For the wives of the four South African contractors kidnapped in Baghdad last December, ten months with no word on their husbands has made "every day a living hell." Via IOL:
'Please, please, is there anyone out there one righteous person who can help me get my husband back?" pleaded Durban woman Marie Enslin, tears pouring down a face ravaged by grief.
For 10 months she has waited in increasing agony for news of her husband, Johann, 46, who, together with three colleagues, Andre Durant, Callie Scheepers and Hardus Greef, was kidnapped at an Iraqi roadblock.
At the time of their abduction they were employed as security guards by South African firm Safenet Security Services.
December 10, 2006 will forever remain engraved in the minds and hearts of four women, their children and extended families. On that day their menfolk disappeared, seemingly into thin air. Apart from one brief phone call, nothing has been heard.
On the day he was kidnapped, Johann Enslin was preparing to return to Durban to spend Christmas with his wife and four children. Marie Enslin described how events unfolded.
"They were escorting a convoy of trucks filled with food and water in Baghdad when they were stopped at a roadblock by men in police uniforms. The men looked legitimate, so my husband and the others got out of their vehicles to see what they wanted. They didn't suspect a thing."
Enslin said that initially she and the other wives thought it was simply a mistake, and they would see their husbands soon. "On December 21, Lourika Durandt got a call from Andre," said Enslin.
"All he could say was 'I am okay. We will be released soon. Please give my love to the children, and don't stop praying'."
The women were told by the South African government not to go public for fear they would endanger their husbands' lives. But with the government unable to assist in searching for and rescuing their loved ones, they are desperate for someone with contacts in Iraq to come forward and help out.
"Eleven children are pleading for the safe return of their fathers. We don't understand why they took South African men. They have no political agenda. They are simply trying to earn enough to care for their families."
Minister Ronnie Mamoepa, spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs, said the department was not directly involved in attempting to determine the whereabouts of the missing men.
"South Africa does not have a diplomatic mission in Iraq. While we share the anxiety of the families involved, the responsibility for locating them rests with their employer."
As Ramadan draws to an end, Marie Enslin has issued this appeal: "There must be someone who can see how broken we are, and understand how our families are suffering.
If there is anyone who can help, anyone who has contacts in Iraq, please will they make contact with me? We don't know where to turn."
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Wife of South African Hostage Starts Website
Families of South African Hostages Ask for Help
South Africans hostages in Iraq still alive
Four South African Contractors Kidnapped in Iraq
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