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Journalism of Courage
Barely three months ago, when Mumbai-born Naeem Sarang Mohammed announced that he had decided to take up a job at a security training camp in western Afghanistan, his extended family of engineers was more than a little nervous.
But Naeem, 39, who had worked in Kabul for four years, tried to allay their apprehensions saying things could go wrong anywhere.
Today, 10 days after he was abducted in Herat province and with little information about his whereabouts, the family which lives in Kurla is crestfallen. His wife, Rafat, 30, has slipped into depression.
Rafat met The Indian Express on Thursday in her first interaction with the media since the April 21 kidnapping of her husband. She broke down when asked about her husband, became hysterical and was carried inside by her relatives.
8220;She is depressed. She has not come out of her room since she heard the news. We have not allowed even our closest relatives to meet her because she breaks down even at the mention of Naeem8217;s name,8221; said her father, Munir Ahmed Nasib.
Naeem was a logistics officer in charge of purchases at EOD Technology, a US firm which provides security for the training camp in Herat. He was abducted along with a Nepalese who worked in the catering department when they were travelling by road with their Afghan driver to a district that borders Iran. The identity of his captors is not known yet.
A day after the kidnapping, the Ministry of External Affairs said that Afghan authorities were investigating the case and New Delhi was closely following developments. But little has been said in public since. The Nasib family, where most men are mechanical or electrical engineers and have their own workshop in Ghatkopar, said, 8220;Every time the phone rings, the entire family becomes tense.8221;
Naeem had moved to Karnataka from Mumbai after his SSC and his family subsequently settled down in Mangalore. Rafat, who has been married to him for 12 years, was visiting her family in Mumbai with her two daughters and son when the kidnapping took place.
8220;His company calls us everyday and they say we will get to hear his voice very soon. The Indian Government has also been updating us regularly. We trust them to bring him back,8221; said Munir.
8220;We are worried that the Government is not able to tell us who the kidnappers are,8221; said Nisar Ahmed Nasib, 53, an uncle of Naeem and Rafat. 8220;We asked the Government twice if there were any demands for his release but there has been no mention of that either. Our only ray of hope is that Naeem knows Pushto and Farsi and he can put across his case to his abductors.8221;
