Volunteer dentist killed in Afghanistan
A dentist from Durango, Colorado has been killed in Afghanistan.
Dr Thomas Grams was volunteering in Afghanistan with the International Assistance Mission group when he came under fire last Thursday; the dentist was one of ten victims of the shooting spree in the remote Parun Valley area of Nuristan Province to the north of Kabul. The team was working to provide medical and dental care for poor children and had been in the area of just two weeks when the tragedy occurred.
The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed a further nine people. Taliban forces say that they targeted the volunteer group because they were trying to convert people to Christianity. The International Assistance Mission group is a Christian non-profit charity; however, the mission in Afghanistan was purely to help impoverished children and there was no desire to spread the Christian faith.
Dr Grams was a popular member of the Durango community; he was well known in the area and greatly respected for his dental expertise. He had worked in the community for many years but has been focusing on international aid for the last seven years. His volunteer work had enabled him to visit Nepal and India before he travelled to Afghanistan.
Dr Grams was one of ten victims; five other Americans, one Briton, one German and two Afghans also lost their lives. The bodies have been flown to Kabul by helicopter and it is expected that they will now be returned to the victims’ homelands.
Dr Thomas Grams’ friends and colleagues have paid tribute to him, praising his kindness and bravery and saying that he had died doing the two things he loved most, helping people and practising dentistry.
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Dr Grams was my dentist in Durango. He gave me my smile back after many years of embarrassment and I know he gave many many people their smiles back too.
What a senseless death and great loss to the world.
He did not deserve to die this way.
RIP Dr Grams, I know you are in a better place now.