Gerco van Deventer, a South African paramedic, was kidnapped in Libya on 3 November 2017, and later resurfaced six years later in a camp run by the notorious Al-Qaeda terrorist group.
NOTE: This article was edited to reflect an updated feature image, which includes the abducted paramedic, Gerco van Deventer, with his wife, Shireen. We also adjusted details on their children and correctly noted that the couple had one child, not three as previously reported.
SA man abducted in Lybia six years ago surfaces in Mali Al-Qaeda camp
Deventer was captured by a splinter Al-Qaeda group along with three Turkish men, who were released seven months later.
The paramedic, it’s understood, was travelling to a power plant in the oasis town of Awbari when he was taken hostage.
It was his first day on the job after leaving Afghanistan to find a safer haven. Since then, his family has not received any proof of life for the past four years, until recently.
As reported by News24, Gerco van Deventer is alive and was sold to an Al-Qaeda group in Mali.
It’s believed Deventer’s family received confirmation of his survival through a third party. However, it is unclear who the third party is, and the family has not yet received direct contact from the paramedic.
The report also states that the South African government is aware of Deventer’s situation and is working towards securing his release.
In this video footage, which you can watch below, a man resembling Gerco van Deventer is seen making a plea to the South African government for assistance in his release, an attempt, he claims may be his last-ditch effort.
“A glimmer of hope came when I heard about the new South African embassy in Algeria. It awoke me, pushed me to do something and build a bridge to reach the world outside. This video that you are watching is my last hope. I want my release to be made possible by any means possible,” the man said.
Here’s everything we know about Gerco van Deventer
Based on the information we’ve sourced, Deventer is an ex-SANDF medic, who served in the South African army’s advanced life support division for a decade, between 1994 and 2004.
Following a four-year hiatus from the industry, Deventer pivoted away from medic support and pursued a career as a sales and marketing executive for Terumo Medical Corporation, where he oversaw the business development of two subsidiaries, Omnibed, which provides general hospital products, and Brittan Interventional Products, which sells cardiology units.
Van Deventer lasted a year in the position before his passion for advanced life support took him more than 8 500km north to war-torn Afghanistan, where he landed a job as Deputy Operations Manager at Blue Hackle and was tasked with overseeing the construction project of the Kabul Power Plant.
Following a brief stint in Somalia, where he served as an Operational Medic for AAGI (Pty) Ltd for three months between January and March 2012, Deventer remained in Afghanistan for five more years before his decision to pursue greener pastures in Libya, where he was captured.
Van Deventer is a registered member of the Health Professionals Council of South Africa and holds several certifications in advanced life support and pharmaceutical sales.
Gerco van Deventer shares a child with his wife, Shireen, whom he’s not seen in more than six years.