BY THOBIAS MWANAKATWE
10th August 2013
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Deputy leader of the Arts in Tanzania, hosts of the injured British teenagers, Bashir Ismail, said they were flown on a chartered plane last Thursday night at around 2100 hours.
Ismail told The Guardian that by noon yesterday the girls had arrived in Britain, and that they were admitted to a hospital he could not name immediately.
Zanzibar Minister for Information, Culture, Sports and Tourism Said Ali Mbarouk said the government would give a reward of Sh10 million to anyone who could give information leading to the arrest of the suspects.
As the UK teenagers arrived in London, there was a growing concern that the incident could also damage Zanzibar’s image as a tourist heaven in the Indian Ocean archipelago.
The teenagers were walking through the old part of Stone City when the assault took place on Wednesday night. They were volunteering as teachers for a charity on the island.
Katie's mother, Nicky Gee, said: "I've spoken to my daughter … her whole face and body is burnt."
Zanzibar's assistant police commissioner Mkadam Khamis Mkadam said, "They were accosted by two men riding a motorcycle … they poured this liquid … we suspect it an acid – before they ran away."
He said the women were given first aid and taken to hospital in Dar es Salaam for further treatment. They were discharged on Thursday morning.
Mkadam said the women appeared to have escaped serious injury."They are very lucky," he said.
"The doctors said the injuries are relatively minor. There is discolouration … but they are not expected to be scarred. It is very fortunate."He said police were still investigating.
Gee, from East Finchley, and Trup, from Hampstead, have been working as volunteers and are now at a school Zanzibar in and were reaching the end of their three-week stay. They received burns to their faces, hands, legs, backs and necks.
Trup's father, Marc, told the newspaper the pair were "inconsolable" and still in pain when he spoke to them on a mobile phone lent to them by a passerby after the attack.
"We couldn't get anything out of them because they had been burned," he said. "Both girls are very shocked and very frightened." Speaking about his daughter, he added: "She can still see and she is not dead. Whatever it is we will cope with it."
Trup said the women had been dressed appropriately and had been warned not to wear anything that gave away their Jewish background, including the Star of David. "We know it's a Muslim country. They were western girls. Unfortunately they went out during the month of Ramadan. There has been a huge alert in African countries with potential threats. Maybe it's connected, maybe not."
In a statement outside the Trup home, a family friend said the women were flying home and their parents were looking forward to being reunited with them.
Speaking on behalf of their mothers, Rochelle Trup and Nicky Gee, he said: "Both families are extremely upset and distressed at this completely unprovoked attack on their lovely daughters, who had only gone to Zanzibar with good intention."
A spokesman for the Trup family told the London Evening Standard that the teenagers had been aware that it was Ramadan and had dressed and behaved accordingly. "The girls weren't doing anything wrong," he said. "They were fully covered and had long sleeves on."
He said Gee and Trup had travelled to Tanzania after finishing their A-levels. "They didn't choose to go to Ibiza or Magaluf but instead chose Zanzibar to help people," he said. "We checked it was safe but it seems there was some unrest there."
The volunteering company said in a statement: "i-to-i Travel regrets to confirm that two female clients from London have been involved in an acid attack in Stone Town on the island of Zanzibar on the evening of 7 August 2013. They were flown to Dar es Salaam in mainland Tanzania for medical treatment and have now been released from hospital."
The company said the motive for the assault was unknown, and it was awaiting a report from the local authorities.
The statement continued: "All our efforts remain focused on ensuring [the women] are supported whilst assisting them and their relatives with the arrangements for their return home. i-to-i Travel is working with the authorities in their investigations and continues to liaise closely with the British consulate in Tanzania."
The company said an investigation would be launched as soon as possible.
A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: "We are concerned to hear of an attack on two British citizens on Zanzibar on 7 August. We are providing consular assistance and are in contact with the Tanzanian authorities."
President Kikwete, visited the women at the Aga Khan hospital in Dar es Salaam and promised that the men responsible for the "shameful" attack would be found.
i-to-i Travel, which is based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, runs gap year trips to Africa, Asia, Central and South America and Australia, with trips to teach in Zanzibar starting at £669 for two weeks.
The attack is thought to be the first such assault on foreigners, although religious violence has recently flared up on the archipelago, which lies around 22 miles off the coast of mainland Tanzania. In February a Roman Catholic priest was shot dead and a church torched. In November, a Muslim cleric was attacked with acid.
Around 75,000 Britons travel to Tanzania each year, according to the FCO, which says that although most visits are trouble-free, "violent and armed crime is increasing". In advice on its website, it says: "Mugging, bag snatching (especially from passing cars) and robbery have increased throughout the country."
The FCO warns travellers to take sensible precautions to protect themselves and their belongings, noting that incidents have occurred in Stone Town and on popular tourist beaches.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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