The Founder of the Gift of the Givers, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, says they have appealed to Al-Qaeda in Mali to release paramedic Gerco van Deventer on humanitarian grounds.
Van Deventer, from Swellendam in the Western Cape, was a paramedic in Libya when he was kidnapped in 2017 and subsequently sold to Al Qaeda, in Mali.
Muslim community members at Pelican Park in Cape Town, have called for his release during an Iftaar gathering when Muslims break their fast.
Sulliman says Gift of the Givers has also sent their negotiator to Mali to deliver the message with the hope that this appeal from Muslims in South Africa will soften the hearts of his captors.
“Gift of the Givers got involved in 2019 to commence the negotiations, the asking price at that point was 3 million dollars, we succeeded in bringing the price down to 500 000 dollars but of course, there was no one to provide that kind of money, governments don’t get involved. The company he was working for was uninterested and he didn’t have any family support to assist.”
The report below calls for Van Deventer’s release:
