Graham Stuart Staines (1941 - 1999)

Born 18 Jan 1941 in Palmwoods, Queensland, Australia

Ancestors

Died 23 Jan 1999 at age 58 in Manoharpur, Keonjhar, Orissa, India

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Biography

Graham Staines is Notable.

Graham Staines was born in Queensland, Australia

Graham Staines was an Australian Christian missionary who worked in Odisha, India from 1965 as part of the evangelical missionary organisation, Evangelical Missionary Society of Mayurbhanj, caring for people who had leprosy and looking after tribal people in the area who lived in abject poverty. Along with his two sons, he was burnt to death in India by members of a Hindu fundamentalist group.

Graham Stuart Staines was born on 18th January 1941 in Palmwoods, Queensland, Australia. As a teenager, he corresponded with his penpal, Shantanu Satpathy, who lived in Baripada. Sharing their thoughts on flora and fauna of their respective countries and life in their different environments, led to Graham developing an interest in Christian missions and life as a Christian missionary.

After joining the Evangelical Missionary Society of Mayurbhanj (EMSM), Graham visited Odisha, India in 1965. He stayed. His work soon involved caring for people who had leprosy and helping the local tribal people who lived in abject poverty. Being a Christian whose very life was a witness of his beliefs, he shared the Gospel (good news) of Christ Jesus and some locals converted to Christianity and were baptised. Over the years, radical Hindus claimed that these were 'forced conversions'; something all concerned always denied. Nevertheless, some ill-feeling grew. Graham took over the management of the Mission at Baripada in 1983 after helping to establish the Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home as a registered society the previous year. He regularly taught locals how to make mats and baskets out of rope, sabai grass (Eulaliopsis binata) and tree leaves, that they could then sell. He assisted in the translation of part of the Christian Holy Bible into the language of the Ho people of India, that then was also used to increase literacy. ^[1]

In 1983 Graham married Gladys Weatherhead, who he met in June 1981 while they worked together taking care of leprosy patients on the mission field. The couple subsequently had a daughter, Esther, and two sons, Philip and Timothy.

Graham and his boys were burnt to death whilst sleeping in their car during the early hours of 23rd January 1999 in Manoharpur village, Keonjhar, Orissa, India. ^[2] Members of the Hindu fundamentalist group, Bajrang Dal, were found to have committed the crime. In 2003, Bajrang Dal activist Dara Singh was convicted of leading the mob of some fifty murderers and was sentenced to life in prison.

Gladys continued to live and work in India caring for those who were poor and were affected by leprosy ^[3] until she returned home to her native country of Australia in 2004. In 2005, she was awarded the fourth highest honor a civilian can receive in India, the Padma Shree, in recognition for her work in Odisha and in 2016 received the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice. Esther has become a medical doctor, and married.

• Burnt Alive: The Staines and the God they Loved, a book by Gospel Literature Service.
• The Least of These: The Graham Staines Story, a 2019 film based on Graham's killing.

Sources

1. ↑ 'Graham Stewart Staines: His Background'; accessed 30 May 2022
2. ↑ 'Staines' killing: Murder of Australian missionary and his two sons in Orissa shocks India'; accessed 30 May 2022
3. ↑ 'World: Asia-Pacific Missionary widow continues leprosy work'. BBC News; accessed 30 May 2022

See also

• Wikipedia: Graham Staines; accessed 30 May 2022.