Today our hearts go out to the family of Shiraaz Mohamed, the South African photographer working with the Gift of the Givers to document the humanitarian crisis in war-torn Syria, who has been abducted.
He was captured on Tuesday - the day he was due to leave - by armed men while working in the field and has not been heard from since.
As many know, the South Africa-based Gift of the Givers has impeccable credentials in humanitarian work and is well established in Syria, where it runs two hospitals.
Alas, this was not enough to protect Mohamed from the nightmare of being captured in a war zone where atrocities occur daily.
Understandably his family are devastated and our support goes out to them with the hope that he will soon be released unharmed.
These would be our wishes for any South African captured in a ravaged land, but we feel particularly for Mohamed as a colleague in journalism.
Like many in our field his drive to tell and photograph a story takes him to places most sane people would avoid like the plague.
In the past year he has visited 12 countries, including Nepal, to document the earthquake there. He knew he might not return from that assignment, his family said in a statement, "but [he] did it anyway for the love of photography''.
Make no mistake, these risks are real.
Data from the Committee to Protect Journalists show that since 1992, 1228 journalists have been killed, 48 in the past year alone.
In Syria, one of the most dangerous places in the world, some 107 journalists have been killed since 2012 - highlighting the peril that Mohamed is in.
The South African government has few options to help since it has no representation in Syria.
All hope rests with the Gift of the Givers and its network of contacts to secure his release. Please, bring him home.
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