By Daniel Massey
The State Department is investigating the mysterious disappearance of a Yale University junior from Far Rockaway who was studying in South Africa.
Natasha Smalls, 20, a 1998 graduate of Far Rockaway High School, developed an interest in South Africa during a trip to the country last summer, her mother, Glory Smalls, said.
She then decided to major in African Studies and traveled to South Africa to learn Zulu. She was scheduled to meet her family at Kennedy Airport on Aug. 1, but never arrived.
Smalls was studying at the University of Natal in Durban, South Africa, as part of her degree program with Yale.
“We are currently working with the Smalls family and with South African officials in an attempt to determine Ms. Small’s whereabouts,” said Frederick Jones, a State Department spokesman. “We are concerned that our inquiries thus far have not resulted in solid or definitive information.”
Smalls first ran into trouble in South Africa in March when she was abducted and assaulted. Specifics of the crime were not released, but U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Far Rockaway), who is assisting in the investigation, said the “details were horrible.”
After the March incident, Glory Smalls traveled to South Africa to try to bring her daughter home. But she said Natasha was resolved to remain and finish her work.
Smalls planned to attend the International Conference on Racism, which runs from Aug. 31 to Sept. 7.
But on July 27, Glory Smalls received a frantic phone call from her daughter, apparently from a mental hospital in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
“They locked her up in some type of mental institution for almost two weeks and tried to give her some type of medication,” said Glory Smalls.
Natasha apparently was released from the hospital because, on July 30, she again called home, this time to say she had changed her plane ticket.
“She said she got a straight flight from Johannesburg to New York on July 31,” said her mother.
Officials from South African Airlines would not confirm whether the 20-year-old was on her scheduled flight home.
“First they told me she got on the plane, then they told me that she never did and then the third time they said they couldn’t tell me because the information is confidential,” said Glory Smalls.
Meeks said “we’re hopeful that the combination of our State Department and local officials in South Africa will leave no stone unturned in finding out exactly where Natasha is.”
Meanwhile, Glory Smalls is trying to live as normal a life as possible under the circumstances, working each day, she said, to keep her mind occupied.
“I don’t know what happened to her,” she said. “She’s a brilliant girl. I just want her home.”
The State Department is asking anyone with information on Natasha Smalls’ whereabouts to call 202-647-400.
Reach reporter Daniel Massey by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 155.
