Website set up to bring dad back home
6 October 2007, 12:10
'Just bring my husband back. It's all I am asking." This is the plea of Lourika Durant, wife of one of the four South Africans kidnapped in Iraq.
Sometimes she wishes she could get on a plane and bring her husband, Andre, back home herself.
The wives of the hostages, known as the "Baghdad Four", came together on Friday and appealed for anyone with information to help.
Durant, Hardus Greeff, Callie Scheepers and Johann Enslin were kidnapped at a roadblock north of Baghdad on December 10 last year while escorting a food truck. No one can confirm whether they are still alive.
The last time she and her children, Amore ,eight, Xandre ,six, and Tharina ,two, saw Durant was in September last year.
"It was always difficult when he went to Iraq, but I could still call him. In November that year I moved into this house - our new home - Andre hasn't even seen it yet," she said. "He was so concerned about me and the children staying alone here."
On December 10 Safenet Security Services, the company Durant worked for, called her, saying her husband and the others were missing.
However, hostages were usually released within hours.
"That call came at 2pm on a Sunday. I never imagined this in my wildest dreams. I got visions of how they would behead him," Lourika recalled.
At first she told her children "daddy has to work in Iraq a little bit longer".
At 6pm on December 21, Lourika's phone rang and a strange voice said her name. Lourika heard Andre's voice in the background, and she was allowed to speak to him. He said he was okay and that they would soon be released.
"Don't stop praying for us," he told her.
Lourika asked where he was, but the phone was disconnected.
Since then no one has heard anything. The kidnappers have still not made contact.
In January, Lourika told her children the truth.
"It was not easy."
Xandre became very protective of his mother, fearing someone would "catch" her too.
Amore still talks about "when daddy comes home".
Lourika is taking the two eldest children for play therapy.
Tharina, the youngest, barely remembers her father. Her mother shows her pictures pointing at Andre?, saying: "Papa". Tharina now refers to all men as "daddy".
"I will not give up hope," Lourika said. "I believe he is alive. I sleep next to the phone - can you imagine if I missed that call he made in December?"
Desperate for any information, she has started a website.
A history of the kidnapping is written in Afrikaans, English and Arabic with the plea: "Please help us find our beloved husband and father."
Durant's friends and former colleagues are also struggling to come to terms with his kidnapping.
Martin Aylward and Leon Engelbrecht, who both knew Durant when he was the spokesperson for the police's Airwing, are trying their best to remain positive.
Aylward said he and Durant regularly e-mailed each another while he was in Iraq. He still often wanted to forward a message to his friend.
Engelbrecht recalled how he tried to convince Durant not to leave the police force.
"Andre is such a nice guy. His family is very important to him.
"I would not encourage others to work in Iraq - the money is not worth it. No one can guarantee you will be safe," he said.
Ronnie Mamoepa, spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs, expressed regret that no "resolution has been found yet".
He said they shared in the families' pain and would continue to do everything in their power to ensure the release of the hostages.
The website is www.findandredurant.co.za
Sometimes she wishes she could get on a plane and bring her husband, Andre, back home herself.
The wives of the hostages, known as the "Baghdad Four", came together on Friday and appealed for anyone with information to help.
Durant, Hardus Greeff, Callie Scheepers and Johann Enslin were kidnapped at a roadblock north of Baghdad on December 10 last year while escorting a food truck. No one can confirm whether they are still alive.
The last time she and her children, Amore ,eight, Xandre ,six, and Tharina ,two, saw Durant was in September last year.
"It was always difficult when he went to Iraq, but I could still call him. In November that year I moved into this house - our new home - Andre hasn't even seen it yet," she said. "He was so concerned about me and the children staying alone here."
On December 10 Safenet Security Services, the company Durant worked for, called her, saying her husband and the others were missing.
However, hostages were usually released within hours.
"That call came at 2pm on a Sunday. I never imagined this in my wildest dreams. I got visions of how they would behead him," Lourika recalled.
At first she told her children "daddy has to work in Iraq a little bit longer".
At 6pm on December 21, Lourika's phone rang and a strange voice said her name. Lourika heard Andre's voice in the background, and she was allowed to speak to him. He said he was okay and that they would soon be released.
"Don't stop praying for us," he told her.
Lourika asked where he was, but the phone was disconnected.
Since then no one has heard anything. The kidnappers have still not made contact.
In January, Lourika told her children the truth.
"It was not easy."
Xandre became very protective of his mother, fearing someone would "catch" her too.
Amore still talks about "when daddy comes home".
Lourika is taking the two eldest children for play therapy.
Tharina, the youngest, barely remembers her father. Her mother shows her pictures pointing at Andre?, saying: "Papa". Tharina now refers to all men as "daddy".
"I will not give up hope," Lourika said. "I believe he is alive. I sleep next to the phone - can you imagine if I missed that call he made in December?"
Desperate for any information, she has started a website.
A history of the kidnapping is written in Afrikaans, English and Arabic with the plea: "Please help us find our beloved husband and father."
Durant's friends and former colleagues are also struggling to come to terms with his kidnapping.
Martin Aylward and Leon Engelbrecht, who both knew Durant when he was the spokesperson for the police's Airwing, are trying their best to remain positive.
Aylward said he and Durant regularly e-mailed each another while he was in Iraq. He still often wanted to forward a message to his friend.
Engelbrecht recalled how he tried to convince Durant not to leave the police force.
"Andre is such a nice guy. His family is very important to him.
"I would not encourage others to work in Iraq - the money is not worth it. No one can guarantee you will be safe," he said.
Ronnie Mamoepa, spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs, expressed regret that no "resolution has been found yet".
He said they shared in the families' pain and would continue to do everything in their power to ensure the release of the hostages.
- This article was originally published on page 3 of The Pretoria News on October 06, 2007
Cape Town
