Esther Scott, daughter of Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines who was killed by members of the Hindu Bajrang Dal in Odisha in 1999, has praised The Least of These: The Graham Staines Story, a film based on her father which releases in Australia on 16 May. Titled The Least of These: The Graham Staines Story, the film has been directed by Anees Daniel and stars Stephen Baldwin, Sharman Joshi, Shari Rigby and Prakash Balewadi.
In a Facebook post, Esther described watching the film at a preview screening as emotional but said she enjoyed it and recommended others go view it as well.
“For those that don’t know, my Dad and two brothers were martyred in India 20 years ago while my family were missionaries there. Dad had been there for 34 years, my parents met and lived their entire married life there and all three of us children were born there in India. Mum and I chose to forgive those responsible for their murders, something only possible because of the love and forgiveness we have experienced from God through Jesus.There has been a movie made about the story surrounding those events called The Least of These: The Graham Staines story,” she wrote.
The Least of These: The Graham Staines Story was released in India on 29 March. Watch the trailer here:
Graham Staines and his two sons, aged 10 and six, were burnt to death on 23 January 1999 after the vehicle in which they were sleeping in for the night was set ablaze in Odisha’s Keonjhar district. Bajrang Dal activist Dara Singh was accused of leading the gang of Hindu fundamentalists responsible for the incident and sentenced to life imprisonment. The hate crime was allegedly perpetrated in response to rumours that Staines had been carrying out forced conversions.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)