'It was heartbreaking to see him in the video' - ex wife of captured photographer

Shiraz Mohamed is a South African photographer who was captured in Syria two years ago. 

Mohamed was taken near the Turkish border, where he was taking photos of Syrian people. He was accused of being a foreign spy.

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According to Gift of the Givers, they have received a video of Mohamed, and it shows that he is still alive. 

In the video, he pleads for help from our President, his family and friends, and anyone who will listen. 

“I live in fear of my life. I am scared. We are being bombed. The area that I am in is being bombed by the Russian air force. The bombs are getting closer and closer and closer. I need your help. Please help me," Mohamed says.

The video of Mohamed went viral on social media. 

Martin Bester invited his ex-wife, Shirley, on air to talk about the horrible situation. 

"It's been a rollercoaster and nightmare. It was scary when I saw the video," she said. 

Both Shirley and Mohamed are journalists: "We are both journalists, and I thought he was only going to take photos of the scene in Syria.

"Being a journalist you want to know more and wanted to understand what is going on. I decided to start looking for him."

Shirley spoke to anyone who would listen, including every international publication. She also asked the national government to help her find him. 

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According to Shirley, he has been missing for 840 days. "I thought he was killed because of taking a photograph, because his camera was seen as a weapon and a threat," she told Martin Bester. 

"First time I saw him was on the video. I started crying. It was heartbreaking. He looks so traumatised," Shirley said.  

She told Martin Bester that he has lost weight, but looks well. 

"It is well overdue, but I hope our President step in," she pleaded.

Meanwhile, Imtiaz Sooliman from Gift of the Givers says they are waiting for a ransom call from the abductors.

Sooliman says the video was a sign of proof that he is still alive.

The wait is now on, with the hope that Mohamed's abductors will call as early as today to give further instructions.

"We needed the video for a very strategic reason, which I can't explain now. Hopefully we will see some progress, but we are expecting them to call us today (Monday) or sometime later this week. To tell us what they want now that we have seen the video," says Sooliman.

Sooliman adds that it's hard getting assistance from the Syrian government due to the instability in certain areas of the country.