Tired and traumatised: Relative describes condition of four SA men repatriated from Russia
Four of the South African men, who had been trapped in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, arrived at OR Tambo International Airport on Wednesday.
Image: Facebook/O.R.Tambo International Airport
The mother of two of the four South African men who returned home on Wednesday, after being trapped in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, says the men are tired and traumatised.
Phumla Zuma said while she was relieved that two of her sons had returned home, her other six children remained in Russia. It has been reported that the men were allegedly lured to Russia with the promise of jobs but they were then recruited to fight alongside the Russia army in the conflict with Ukraine.
“My happiness is incomplete; only two of my children have returned. The children of the other parents have also not returned, and my happiness will be complete when they are all back.”
She explained that she has had limited contact with her sons since their return as they had to give statements to law enforcement authorities and were then taken to a place of safety.
“We have not been able to engage with them fully; we had brief exchanges with them, and while they are happy to be back, they are tired and traumatised.”
Explaining the trauma, she said one of the men had heard a plane fly overhead and had been distraught thinking it was a drone, due to his time in the conflict zone.
“That alone tells you that they are still feeling the trauma,” she said.
Last week The Mercury reported that the families had made an urgent plea for President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene in the matter and help the men return home. The Presidency later confirmed that Ramaphosa had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the issue.
Zuma said that they had been informed that after the talks between Ramaphosa and Putin, the men who are still in Russia had been moved from the conflict zone to a safe area.
“What we know is that in the week when the South African president Cyril Ramaphosa spoke with the Russian president, they were moved into a safe area. They are now sitting in a safe area and waiting to be returned home,” she stated, adding that one of the men who was injured will remain in Russia for much longer as he needs to have injuries attended, including being fitted in a prosthetic leg.
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