Is that mummy? The little words meant so much but why did it take so long for britain to pay debt and secure release?
“Is that mummy?” Those were the simultaneously heartbreaking yet uplifting words spoken by Nazanin Zaghari-ratcliffe’s daughter, Gabriella, as the family was finally reunited after too many years of politics, protests and imprisonment.
When the BritishIranian national landed at RAF Brize Norton in the early hours of Thursday, it marked the end of a tortuous six years, which began in 2016 when she was first arrested and then detained in Iran, accused of plotting to overthrow the government.
Zaghari-ratcliffe, then working for a charity, had simply flown home with her then-22-month-old daughter to Tehran to mark Iranian New Year, unaware she was about to face years of solitary confinement, mental anguish and separation from loved ones.
No evidence was ever put forward to support the accusations of “spying” and, while it is difficult to fully understand the politics of her situation, many agree the 43-yearold was held to secure leverage over the UK Government which had, until last week, owed Iran £400 million for a cancelled order of tanks. Just last year, Boris Johnson insisted the decades-old debt and Zaghari-ratcliffe’s sentence were “two entirely separate issues” – but, with the debt now paid, she is now free.
It certainly begs the question: why was this not done sooner? And why did the government not put aside politics for the sake of a mother sitting in a prison cell?
I have so much admiration for Zaghari-ratcliffe’s family who fought tirelessly to secure her release, even when all hope seemed lost. So much credit must go to her husband, Richard, who kept her story in the news, gave countless factual yet emotional interviews and even staged a hunger protest outside the Foreign Office in central London for 21 days.
I’m sure the next few months will continue to be difficult for the family as they try to fit the pieces of their life back together.
Six years away from being a wife and mother, during the most important years of a child’s life, means there will be so much to learn, discover and, ultimately,
the world is united against his horrific actions. Probably not, but it was certainly a PR move nonetheless.
Since the fighting broke out in Ukraine on February 24, the only silver lining has been seeing the countless acts of kindness and support from countries across Europe, including here in Scotland. In Edinburgh, Windsor Street, the home of the Ukrainian consulate, has been unofficially renamed Volodymyr
Zelensky Street in honour of the country’s incredible leader. Hundreds of households have signed up to provide shelter to refugees fleeing the war. And every day vans filled with aid parcels leave the UK to help strangers in their time of need.
We are all doing what we can to help but the sad truth is that, even if the war ends tomorrow, the fallout will last for years.