EMAN AHMED HAD a dream. No, the 36-year-old Egyptian was not hoping to change the world. She just wanted to lead a normal life, like you and me. What stood between her and her dream was her weight. When she came to Mumbai on February 11 looking for help, she weighed around 500 kilograms.
THE WEEK had taken note of her fight and carried a story upon her arrival at Saifee Hospital, Mumbai. Later, we did an exclusive cover story featuring this extraordinary girl and her remarkable fight in which she was helped by the eminent bariatric surgeon Dr Muffazal Lakdawala. Although Eman reportedly lost nearly 300kg, there was an unfortunate tiff between her family and the hospital. Her sister then moved her to Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi.
While Eman's case gradually dropped from the media's radar, I was very keen that we followed it up. So, I asked our Correspondent Anuradha Varanasi, who has been following Eman's case for a while, to travel to the UAE and report firsthand what was happening to her. However, the hospital authorities were caught in two minds. One day they would say yes, and the next day they would deny us permission.
Yet, I felt that we had to tell this fighter's story to the world. Anuradha and Chief Photographer Janak Bhat subsequently flew to Abu Dhabi. Although they were told that they might not be allowed to meet Eman, their perseverance paid off. On September 20, they got to spend 15 minutes with Eman. THE WEEK was the only media group from across the globe to be offered such a privilege. Anuradha later told me that Eman looked happy, although she could not talk. When her doctor asked Eman how she was feeling, she flashed a thumbs up sign. She looked ready for a long fight.
Destiny, however, had a different plan. Five days later, on September 25, Eman breathed her last, from complications including heart disease and kidney dysfunction. She, however, left with a message to all of us: never give up on your dreams. This issue's cover story is our tribute to this exceptional girl and her indomitable spirit.
While Eman's brave story is an uplifting one, back home, an exclusive report from Assam reveals the depressing plight of Bangladeshi immigrants. The state government is adopting increasingly ruthless tactics to deport them although some of them are second or third generation immigrants. In an exclusive interview, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal says he is trying to make Assam free of foreigners and that he expects Bangladesh to accept them.
We are carrying yet another world exclusive this week. Special Correspondent Jomy Thomas travelled to the Vatican to meet Father Tom Uzhunnalil, the Indian priest who was abducted by Islamic State from Yemen on March 4, 2016. In his first interview with a media group after his release, Father Tom relives the 556 days he spent in captivity; how he was moved around, how he was fed and how he was treated by his abductors. He has already forgiven his abductors. And, his faith is unwavering. When Jomy asked him whether he would again venture abroad on a dangerous mission, Father Tom was quite categorical: “If that is what God wants me to do, and if that is what my superiors decide, I will go. I have no fear.”
This week, we are introducing our new Last Word columnist, veteran diplomat M.K. Bhadrakumar, who was our ambassador to Turkey and Uzbekistan. He starts with the ongoing crisis in North Korea, which could push the world to a nuclear winter. The world would be a safer place if our leaders could emulate Father Tom and realise the value of forgiveness.
