Joan Vitor da Silva’s mother, Brazilian who has been missing for almost a month in Mozambique, You have decided that you are going to sell your housein Bangu, in the west zone of Rio de Janeiro, to pay for the trip to Mozambique, in Africa, following his son.
The 27-year-old boy, resident of Rio, left the country on March 8th with the promise of a job in the construction sector, in Maputo. For almost a month, his family has not known his whereabouts.
In a conversation with an official at the Brazilian Embassy in the African city, Jane Maria stated that she sees no alternative in addition to raising money from the sale of his residence to finance his trip abroad.
“‘I told him, ‘I’m going. I’m going to sell my house and go after my son’. He said it would be much easier for a Brazilian to go after her own son in Africa, that things would move faster and that I would receive the address (from the Embassy in Maputo)“, reported to CNN Brazil.
Through an exchange of messages on the Embassy’s phone number, Jane was informed that representatives will be visiting Essuatini (a country neighboring Mozambique) soon. “I spent 2 minutes and 40 seconds talking on the phone with an employee at the Brazilian Embassy in Maputo. I can’t take it anymore,” blurted Jane.
House burned down and dismissal: Joan left Brazil looking for better living conditions
On March 8, Joan went to São Paulo and, from there, traveled abroad towards her new professional phase. But for about 20 days, the man did not contact his family. On March 27, the mother, Jane Maria, received a call from someone who spoke English. On a new connection, the person stated that Joan would be arrested, that she would be responsible for several crimes and that a transfer of US$10,000 would be needed to pay for the Brazilian’s food.
Later, in a video call, relatives were finally able to see him: Joan appeared alongside other men in a cell-like environment. In Portuguese, Joan said just one word: “Embaixada”.
Afterwards, two people wearing uniforms similar to official security outfits speak in English to the Brazilian and end the call. The relatives no longer had it.
Joan’s mother and his wife, Rafaela Pereira, contacted the Civil Police to register the case, which was forwarded to the DDPA (Police for the Discovery of Whereabouts). A lawyer advised them to look for the Mozambique Consulate here in Brazil.
The two claim that they are not receiving support from Itamaraty in this case. “We have no information on when he will return. Itamaraty does not give us support, no consulate is looking for us, we are without any support, we don’t know what is going on”, says his wife Rafaela.
Just before being laid off from work in Rio, Joan and her family faced a tragedy: the house they lived in in the Guaratiba neighborhood, also in the west zone of the city, caught fire. The couple lost most of their furniture and belongings.
They moved to the residence of one of his wife’s cousins, where they lived temporarily when Joan got a job abroad. Joan and Rafaela are parents of two children.
“We think it was extortion. They arrested Joan and other people… They wanted to extort us.” says Rafaela.
In a note, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Brazilian Embassy in Maputo, informed that “he is aware of the case and provides consular assistance to the national”but that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not provide details about the assistance provided to Brazilians. The Civil Police highlighted that the teams are carrying out measures to .
