Dozens of relatives and friends gathered at Bahrain International Airport yesterday to welcome home Ali Ahmed Al Nashaba, the 20-year-old student who was kidnapped and held hostage in Malaysia for 18 days.

He was showered with sweets and 100 fils coins as he walked through the arrivals gate shortly after 5pm while people shouted his name, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Al Nashaba was accompanied by a police escort and said he was exhausted having not slept because of the excitement of coming home.

"I will talk to the press later because I am really tired today," he said.

"I am happy but very tired because I was up all night.

"I was so happy and excited to be coming home and seeing my family.

"All I want to do is see my friends and family and sleep."

Al Nashaba was beaten during his 18-day ordeal in captivity after being snatched from his university campus in Kuala Lumpur and held for ransom.

He was released last Friday and two Bahrainis are among six people arrested in connection with his kidnapping.

His parents came up with the BD3,000 ($7,915) ransom last week, but it is understood the money was not handed over.

The family still doesn't know who kidnapped him or why, but has been told by police that they will be briefed within the next two days.

"I spoke to people from the police side in Bahrain - they said that they could not announce anything now or give any details," said Al Nashaba's sister Fatima.

"They told us to give them a couple of days and everything will be made clear.

"The most important thing is that he is back.

"I felt like I was going to have a heart attack when I saw him come through the gates.

"The most difficult moments were the minutes before he came through the gate - I kept saying to myself I want to see him, I want to see him."

She described the frustration of not knowing where her brother was after his abduction.

"At the beginning when we realised what happened it was an indescribable feeling," she said.

"When someone dies you know where they are, but for a kidnapping you don't know anything.

"It was really frustrating.

"The only thing giving us hope were the phone calls (from the kidnappers), but they stopped calling and it was really bad - we lost all hope.

"We tried to push the ideas of what was being done to him out of our minds and just prayed that he would come back safe. Our prayers were answered."

Al Nashaba's father, Ahmed, was stuck in traffic and arrived late with tears in his eyes as he saw his son for the first time since his release.

"I am very happy my boy is back," he said.

"I have so much relief that he is back and just want to thank everyone who helped, from the bottom of my heart.

"The first thing we will do is sit at home and discuss this as a family.

"The whole family will have to help him find a way to continue living as normal and get him back into university.

"Malaysia is not an option anymore - it is a hopeless place for us.

"But he needs to be strong and we will push him to get his life back on track.

"I don't know if this will make him stronger - the experiences of life can either bring you up or pull you down, we will help and see what happens."

Al Nashaba's friend of five years and the first person he embraced when he landed in Bahrain said he felt whole again.

"It's like something was missing in my life and it came back again," he said. - TradeArabia News Service