The "Mediapart" website says that the former French hostage Sophie Petronin (76 years), since her release in October 2020, her mental and physical condition is deteriorating, and she has some dark thoughts, torturing her son Sebastian, who realized that she was tormented and that she "felt That she is besieged more than she was in the days of her captivity in the desert."
Today, the French website reveals the story of Sophie Petronin's return to Mali, the country for which she dedicated her life and adopted a young girl named Zainab after she narrowed down to Europe and left her following the death of her second son Jean-Philippe in 2002 in a sad "family tragedy".
Since her release - according to Anthony Fauchard's report - Sophie, who changed her name to Maryam, has been able to talk to Zainab and see her through video applications, but what she wants - as she says - is to "carry her in her arms and dry the tears that fall on her cheeks", every time. They talk about it on screens" after a separation of 1,384 days, especially since requests for a visa to go to Mali were rejected twice in Switzerland and France, and that attempts to bring Zainab to Europe "are not fast enough."
border crossing
At the beginning of March 2021, the former French hostage disappeared with her son again, but this time on purpose, before they appeared a week later in Bamako, where the former hostage of Mediapart recounted this "difficult" journey that started from Geneva airport, where the duo were spotted from He accepted the border police, because Sebastian is "registered to an INTERPOL base, and Sophie is still on the missing wanted list", baffling officials who were convinced by the boy's need for his mother's need for a sunny place after a harsh winter in Switzerland.
Contrary to all expectations, the two passengers were allowed to board heading to Senegal, but they found there that France closed its borders to foreign nationals due to Covid-19, and Senegal applies the principle of reciprocity, and they have no good reason as a humanitarian or official mission, and therefore they were given the choice between a fine of $ 100 euros per person or return to Switzerland, they chose the first, the report says.
The authorities turn a blind eye
In the morning, the ex-hostage and her son board a ramshackle and crowded bus to Mali, Sophie sneaks back and skips a few chickens, Sebastian - who plays a tourist - finds a small place next to her, and around them are more than 60 passengers on a 35-hour journey in a cloud of dust On roads that were not always paved.
Everything is running smoothly until reaching the border, as buses no longer travel from one country to another since the beginning of the Corona epidemic, so the bus stops 5 kilometers before the border, and between the Senegalese bus and the financial bus stands customs with more inspection.
At the checkpoint, the policeman said to his colleague, “Look, this is the lady with you.” He got to know Sophie and her son because of their frequent appearances on television, and then started talking about families and Islam, and Sophie confirmed her strong desire to find her daughter Zainab in Bamako, before The policeman returned them their passports with a smile.
At the river that forms the natural border between the two countries, there is only one customs post left before Sophie returns home, and there is no reason to hide. Banknotes are exchanged with the policeman at the last point, and a 10-hour journey begins on the rickety financial bus as well. Before the two travelers reach Bamako, a small rental apartment awaits them.
search notice
Sophie - who said goodbye to her son - knows that her secret return requires living in secrecy, as she knows that the Swiss, French and financial authorities are aware of her arrival, and that "at the same time all alarms sounded everywhere", and therefore her presence will remain unofficial, contrary to the media uproar that triggered by her release.
A few days later, Sophie's adopted daughter, Zainab, arrives from the Gao region, after she obtained her baccalaureate degree with the help of her mother during the years of separation. On social media, a search notice was posted on Saturday, 30 October, instructing Malian security forces to "search diligently and arrest Ms. Sophie Petronin".
According to this document, the former French hostage was seen in the Sikasso region in southern Mali, but Sophie, who could not believe her eyes when she read this document, absolutely denied that she had visited that region.
Indeed, Mediapart confirmed the authenticity of this document with the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Public Security in Mali, but it did not provide the site with any other details, and said, "We have concerns and questions we want to ask them," and the French authorities refused to comment on the matter.