Fasouls
JF-Expert Member
- Jun 24, 2011
- 937
- 321
Two British teenagers
injured in an acid
attack on the island
of Zanzibar are due to
fly home tonight.
Katie Gee and Kirstie
Trup, both 18, were
attacked by two men
on a motorbike as
they walked through
the historic capital
Stone Town on
Wednesday night.
The acid was
splashed over their
faces, chests, backs
and hands. They have
been flown to hospital
in Dar es Salaam on
the Tanzania
mainland, where they
are recovering.
The teenagers, both
from north London,
are expected to leave
Dar es Salaam at 8pm
(UK time).
They were in the last
week of a month-long
trip as volunteer
teachers to the
predominantly Muslim
island when they
were attacked.
In a statement, i-to-i,
which organised their
visit, said: "We can
now confirm that
both individuals are
scheduled to be
repatriated to the UK.
"They are scheduled
to leave Tanzania
later this evening."
Jakaya Kikwete,
Tanzania's president,
is reported to have
visited them at the
Aga Khan Hospital and
promised that the
men responsible for
the "shameful" attack
would be found.
Katie's mother Nicky
Gee told Sky News
that her daughter had
suffered burns to her
"whole face and her
whole body" in the
"vicious attack".
Earlier Mrs Gee said
she had been
struggling with the
Foreign Office and the
insurance company to
get them flown home.
A Foreign Office
spokesperson said:
"We are doing all we
can to support the
girls' welfare and help
them get home as
quickly as possible.
"We facilitated the
girls' flight from
Zanzibar to Dar es
Salaam. Consular
staff have been with
the girls at the
hospital throughout
and our High
Commissioner has
visited the girls.
"We are liaising with
the insurance
company to ensure
the medical
evacuation happens
as quickly as possible."
The attack came at
the end of the Muslim
holy month of
Ramadan as people
began to celebrate
the Eid holiday.
Mrs Gee made it clear,
however, that both of
the girls were aware
of how to behave
appropriately in a
Muslim country and
had been correctly
dressed for Ramadan.
A close friend of the
family told Sky News
the girls had been
having an amazing
time and were both
fully aware of the
customs of a Muslim
country.
But the Twitter page
of Katie Gee
illustrates the
sensitivities of their
trip. She tweeted on
July 24: " A Muslim
woman just hit me in
the street for singing
on Ramadan. Is that
normal".
The assault is the
first against
foreigners in the
popular tourist
destination, however,
there have been a
series of local attacks
in the archipelago,
mainly on grounds of
religion.
But Deputy Police
Commissioner
Mkadam Khamis told
Sky News the attack
had "nothing to do
with Ramadan".
He said it is believed
the girls were caught
in an incident between
two motorcycles and
they were not the
intended targets.
Zanzibar is an
archipelago of islands
in the Indian Ocean
around 35km (22
miles) off the
mainland.
The semi-
autonomous region of
Tanzania is
predominantly Muslim
and has been the
scene of some
religious violence in
recent years.
injured in an acid
attack on the island
of Zanzibar are due to
fly home tonight.
Katie Gee and Kirstie
Trup, both 18, were
attacked by two men
on a motorbike as
they walked through
the historic capital
Stone Town on
Wednesday night.
The acid was
splashed over their
faces, chests, backs
and hands. They have
been flown to hospital
in Dar es Salaam on
the Tanzania
mainland, where they
are recovering.
The teenagers, both
from north London,
are expected to leave
Dar es Salaam at 8pm
(UK time).
They were in the last
week of a month-long
trip as volunteer
teachers to the
predominantly Muslim
island when they
were attacked.
In a statement, i-to-i,
which organised their
visit, said: "We can
now confirm that
both individuals are
scheduled to be
repatriated to the UK.
"They are scheduled
to leave Tanzania
later this evening."
Jakaya Kikwete,
Tanzania's president,
is reported to have
visited them at the
Aga Khan Hospital and
promised that the
men responsible for
the "shameful" attack
would be found.
Katie's mother Nicky
Gee told Sky News
that her daughter had
suffered burns to her
"whole face and her
whole body" in the
"vicious attack".
Earlier Mrs Gee said
she had been
struggling with the
Foreign Office and the
insurance company to
get them flown home.
A Foreign Office
spokesperson said:
"We are doing all we
can to support the
girls' welfare and help
them get home as
quickly as possible.
"We facilitated the
girls' flight from
Zanzibar to Dar es
Salaam. Consular
staff have been with
the girls at the
hospital throughout
and our High
Commissioner has
visited the girls.
"We are liaising with
the insurance
company to ensure
the medical
evacuation happens
as quickly as possible."
The attack came at
the end of the Muslim
holy month of
Ramadan as people
began to celebrate
the Eid holiday.
Mrs Gee made it clear,
however, that both of
the girls were aware
of how to behave
appropriately in a
Muslim country and
had been correctly
dressed for Ramadan.
A close friend of the
family told Sky News
the girls had been
having an amazing
time and were both
fully aware of the
customs of a Muslim
country.
But the Twitter page
of Katie Gee
illustrates the
sensitivities of their
trip. She tweeted on
July 24: " A Muslim
woman just hit me in
the street for singing
on Ramadan. Is that
normal".
The assault is the
first against
foreigners in the
popular tourist
destination, however,
there have been a
series of local attacks
in the archipelago,
mainly on grounds of
religion.
But Deputy Police
Commissioner
Mkadam Khamis told
Sky News the attack
had "nothing to do
with Ramadan".
He said it is believed
the girls were caught
in an incident between
two motorcycles and
they were not the
intended targets.
Zanzibar is an
archipelago of islands
in the Indian Ocean
around 35km (22
miles) off the
mainland.
The semi-
autonomous region of
Tanzania is
predominantly Muslim
and has been the
scene of some
religious violence in
recent years.
