'We just want him back home safe': The family of Bangladeshi-UN official held captive by Al-Qaeda speaks out

A call on 12 February this year ruptured Kazi Nasreen Anam's world. She was at her residence in Mirpur, DOHS - a warm abode designed and decorated by her husband. 

The call came from her husband's office. AKM Sufiul Anam -Field Security Coordination Officer (Head) of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) in Aden - had been kidnapped in Yemen the day before (11 February). 

The warmth precipitated into terror and panic. Nasreen's siblings were informed, who in turn, called the others. The news spread through all the family networks.  

Anam is the family's oak tree. Its branches reach far and wide and shelter many lives. This news struck fear and held every family member - immediate and extended - captive.    

After more than two long decades, Anam retired as a lieutenant colonel from the fourth Bangladesh Military Academy (BMA) in 2005. Without losing a beat, Anam started working as a security expert at the UN in the same year. 

"He joined the army to serve the country, he joined the UN to serve the world," said Anam's son, Sakeef Anam in an interview over Zoom with The Business Standard, adding "he really enjoys the work he does."

After seven gruelling months, only recently, Anam's family and friends saw him for the first time in a video released by AQAP (Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) on 3 September.  

At the mention of his children, Anam is seen breaking down.  

"I have never seen him cry," said Sadia Hedayet, Anam's niece, who currently resides in Bangkok with her husband, "not even when our grandparents died." 

"He has always been the strong military man in the family."

The man in the video 

Anam, now 65 years old, joined the Bangladesh Army in 1977; and five years later married Kazi Nasreen Anam. 

During his days in the Bangladesh Army, the family relocated several times, and Anam took his family wherever he was posted across the country. 

"He would make sure he is doing his job diligently as a military officer, and as a father and husband," said Sakeef, who currently resides in Toronto.  

Ever since joining the UN, Anam has been stationed overseas for work. But he was no stranger to missions abroad. Anam went on his first UN mission in 1993 to Mozambique and then again in 2003 to Congo as part of the peacekeeping mission from the Bangladesh Army. 

"Most of these places were in conflict. And that is exactly why my father went there, to resolve it," said Sakeef.   

Anam managed to be there for his family despite his workload. 

In 2013, when Sadia's father passed away from health complications in New Delhi, Anam - who was on a mission abroad -  virtually stayed with Sadia every step of the way from contacting the embassy and following protocol to bring the deceased body back to Dhaka. 

Sakeef says his father invested in his and his sister's "mental growth" and took them on trips overseas as much as possible, instead of, say, buying plots and cars, like many do after coming back from UN missions abroad. 

Throughout his career with the UN, Anam would opt for R&R (Rest and Recuperation) leave and spend time with his family. 

"I would see him regularly once in two months or so," said Kazi Javed Islam, Anam's brother-in-law, adding, " I have relatives in the city who I meet even less." 

On 16 December 2021, the family gathered on the Mirpur DOHS house rooftop for Anam's surprise birthday celebration. 

"You should have seen him, he was so happy. Like a child, really," said Sadia, a voice crackled, "that was the last time I saw him. There is a beautiful garden, a swing on the rooftop, all that he should get to enjoy in his retirement." Anam is scheduled to retire in December this year, which would bring an end to his 47-year-old career - first in the Bangladesh Army and then in the UN. 

Anam missed his son's graduation this July and his grandson's first day in school in the first week of September. 

Illustration: TBS

"He would speak to my wife and say things like you are the educator [she used to be a lecturer at NSU], so what are you planning for your son's future?" said Sakeef, adding that Anam would often talk about taking leave from work to physically be present for the big day in his grandson's life.  

The quagmire of panic and fear 

In February, Anam - along with four of his UN colleagues who are Yemeni nationals - were abducted by armed militia. But the identity of his captors was not immediately known.

Yemen has been ravaged by an eight-year-old ongoing war which has been further complicated by multiple parties and factions. The conflict is primarily between the internationally recognised government, which is backed by a Saudi-led military coalition and in exile at the moment, and Houthi rebels, supported by Iran. 

