Making the ultimate sacrifice
SEVERAL years ago few of us would have known much about Afghanistan.
We would have seen images on our television screens and read stories in our newspapers about the war there. However, it all seemed very far away.
Sadly, that is no longer the case as soldiers and civilians with Ulster connections have made the ultimate sacrifice as they try to help a country ravaged by conflict.
At the weekend a former Newtownards man, Mark Smith, suffered a terrible loss when his fiancee, Dr Karen Woo, was one of eight foreign aid workers murdered by gunmen in north east Afghanistan.
Mr Smith, a former soldier who now works as a security contractor in the country, was to have married the doctor in a couple of weeks.
And then came the news that a former police officer from Northern Ireland had been shot dead in Helmand Province.
Father-of-four Ken McGonigle, from Magheramason, was working for a security services company when he was shot by a prisoner who overpowered his guards and seized a weapon.
Mr McGonigle was his first target as he ran out of the building and two US marines also died in the incident.
There are now dozens of people with Ulster connections working in Afghanistan and, in just over a month, soldiers of the Royal Irish Regiment and Irish Guards will be deployed there.
The people who have lost their lives, those who are still working there, and those who will soon patrol the countryside, are heroes of whom we should be proud.
Their bravery and determination to help those less fortunate than themselves should be an example to us all. We must never forget them.
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Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 14 February 2012
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Temperature: 6 C to 9 C
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