A New Zealand nurse has been held captive by the Islamic State group in Syria for almost six years – information long kept secret for fear her life might be at risk.
The status of nurse and midwife Louisa Akavi, now 62, is unknown, but her employer, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), says it has received recent eyewitness reports suggesting she might be alive.
On Sunday, The New York Times became the first media organisation to name Ms Akavi, ending a five-year news blackout imposed by the New Zealand government and Red Cross with the cooperation of international media.
The collapse of IS has raised hopes Ms Akavi and two Syrian drivers kidnapped with her might now be discovered.
We received information in December that Louisa was still alive. Sadly we never learned more about Alaa and Nabil.
Louisa, a dedicated nurse from New Zealand, joined the Red Cross over 30 years ago. Alaa and Nabil, loving fathers, were drivers vital to our aid delivery in Syria.
— ICRC (@ICRC) April 14, 2019
The New York Times reported that as recently as December, Ms Akavi may have been seen by at least two people at a clinic in Sousa, one of IS’s last outposts.
There were also reported sightings in 2016 and 2017, Red Cross officials said.
“We continue to work together (with the Red Cross) to locate and recover her,” New Zealand foreign minister Winston Peters said.
“This has been a uniquely complex and difficult case.
“Louisa went to Syria with the ICRC to deliver humanitarian relief to people suffering as a result of a brutal civil war and Isis occupation.
“Where a New Zealander is held by a terrorist organisation the Government takes all appropriate action to recover them. That is exactly what we have done here.”
The past 5 years have been extremely difficult for their loved ones. We cannot begin to imagine what Louisa, Alaa and Nabil have endured.
We are desperate to know that they are safe and well.
— ICRC (@ICRC) April 14, 2019
Ms Akavi was taken captive in 2013 in the city of Idlib in north-west Syria.
It is believed she was offered for ransom and may have been used as a human shield.
The New Zealand government believed at one point she may have died, but there are hopes her medical skills might have caused her captors to spare her.
The New Zealand government is reported to have opposed the ICRC’s decision to allow The New York Times to report Ms Akavi’s name and nationality.
Dominik Stillhart, director of operations for the ICRC, said the organisation had decided to permit publication in the hope it would elicit new information on her whereabouts.
“We have not spoken publicly before today because from the moment Louisa and the others were kidnapped, every decision we made was to maximise the chances of winning their freedom,” Mr Stillhart said in a statement.
I want to tell you, Louisa, Alaa and Nabil, we have continued searching for you throughout all these years and we won’t give up hope to see you once again amongst us.
For my full statement: https://t.co/HoCeSFWCxh pic.twitter.com/md1Ha4b71M
— Dominik Stillhart (@DStillhartICRC) April 14, 2019
“With Islamic State group having lost the last of its territory, we felt it was now time to speak out,” he added.
He said the collapse of IS in Syria could bring new opportunities to learn more about Ms Akavi’s situation and that the ICRC also feared it risked losing track of her in the aftermath of the collapse.
Ms Akavi is of Cook Islands descent and lives in Otaki, a small town north of Wellington.
She is the longest-held captive in the history of the ICRC, and Mr Stillhart called her “a true and compassionate humanitarian”.
He said strenuous efforts had been made to secure her release.
Negotiations in 2013 and 2014 were not successful. In 2014 she was among a group of hostages moved by IS only hours before a raid by US special forces which aimed to free them.
“We call on anyone with information to please come forward,” he said. “If our colleagues are still being held, we call for their immediate and unconditional release.”
