SA lensman held in Syria is alive
PROOF ARRIVES: ANONYMOUS PERSON MAKES CONTACT
Shiraaz Mohamed has been missing for a year. Which terror group is holding him and why is a mystery.
Proof of life has finally been received for South African photojournalist Shiraaz Mohamed who was abducted in Syria last year. “One year ago today, Mahomed was captured in Syria on his way back to the Turkish border,” said Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman.
Head of Gift of the Givers Ar Rahma Hospital Dr Ahmad Ghandour spearheaded a search, risking his life traversing areas of intense conflict and heavy bombing to meet leaders of the myriad terror groups, engage with tribal leaders, medical personnel, renowned journalists and prison guards looking for clues to Shiraaz’s whereabouts.
“Then on December 26 came an all important call. ‘Don’t talk to anyone but us. We are the door to Shiraaz.’ We said the test of surety is a list of 10 questions that Gift of the Givers has prepared in consultation with his family.
“The voice said ‘send the questions and you will have the answers soon’. On January 2, the call came again. ‘My man is in Syria. He has met Shiraaz. The questions have been answered. We await his return’. At 7.50pm on January 8 we got the message that Shiraaz sends salaams (greetings) to his mother and family and to Gift of the Givers. He is very happy with the questions and wants to be released asap.”
On Monday night, Mohamed’s family confirmed all 10 questions, to which only he would know the answers, were answered correctly. “The family was ecstatic,” Sooliman said. “They shed tears of joy and hope. There was an atmosphere of positivity, a realisation that in spite of the bombing and the unpredictability of terrorists, Shiraaz was alive.
“His capture was mystifying for several reasons: the two drivers who were held with him but immediately released were told he was being held for questioning to clear up a misunderstanding and will be returned to the Ar Rahma Hospital in Darkoush in 48 hours.
“This didn’t happen. Shiraaz had come to record and broadcast Syrian peoples hardship. He delivered food and blankets in refugee camps so he was an asset to the people. As a Muslim, he cannot be held hostage by terror groups according to their own beliefs. No demands were made, no ransom was requested, no allegations were levelled of spying or working with the enemy.
“Now comes the daunting challenge. Why was he captured and what do they want? We await the ‘voice’,” said Sooliman. –