Now we can put the past behind us, say family of Brixton ‘slave captive’

 
Followers: radical Maoist Aravindan Balakrishnan leads two women, believed to be Josephine Herivel and Aishah Wahab, in television footage from 1997
David Churchill2 December 2013

The family of a Malaysian woman allegedly held captive for 30 years today said their hope of being permanently reunited is stronger than ever.

Aishah Wahab, 69, who was “rescued” from a house in Brixton in October, has told her family in a handwritten letter that she is “well” and hopes to see them “all sometime in the near future”.

Today, her nephew told of the family’s joy at receiving the note.

A day after he and his aunt Kamarmahtum Abdul Wahab returned to Kuala Lumpur from London, where the sisters had an emotional reunion, Zan Azlee, 35, said: “It’s very positive. We are taking things one step at a time because the investigation is still going on and so we don’t expect her to come back straight away. But it has given the family hope.”

He added: “Aishah seemed contented with what she has been doing all this while. We have to consider she may still be brainwashed. I think it will take a long time for Aishah to realise what has happened.

“At this point, I don’t think she has fully realised what has happened. She still feels she was there of her own free will and had things to do and important work.

“She told my auntie that she’s OK and is not sad or depressed.” The sisters had a 40-minute meeting in north London after being estranged for more than 40 years.

Miss Wahab wrote the note later, addressed to “everybody at home”.

Mr Azlee added: “They cried a lot, hugged a lot and kissed a lot.

“We can hopefully try and put the past behind us now and move forward.

“As much as we can hope for is that Aishah’s well-being gets better. But we hope after the investigation, whenever she’s ready, she will come back to Malaysia.”

She was allegedly held along with Josephine Herivel, 57, and 30-year-old Rosie Davies by Aravindan Balakrishnan, 73, and his wife Chanda, 67.

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