The mother is seeking urgent assistance to reunite her with her five children, who have remained in Pakistan for about seven years.
Shadows silhouettes of mother and son pulling her hand on summer promenade in sepia black and white
Five South African children are stranded in Pakistan as their grandfather reportedly refuses to allow them to return to their mother.
It is alleged the late Muhammad Amjid, a Pakistani national who was married to a woman from Tzaneen in Limpopo, convinced his wife, Sebotse Cecilia Muhammad, to take the children to Dera Ghazi Khan, a city in southwestern Punjab, Pakistan.
Trip to Pakistan turns into years apart
The children, whose ages were between five and 11 at the time, have been in Pakistan for about seven years.
Family spokesperson Brenda Lefofana said her sister has been struggling to deal with the issue for three years and was depressed and refusing to eat.
“These people had been abusing my sister because the last time she spoke to her children was in April 2022. The children’s grandfather in Pakistan told her he was going to change his contact details as he does not want her to influence the children,” said Lefofana.
She added her sister and Amjid married in 2011 and had three children.
In 2018, Amjid suggested his wife take the children to Pakistan to visit their grandfather and attend three months of Islamic classes.
When three months had lapsed, the father instructed his wife to come back to South Africa, leaving the children in Pakistan because he did not have enough money to bring them home.
Family says promises were repeatedly broken
He reportedly kept on delaying the process of repatriating the children by claiming he did not have enough money for flight tickets.
As years went by, the couple had two more children and when they were about two years old, Amjid convinced her to take them to visit their grandfather, promising to give her money so she could bring back all the children.
“Again, he refused to give her enough money and only bought her a ticket. He promised the children would return after a few months,” said Lefofana.
“He said he would go and bring back the children but in 2021, he died and was buried in South Africa, while the children were still stranded in Pakistan.
“In April 2022, his family in Pakistan told my sister the children were no longer coming to South Africa because that was their father’s wish. Since then, he became unavailable, and his phone was always off,” added Lefofana.
Mother’s search for help continues
She said her family was worried and the children’s mother was losing hope.
The matter was reported to Maphalle Clinic in Limpopo two years ago, but the mother had received no assistance.
“Since 2022, we have been interacting with social workers who promised to help, but to no avail. Now, all my family, including the mother of the children, are losing hope and don’t believe they will see the children again.
“I always encourage them to keep on fighting until we get the children back. We are appealing to the government and everyone who will read this story to assist us to bring the kids back home.”
NGOs may assist with reunification
The Citizen has been reliably informed the Brave to Love non-governmental organisation (NGO), specialising in providing aid to victims of human trafficking, may be stepping in to help.
When contacted, the NGO did not confirm it was investigating the matter, but asked to be given time to study the questions put to it before commenting.
Another NGO offering the same services said it was dealing with three cases in which Pakistani men married SA women and emigrated with the children, without the consent of the mothers.
