Sheffra Dzamara: “I Won’t Stop Until I Know Where My Husband Is”

9
March
2015,
the
day
Itai
was
abducted,
was
a
normal
day.

He
went
to
the
barbershop
at
9am
wearing
black
shorts
and
his
Manchester
United
jersey.
Looking
back
at
that
morning,
there
are
so
many
things
I
wish
I
had
said
to
him.

As
I
was
preparing
his
breakfast
for
when
he
returned,
my
brother
came
running
in,
and
told
me
that
my
husband
was
taken
from
the
barbershop,
by
men
driving
a
white
Isuzu
with
no
registration
number.

When
I
heard
this,
fear
engulfed
me.
I
knew
that
it
was
an
abduction.
It
was
bad,
I
started
shaking
and
crying.

I
did
not
know
what
to
do
or
who
to
call,
but
I
wanted
to
hear
the
facts
directly
from
the
people
who
witnessed
the
abduction.

I
took
my
daughter
and
put
her
on
my
back
–
she
was
two
years
old
then
–
and
went
straight
to
the
barbershop.

When
I
arrived,
I
was
still
shaking.
Even
the
barber
and
his
colleague
were
shaking
too
as
they
told
me
what
happened.

It
was
very
fast.
Five
men
walked
in
and
said
they
were
looking
for
a
cattle
thief.
While
Itai
was
perplexed,
the
men
grabbed
him
and
said
they
were
taking
him
to
the
police
to
be
questioned.
Itai
has
not
been
seen
since
then.

I
walked
back
from
the
barber
like
a
zombie.
I
felt
the
whole
world
falling
down
on
me.
My
head
was
spinning.
I
was
not
myself;
I
was
confused
and
did
not
know
what
to
do.
I
was
shattered.
I
wanted
to
scream
and
cry
but
when
I
looked
at
my
daughter
and
son,
I
knew
I
had
to
control
myself.

I
got
home
and
changed
my
clothes,
not
realizing
that
I
was
wearing
my
skirt
inside
out.
That’s
how
confused
I
was.

I
left
my
kids
with
my
sister,
and
went
with
Itai’s
brother
Patson,
and
our
lawyer
to
report
the
case
to
the
police,
who
promised
to
investigate.

When
I
returned
home
around
6pm,
I
was
afraid
to
go
through
the
gate
thinking
maybe
the
abductors
would
come
back
and
abduct
us
as
well.
I
had
to
be
strong
for
my
kids.

I
did
not
sleep
that
night.
My
heart
was
pounding
so
hard.
At
4am,
I
left
the
house
and
went
to
the
barbershop
hoping,
praying
that
maybe,
they
would
have
brought
him
back,
but
he
was
not
there.

The
next
day,
my
kids
and
I
were
taken
to
an
organization
where
we
stayed
for
a
month
for
our
safety.
I
lost
weight
from
fasting
and
praying
for
my
husband
to
be
released
from
his
abductors.
I
could
not
eat
or
sleep.
My
heart
was
always
beating
fast.
I
would
cry
at
night
so
that
my
kids
didn’t
t
see
me.

Since
Itai’s
enforced
disappearance,
life
has
never
been
the
same
for
Sheffra.
She
is
constantly
reminded
of
him
whenever
she
looks
at
their
children,
as
both
resemble
their
father. She
said:

Life
has
not
been
the
same
since
Itai
was
abducted.
The
last
10
years
have
been
hard.
I
am
reminded
of
him
every
time
I
look
at
my
kids
because
both
look
like
their
dad.

It
hurts
not
to
have
Itai
in
my
life
and
to
see
my
kids
missing
him
and
growing
up
without
a
father
who
loved
them
so
dearly.
I
don’t
have
any
answers,
but
I
feel
blessed
to
have
my
two
kids.
When
I
look
at
them
l
feel
God’s
grace.

The
police
never
came
back
to
give
any
update.
As
far
as
I
know,
they
never
even
investigated
the
case.
They
were
not
interested
in
finding
Itai.

Even
the
Zimbabwe
High
Court
order
could
not
get
the
police
find
my
husband
or
tell
us
what
happened
to
him.

As
a
family
we
did
everything
to
get
answers.
For
the
past
10
years
the
government
of
Zimbabwe
has
ignored
my
requests
and
turned
a
blind
eye
to
the
demand
for
answers
by
everyone
including
friends,
activists,
civil
society
organizations,
media
and
the
international
community.

I
wish
for
Itai
to
one
day
walk
through
the
front
door
and
hug
me
and
the
kids
or
to
wake
upAmnesty
International
to
find
that
this
was
all
a
bad
dream.
If
I
must
live
without
him,
then
I
need
answers,
I
need
to
know
where
he
is.