Kidnapped SA journo's family fear worst, hope for best

Published Jan 16, 2017

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Durban - Fearing the worst and hoping for the best. These are some of the emotions the family of South African photojournalist Shiraaz Mohamed are going through as they remain in a state of limbo waiting to receive any piece of information from his captors.

Mohamed was believed to have been kidnapped in Syria last week by individuals who said they “represent all groups inside Syria”. Mohamed was apparently singled out from the group he was travelling with and taken in for questioning over a misunderstanding.

Shirley Brijlal, Mohamed’s ex-wife, spoke to the Daily News from Durban on Sunday.

“His mother is too traumatised to speak to the press. She has been scared into numbness and is grieving. Mother and son are extremely close,” she said.

It was not only Mohamed’s mother who has been traumatised. “He has two sisters who love him to the moon and back.”

The family is trying to stay positive and believe that Mohamed will come back. “Right now we are putting our trust in God and prayer. He’s going to come back home.”

Brijlal said the most difficult challenge for the family was not knowing whether Mohamed was dead or alive. Yesterday it was five days since her ex-husband had disappeared.

Brijlal said the family had been worried about his departure for Syria at the beginning of the month. But they knew they could not stop him as he was a passionate photojournalist and had been talking “for months” about going to Syria.

“The plight of the Syrian people was very close to his heart especially the children.”

Mohamed, of Johannesburg, was leaving Syria and travelling to the Turkish border with Gift of the Givers staff when he was kidnapped.

Brijlal said she had been talking with him on WhatsApp on Tuesday and he was uncharacteristically stressed and wanted to get to the border as soon as possible. He was due to leave on Thursday last week.

As he made his way to the border he told Brijlal he would contact her by 6.30pm to update her on his travels. The time came and went but he did not update her. He sent a message later on and apologised for the delay and said he would call her at 8.30pm. This time he did not send a message.

Mohamed had told her if he did not contact her she must reach Ahmad Ghandour to tell him that something was wrong. Gandhour heads the Gift of the Givers hospital in Darkoush, Syria.

She called Ghandour about her ex-husband’s silence. Since then Gandhour has been constantly updating her on the situation. Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaaz Sooliman, who is based in Pietermaritzburg, said hospital staff had expressed their anger at Mohamed’s capture and held a protest yesterday.

“The businesses in Darkoush closed their shops for a short while yesterday expressing their support for Shiraaz and their disgust at what had transpired,” Sooliman said.

He said that An Nusra, a former Al Qaeda affiliate now called Fath Al Sham, had summoned Ghandour to question him about Mohamed’s disappearance and the “ misunderstanding” that was mentioned when he was kidnapped.

Ghandour said Mohamed had come to record the hardship Syrian people faced to get international support.

“The An Nusra people said they have an interest in the case and will assist in the search for Shiraaz,” Sooliman said.

Daily News

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