Anam's employer, the UN, had been in constant communication with the family, and also offered support, according to Anam's son, Sakeef Anam. 

The family, by and large, exhausted all their networks, contacting the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry and ambassadors of Middle Eastern countries in Bangladesh.  

"The United Nations is in close contact with the authorities to secure their release," UN spokesperson Eri Kaneko said in February. We reached out to the UN recently for an update, but there has been no response as of this writing. 

The family also met Shariar Alam [state minister] and Lt Col (Retd) Faruq Khan, MP and Chairperson, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, earlier in the year. 

"They were reassuring," said Sakeef.    

A group of Anam's friends from the army also came forward and continue to be heavily involved in talks with the foreign ministry. 

Lieutenant General (Retd) Abdul Hafiz who belongs to the group, said "We laid out four clear recommendations for the foreign ministry to expedite the process. And nearly all have been met except that there needs to be a high-level inter-ministerial committee to steer and spearhead the government's efforts for securing Anam's release from his captors." 

"Without this committee, things may not move in the right direction. Every moment is crucial here. Time is of the essence," said Hafiz. 

For confidentiality and security purposes, details cannot be disclosed. 

Toufiq Shatil, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told The Business Standard earlier this month, after the release of the video on 3 September, "We are working with the United Nations on this. However, as it is confidential, the details cannot be disclosed for security reasons."

But, after seven months, "he should have been back by now. All steps and actions need to be intensified now to expedite the process," said Hafiz, adding, "we are not seeing results yet."   

Yemen has seen an uptick in similar abductions of foreigners over the last few years by heavily armed tribes, and there have also been some kidnappings by jihadists too. These captors generally demand a ransom. 

British-American Luke Somers was captured by AQAP in Yemen in 2013. The captors demanded a ransom. However, the amount did not surface in the media reports. The then US-President Obama authorised a rescue mission. 

Unfortunately, Somers was killed during the rescue raid in 2014. 

A French national Isabelle Prime was held hostage by armed militia in Yemen in 2015. After six months, she was freed by her captors. France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said France had not paid a ransom but singled out Oman for its "enormous help" in securing her release. 

In Prime's case, the amount of ransom asked was not disclosed and the identity of the captors was not confirmed. 

In Anam's case, a ransom has been demanded - which will not be disclosed for security reasons.

More needs to be done 

A heavily edited video message was released by AQAP on 3 September, where Anam is seen distressed. "It has been six months [the video was filmed on 9 August] since I am held captive in a place I do not know. My family does not know where I am. If I die, my family will not be able to know," he said. 

SITE Intelligence Group - an American non-governmental organisation that tracks the online activity of white supremacist and jihadist organisations - has the video listed on its website. 

In the video, Anam mentions his health problems, his four other colleagues who were also abducted by the armed militia along with him, Luke Sommers, the four-walled room without windows he is kept in; and urged "the UN, the international community, the humanitarian organisations, to please come forward…and meet the demands of my captors."

"The video is definitely a good sign, the video is proof that he is alive," said Shariful Hasan, Head of Migration, Brac, who has been involved in rescues where hostages were held by armed militia overseas in the past.

Hafiz however feels differently. 

"Lt Colonel Anam was well till the video was released. But what about now? How is he doing now? Where is he now? This is an extremely critical time and demands prompt and intensified efforts for his return from all parties involved." 

Anam's family and friends say while the UN and the Bangladesh government have continued to take steps for Anam's safe return - more needs to be done immediately. 

"This is not the time to grieve but to take action," said Sakeef, "my father is a Bangladeshi national. We would like to urge the government to take action [to expedite the process]."

"We cannot show how much we are going through [physically and mentally] said Javed, "[but] we all are very tired, we just want him back." 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to attend the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York on 22 September. Anam's family and friends humbly request that AKM Sufiul Anam's case is raised at the assembly to expedite the rescue mission.