Waleed Aly lost for words after father's heartbreaking interview
Seasoned journalist and TV presenter Waleed Aly has been left speechless during a heartbreaking interview with a distraught father on The Project on Tuesday.
Waleed and co-hosts Carrie Bickmore and Peter Helliar were speaking with Sadam Abudusalamu, an Australian citizen who claims his wife and two-year-old son are currently being detained by Chinese authorities.
A father’s heartbreak
Sadam says he has not seen his wife Nadila in two years as she has been unable to leave Xinjiang province - which means he has never met his baby boy, Lutfy.
After the devastated young father shared his plight on Monday night’s episode of Four Corners on the ABC, he discovered that Nadila had been arrested.
“(At) 3.30 (pm) Sydney time they just took my wife, and (my) two-year-old baby, I don’t know where he is now… she just sent me a message (saying) police just called me, if I can’t come out, please take care of yourself,” an emotional Sadam told The Project.
“Sadam, do you feel like you shouldn’t be talking to us?” Waleed asked.
“No, I have to speak out, I’ve got nothing to lose anymore. Even if I don’t speak out nothing is going to change, so I have to speak out,” Sadam replied.
“I just can’t imagine how hard it is, not having ever seen your son let alone now not even knowing where he is,” Carrie added.
“The last two years have been so tough,” Sadam responded, before revealing that he has trouble sleeping.
‘I have nothing’
Clearly moved by the desperate dad’s plight, Waleed - who is himself a father of two - was left lost for words.
“Sadam Abdusalamu, I don’t know. Ordinarily I try to find something I could say to console you. I have nothing,” the Gold Logie-winner admitted.
“There’s nothing I can say at this point except that we’re watching, we will watch with interest, I hope that it turns out in a way that’s far from the worst of the possibilities,” he added.
The plight of the Uyghur population
Sadam and his family are part of a minority ethnic group of Turkic-speaking Muslims called Uyghurs who are reportedly being persecuted and detained by the Chinese government.
It is thought that about one million Uyghurs - potentially including Nadila and baby Lutfy - are being held in large-scale so-called ‘reeducation camps’ in Xinjiang province.
Associate professor James Leibold from La Trobe University also appeared on The Project to call China’s alleged actions “an act of cultural genocide and one of the worst human rights abuses of our time.”
Sadam has issued a public plea for the Australian government to help him bring his family home and his story is being publicised by Four Corners’ Sophie McNeil.
Good news. Nadila has now been released. She was detained and questioned about her husband @SMusapir & told to tell him to “stop speaking out.” But he says he wants to continue in his campaign to bring his wife and baby home & won’t be silenced.
— Sophie McNeill (@Sophiemcneill) July 16, 2019
A sliver of hope
Sophie has since tweeted that Nadila has reportedly been released after questioning but told her husband to “stop speaking out”.
Sadam, Sophie claims, “won’t be silenced.”
Foreign Minister Marise Payne told The Project that DFAT “continues to provide consular assistance” to Sadam and his family.
Got a story tip or just want to get in touch? Email us at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com
Want more lifestyle and celebrity news? Follow Yahoo Lifestyle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Or sign up to our daily newsletter here.
