Syria - Majd Kamalmaz, 61, American therapist, Damascus, February 2017

[JerseyGirl]

American therapist Majd Kamalmaz was stopped at a government checkpoint in Damascus one night in February 2017 while visiting family in Syria’s fractured capital. He hasn’t been seen or heard from since.

For nearly two years, the Kamalmaz family quietly worked with the State Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation to try to find out what happened to the 61-year-old Virginia man who has spent decades treating victims of war around the world. But their efforts have turned up almost nothing. Relatives aren’t even sure whether Mr. Kamalmaz is alive.

Seeking Help, Family Breaks Silence on American Missing in Syria

 

[dotr]

Jan 22 2019
Family of Majd Kamalmaz, American detained in Syria, appeal to Trump for help

Majd Kamalmaz

"Kamalmaz, a 61-year-old therapist and grandfather, was last seen in war-torn Syria while crossing a government checkpoint where he was detained. Ula said she couldn't think of any reason why he might have been stopped.

"He went into it with his U.S. passport. He knew that he was going in to see relatives. I mean that's what we know," Ula said.

The Kamalmaz family has been largely silent about their father's disappearance out of fear that bringing attention to his case might put him in danger"

Kamalmaz immigrated to the U.S. when he was six years old and became a dual-citizen.

"We're American in every way possible. Don't let this fool you. I mean, my father always taught us that this is your country, we're not going anywhere. We were all born and raised here," Maryam said.

A therapist who's offered free counseling to victims of Hurricane Katrina and the Indonesian tsunami, Kamalmaz traveled the world – but his family wants him back here in the States.

"Dad, we love you. We miss you. And we're working hard to bring you home," Maryam said, choking up with emotion."

 

[CastlesBurning]

Virginia grandfather of 13 still missing in Syria for nearly 900 days

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Maryam Kamalmaz said in an interview with The Associated Press that during a meeting in Washington this month with eight senior American officials she was presented with detailed intelligence about the presumed death of her father, Majd, a psychotherapist from Texas.

The officials told her that on a scale of one to 10, their confidence level about her father’s death was a “high nine.” She said she asked whether other detained Americans had ever been successfully recovered in the face of such credible information, and was told no.

“What more do I need? That was a lot of high-level officials that we needed to confirm to us that he’s really gone. There was no way to beat around the bush,” Maryam Kamalmaz said.

US intelligence suggests American who vanished in Syria in 2017 has died, daughter says she was told

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials have developed specific and highly credible intelligence suggesting that an American citizen who disappeared seven years ago while traveling in Syria has died, the …

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