Family of missing girl feared to be going to Syria make emotional appeal

Safiya Hussien, the mother of missing 15-year-old schoolgirl Yusra Hussien.

By Steven Morris
Thursday, October 2, 2014

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The family of a British 15-year-old girl feared to be travelling to Syria have made a deeply emotional appeal for her to return and rejected the notion put forward by the police that she has been radicalised.

Yusra Hussien’s mother, dinner lady Safiya Hussien, tearfully begged her daughter to get in touch, telling her: “Yusra, I am your mum, I love you, please come back. Please, please, please we miss you. The house is not the same since when you left … My heart is torn and I want you home as soon as possible.”

Two of the girl’s aunts painted a picture of a happy, bright, normal teenager who loved table tennis and riding her bicycle. They insisted there was no proof that Avon and Somerset police were right to suggest the girl might have left her Bristol home to join extremists.

They rejected media speculation that she might have left to become a “jihadi bride” and criticised outlets that had published a picture of the girl not wearing the hijab. Friends have made it clear that the family was keen that she is seen first and foremost as a British-born teenager rather than as a Muslim of Somali origin.

Her aunt, Ikram Mohamed, said: “Yusra is not what she has been labelled as by the media. We have a teenage girl that is missing and we don’t know where she is. We don’t know if she is safe or not and that is what hurts the most.”

The family said the last time they spoke to Yusra was on Tuesday evening last week when all appeared normal. They expected her to go to school at the City Academy next day but instead police believe she travelled to London, where she met a 17-year-old girl and flew to Turkey. Police believe the pair were planning to cross the border into Syria.

Yusra’s family refused to be drawn into comments about extremism or Isis, arguing that the focus had to be on a vulnerable missing girl. However, they did question how a 15-year-old had been able to board a plane and leave the country. A second aunt, Sucdi Ali, said: “That is something our government and the security services need to work on.”

Ali described Yusra as a “very young, bright, bubbly girl” loved not only by her family but her peers, teachers and community.

She said: “As every day passes we become more and more concerned about her safety and welfare. Our family is broken. There have been many assumptions and speculations claiming that Yusra is travelling to Syria, that she may be an extremist, or that she is planning to become a jihadist bride all of which have not as of yet been proved with any concrete evidence.”

In a statement issued on Monday, Avon and Somerset police said intelligence suggested Yusra “may have been radicalised” and may be attempting to reach Syria.”

Officers from the South East Counter Terrorism unit are now leading the search for Yusra and the second girl, who has not been named. A spokesman said: “Travelling to Syria is extremely dangerous and anyone who is considering travelling to the region is putting themselves at great risk.”

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