My absent father, Abkar Abdullah Abdu, was abducted on March 16th, 2016 in Al-Hudaydah. I have been missing and longing to my father every day. We all miss him here; my sisters; Khaireyah and Ruba, my brothers; Mustafa and Assem, my mother, my grandfather, and everyone else in the family. We miss the good days when my father would come home carrying fruits and sweets, and we would go out with him.
I will never forget your smile, which helped me overcome any struggle.
I will never, also, forget that painful Wednesday when I came home from school. I was so happy because I had my results, and they were really great. I was so eager to tell my family, mainly my father, about it. However, I was devastated when I was told the news. My father was arrested and detained by Ansarullah.
On the next day, my brother, Mustafa, went to visit him and give him his medications. He called from my brother’s phone. He sounded sad and tired. He congratulated me and said “Well done! You’re gonna be a doctor, Rehab.” I could not hold back my tears. He told me not to cry and that we would meet soon.
Three days later, we all went to visit him, but he was no longer there. We were told that he was transferred. I was demoralized and felt that I would never see my father again.
Dear father, I am writing this letter not knowing where you are or whether you are alive or not. Am I ever to see you again?
Each Ramadan, my longing to you doubles. I wait to hear your footsteps to feel safe. This is the fifth Ramadan we spend waiting for your return.
I will not speak about my mother because I cannot describe the overwhelming responsibilities she struggles with in your absence. Nowadays, she is striving hard to fill your absence. She has no one to lean on.
My grandfather cries day and night, and prays his heart out to see before he passes away. He went everywhere searching for you, but to no avail.
We have been really worried that you might be infected with Coronavirus. You have been suffering from diabetes and hypertension. Do you have the needed healthcare? Do you use your medications? Are you even provided with them?
I call upon authorities in Sana’a to release my long-gone father. Five years ago, we were promised that he would be released. We are still waiting for your promise to be fulfilled. We do not wish for anyone to experience what we feel. My father means the whole world to me.
I call upon you to bring back the happiness to me and my grandfather.
To whoever is reading this letter, do not let us live the sorrow, oppression, and fear of losing my father to lethal pandemic alone. We, his daughters and sons, have been waiting to see him for a long time. Provide him with the needed healthcare and medications for he is suffering from diabetes and hypertension.
Yours sincerely,
Rehab Abkar Abdullah Abdu, daughter of the forcibly disappeared abductee