A RIVERSTOWN Essequibo mother is asking the Government to assist her 29- year-old daughter, Rafena Kumar, to return home. The mother claimed that her daughter and her two children, ages six and four, are trapped in Syria.

The grieving mother, Bibi Faziela Kumar, reportedly of Riverstown, Region Two, related that she has been suffering from depression since she heard what her daughter has been going through in Syria.

“My heart is bleeding. I want the safe return of my daughter. I want to hold my grandchildren… so we can reunite,” the mother said.

The mother said that her daughter has shown the images of her living condition and she is saddened to see how inhumane the camps are.

When asked why she allowed her young daughter to go to Syria, the mother claimed that Kumar has a passion for helping people, and as such, was offered to join an organisation called NOG alliance, a global networking organisation. Having lost her father, the mother claimed that her daughter, who is a nurse, believed that she could help save lives in the war-torn country.

As such, she took up an offer put forward by one Tayyab Abbasi to go to Syria. The man, whom she did not know at the time, reportedly reached out to her via Facebook. The two communicated for a while before she decided to travel to Turkey then to Syria.

In March 2015, Kumar left Guyana and when she reached her destination she realised that Abbasi has lured her in a trap and he was a member of ISIS (a terrorist group).

Her mother said she repeatedly asked to return home but was taken to another village that was not under the control of ISIS at the time. Eventually, the village was taken over by ISIS.

The young lady became pregnant and was struggling until she handed herself over to the Kurdish forces and was placed in a repatriation camp. She was allegedly told by Kurdish officials that she can only return home if the Government of Guyana requests her to return.

The young mother has two children: her first child is Abdullah Abbasi, who was born on May 3, 2016 and the second is Salhudeen Reitz, who was born on August 28, 2018.

The young lady, on completion of her secondary education, did studies at the Guyana School of Nursing. This newspaper was informed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation is investigating the matter.