Cape Town – South African photojournalist Shiraaz
Mohamed is coping as best he can now that he is home.
He will share his story when he is ready to, his ex-wife, Shaaziya Brijlal, said on Sunday.
“He is fine, he is doing well, he is coping as best he can. It’s a huge adjustment, we’re taking it one day at a time.
“A lot of people are ready to hear from him, we’ll release a statement to the media when he is ready to speak,” Brijlal told the Cape Times.
Mohamed was captured in Syria in 2017.
The kidnappers are said to have singled him out in a group he was
travelling with to take him in for questioning regarding a “misunderstanding”.
After nearly three years in captivity, he returned home on Friday.
Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers, which had been working to secure his safe return before they withdrew in June, tweeted that they were told Mohamed had managed to escape from his captors.
In a statement last week, Brijlal wrote: “Owing to his recent circumstances, he and our family are requesting that we be given some space. Thank you for all our duas, prayers and support.”
The Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) previously said it could not confirm or deny news of his return, insisting that it simply did not know whether he was back in South Africa.
It had also, since mid-December, been engaged in diplomatic efforts to confirm reports that Mohamed had escaped captivity in Syria.
On Sunday, Dirco spokesperson Clayson Monyela referred questions to Mohamed’s family.