had just been murdered by ISIS terrorists in the most barbaric and public way. David had travelled to Syria to help refugees in 2013 when he was kidnapped by ISIS. Any hopes he would be returned safely were finally extinguished in 2014 when footage of his murder was posted online. But Mike did not give in to hate. Instead, he focused his grief into continuing the kind of work David had been involved in – helping others. In the aftermath of David’s murder, Mike set up the campaign group Global Acts of Unity with the aim of promoting unity, tolerance and understanding in schools.

His tireless work to promote peace led to him being awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List last week.

“It’s massive. Completely unexpected,” Mike told the Perthshire Advertiser of his OBE. “It was a real surprise and I am still kind of stunned and in a little bit of disbelief.

“It’s a massive honour, but it must go to so many people at Global Acts of Unity.

“I have a team that works closely with me, colleagues who have become friends and most of all the students who have taken up the challenge, those who have become ambassadors and the students who have taken that step away from hatred.

“And, of course, this is for the people of the UK. We witnessed terrorist attacks in