‘Six years of hoping against hope’
HOPE carried Catherine McGown, the wife of South African Stephen McGown, who was held captive in Mali for almost six years by al-Qaeda, through the ordeal, she said.
“It’s been a very long time and I’m just so pleased that this day has come. It is unfortunate that Steve’s mum isn’t here. We spoke about hope. It is a funny thing – you are hopeful and then you get bad news. You are despondent, but yet you still have hope. You get back on track again, believing that he is gonna get back home, but then he doesn’t. But you still keep believing,” she said, addressing a media briefing organised by the South African government.
Stephen was released on July 25 and was reunited with his family in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Catherine shared the first moment she saw her husband at their Sandton home on Sunday, after his release from Mali.
“So he came out, looks at me and said: ‘Your hair is growing,’ and I said: ‘Actually, your hair is longer than mine now,’” said Catherine, laughing.
Stephen’s father, Malcolm McGown, said his son felt as strong as before.
“It was a big surprise when Stephen walked through the door for the first meeting (after the release), but when I gave him a hug he felt as sound and as strong as before. So he was well treated up there.
“Obviously it’s the joy of the miracle that had happened. We can’t describe it. I guess... unless you have travelled the road, you really don’t know what it’s like,” he said.
“We tried to keep my wife (Stephen’s mother Beverly) going by continually saying he is coming home, but it didn’t quite work out the way we wanted.
“So we have had to say to Stephen: ‘A lot of water has passed under the bridge but you are strong. You’ve got to get up and just carry on with your life and make the best of what it is. Every experience in life has benefits.’”
Beverly McGown died in May. – ANA