Warning: The following article mentions domestic assault, violence, and kidnapping. Please read with care.
Virality is an extremely powerful tool. With the right messaging, editing, cleverness, humor, or strikingness, one video can reach millions of people all over the world.
Elwhy from Egypt depended on that when she made a video on TikTok reaching out to friends worldwide in hopes of finding her son.
She shared that her husband of 7.5 years was a serial killer and had attempted to kill her and her sister multiple times. Eventually, he was finally caught with three bodies in a torture chamber in his apartment.
Over that time, however, he had become very infamous in Egypt (where Elwhy is from) and across the Arab world. At first, Elwhy only made videos in Arabic to reach out to that audience for help but realized her geographic scope wasn’t big enough.
Seven months ago, before being imprisoned, he kidnapped Elwhy’s only son and each time she tried to find him or get him back she said that her husband would try to kill her and ruin her life.
Once he was finally caught, set to be hung very soon, he told the police that Elwhy was dead and gave custody of her son to his mother she couldn’t find or contact him, and she hadn’t seen him in months.
Elwhy says she has full custody of the child and has filed all of the proper papers, but still cannot find this woman or her son. Elwhy claims that soon her story will be on a large channel that will play in everyone’s homes, but before that happens, she just wants her son back.
She doesn’t know if this woman is in America or Egypt, but she’s hoping someone who knows something will see her message and be able to help.
Commenters from all over the world are chiming in to let Elwhy know that she’s reached a scope of people far bigger than she ever could’ve imagined. People are sending her prayers, love, and support each of them hoping for her son’s safe return.
The video now has over 17 million views and 2 million likes after just two days. Hundreds of thousands of people have shared it in hopes that even a small boost or repost can help her.
However, a few people in her comment section are a little taken aback by the bluntness of the video, confused about why their algorithm would recommend a serial killer at 7 AM on a Sunday, but they’ve boosted the video, nonetheless.
Elwhy’s page is full of pictures and videos of her son so that any of her followers will recognize him, saying that he could be anywhere from Egypt to Michigan. Even her bio has been changed to ‘Help me rescue my son: Zayn Karim.
According to The Committee for Missing Children, if you find yourself in a similar situation where your spouse kidnaps your child, you should contact law enforcement, friends and family, and maybe even an attorney. In the United States, at least, the National Child Search Assistance Act requires state and local law enforcement to record any information about a missing child in an FBI database. Hopefully aiding your family to locate the missing child faster.
While not a necessary step, reaching out for assistance on social media can be a relieving step. Elwhy has found support and community during a dark time thanks to her videos. Hopefully, next, she can find her son.