SA hostage survivor couple to file for divorce
Monique Strydom and Callie Strydom, who survived being taken hostage by Abu Sayyaf militants in the Philippines in 2000, are filing for divorce.
|||Cape Town – Monique Strydom, South African hostage survivor and non-profit organisation founder, on Wednesday said she and her husband Callie Strydom were filing for divorce.
“It saddens me to say that we have decided to separate after 30 years of marriage,” said Strydom in a public statement.
Strydom, who was taken captive in the Phillipines in 2000, was responding to media enquiries about her divorce. However, she would not discuss the matter any further and her public representative Yusuf Abramjee stated no interviews would be granted.
“As per my attorney Bertus Preller’s instructions, I am not in a position to disclose any more information since it will not be in the best interests of our child, who is still a minor,” said Strydom.
“We appeal to the media to respect our right to privacy and allow the processes to be finalised,” she said.
The Strydoms were taken hostage in April 2000 by militant group Abu Sayyaf.
For four months, the Strydoms and 19 other hostages endured life with the terror organisation. On her return to South Africa, Strydom closed down her PR and marketing business, trading it in for The Callie and Monique Charity Trust and Matla A Bana, a non-profit combatting child abuse.
African News Agency
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