‘Mansour didn’t forget the people of Gaza’: Mother of missing Palestinian-Canadian journalist pleads for safe return

One of the last messages Mai Hussein received from her son, Mansour Shouman, a Palestinian-Canadian citizen journalist missing in Gaza since 21 January, was of him singing an Arabic song.

The song, “Oummi Ya Huban Ahwah”, expresses a child’s love for his mother. Shouman’s other messages were: “I love you mama, take care mama.”

The next day, Mai waited for Shouman to call her at their usual time, but her phone never rang.

Another day passed. There was no call or message.

Maybe it was because of the communications blackout in Gaza, Mai thought at first, but then he had always found a way before.

As more time passed without any contact, Mai knew this was not like Shouman. Something was wrong.

READ: Aid worker Mansour Shouman missing in Gaza

She reached out to his colleagues and friends in Gaza on his Instagram account, the first time she had done so.

They, too, were unable to reach him.

Soon, there were reports that Shouman had been taken away by Israeli forces. There has, so far, been no statement on the matter from the Israeli side.

“Three people have seen Mansour being arrested by the IDF on the border on a checkpoint between Khan Yunis and Rafah,” Mai told Anadolu in a video interview.

Mai believes Shouman was leaving the area for Rafah after Israeli forces started attacking Nasser Hospital, close to where he was staying.

Shouman, a Palestinian-Canadian citizen journalist with 300,000 followers on Instagram and several thousand subscribers on YouTube, was regularly posting videos highlighting the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

He would also interview Palestinian activists, provide commentary for media outlets and was involved in relief work in Gaza.

He was last in a video on Instagram on 21 January, wearing a black jacket and speaking about how Israeli troops withdrew from the south, but were continuing strikes on civilian targets from land, sea and air.

Since his disappearance, his family and friends have reached out to the Canadian government and launched a social media campaign demanding his safe return.

The Committee to Protect Journalists also issued a statement expressing deep concerns over the matter, calling on “Israeli authorities to respond to claims that Israeli army forces arrested him.”

Mai has made several appeals to the Canadian government to get her son back.

She pleaded for people not to forget Shouman.

“Mansour didn’t forget anybody for 108 days. Every day, he would wake up in the morning; he would say Gaza is not alone … He used to give them updates of what’s happening in Gaza and how the situation of the people is,” she told Anadolu, tears in her eyes.

READ: Canadian aid worker Mansour Shouman ‘disappeared’ by Israel soldiers

“It has been 11 days and I can’t take it anymore.”

Move to Gaza

Brought up in the UAE, Shouman spent most of his life in Canada, where he studied and worked.

In 2022, he took his wife, who hails from Gaza, and their five children to meet her family in the besieged Palestinian Territory.

“She wanted to go and visit her family, so that the children could at least know their extended family from Gaza,” said Mai.

The couple decided to stay back in Gaza, where Shouman’s wife got a job.

According to Mai, Shouman was supposed to leave Gaza two days after 7 October to start a consultancy job in Qatar.

The family was living in the north of Gaza, near Al-Shifa Hospital, when Israel forces started the bombardment.

“They really were in horror when the bombs started falling,” Mai said.

The family moved to the south, near the Rafah border, in the hopes of evacuation, but found the border sealed off.

They moved into a relative’s house, where four families were staying together.

During this period, Shouman and one of his wife’s relative, a journalist, went to Nasser Hospital and started voluntarily working as an interpreter and translator.

He also provided commentary to Western media outlets, including the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

“He started to talk about, you know, the (Israeli) Occupation and how Palestinians are steadfast and … will not leave their land,” said Mai.

When Shouman’s wife and children were evacuated in November, he decided to stay back.

Mai said she was shocked by the decision, knowing how bad the situation was on the ground.

READ: Israel attack on UN compound in Gaza prompts rare rebuke from Washington

“But he said I can’t leave the people here. I can’t, mama,” she recalled.

“He started to cook for the people, give them fresh food and milk for the children, distribute medicine, distribute money … build tents, help orphans, lots of initiatives.”

Eventually, Shouman moved into a tent near the hospital.

“He was fasting most of the time because there is not much food. He lost so much weight, but he has so much faith. He did a lot for the people,” said Mai, her voice shaking.

Disappearance and appeal

Mai believes that Shouman is in the custody of the Israeli military.

“My son is suffering every minute, and they will torture him until they make him sign for something that he didn’t say and then they will say he said it,” she said.

“This is IDF. They are merciless with the prisoners.”

Mai has been in touch with the Canadian government, with Foreign Minister, Melanie Joly, having called her to say they are following up on the issue.

“They say they are following up … I tell her 11 days of following up, you’re sending emails and messages with no reply, with no updated information,” she said.

She appealed to Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, to directly approach the Israeli government.

“Please pick the phone and speak to the highest Israeli official and ask them about my son … Please use this power to make the decision now, and call him and ask where is my son?” she said.

“Everybody wants Mansour back. Everybody, because he made a difference in a lot of lives.”

READ: UN’s Griffith: There is a need to establish a special tribunal for Gaza

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.