Paul Beckman, a Christian teacher from Norwich, was tragically murdered in Tajikistan 22 years ago. His bravery and commitment to spreading the gospel have left a lasting impact on those who knew him. Paul was stabbed outside his home in Dushanbe on November 5, 2001, in what is believed to be a retaliatory act for the bombing of neighboring Afghanistan. He was a member of Dereham Road Baptist Church, which has since merged with St Mary’s Duke Street to become Norwich Central Baptist Church. Paul had moved to Norwich in the early 1980s to conduct postgraduate research in botany and the development of drought-resistant crops. His time spent in Niger, researching desert crops, ignited his passion for helping people in developing countries. He had been living in Tajikistan for four years, working as an English teacher at the Academy of Science’s foreign languages department. Despite his untimely death, Paul’s memory lives on through the acts of kindness and compassion inspired by his legacy. One such example is the sponsorship of a child in Tajikistan by the Norwich Central Baptist Church through the Christian charity Compassion. This sponsorship started in Paul’s memory and has continued for over two decades, benefiting other children in different countries as well.
