As a daughter waits
As the daughter of Captain Jawaid Saleem, who was taken hostage by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden on November 26, 2010 while his ship, the MV Albedo, was en route to Mombasa from Jebel Ali, I intend to talk about that.
People talk about how a rescue operation should be conducted but it is easier said than done. In 2011, two American couples held hostage on a yacht were shot dead by pirates as the US navy approached. Rescuing hostages at sea is very different from those on land. Were it not so, would piracy become the global plague it is today? The pirates use their hostages as human shields, barracking them along the decks if any rescue attempts are made.
Mr. Ahmed Chinoy (Head of Pakistan Citizens-Police Liaison Committee), who decided to help us with the negotiation process, has been our only hope through this. We have all been frightened by one thing or the other but nothing in my past experiences, however, compares to the fear I feel when we receive a call from the pirates. Knowing that the life of your father is in their hands, your entire body shuts down with fear. I have experienced that and seen my mother go through it on an almost daily basis, trying to communicate with them, trying not to fall apart when they threaten to torture them, when they threaten to kill them.
We, the families of the hijacked crew appeal are not supporting ransom. The pirates were demanding a ransom of $8-10million. Mr. Chinoy however refused to pay ransom. Through other channels, the pirates settled for a figure representing the re-compensation of expenses incurred by them for keeping the hostages that long, along with 50-70 of their men guarding the hijacked vessel.
Those shipping companies, who haven’t been able to pay, have in no way hindered the pirates. It is not like their crew was released or piracy stopped. The crew is used as human shields and to assist the pirates in carrying out more hijackings. Many hostages lose their lives in captivity, in the wait to be released.
A 21 year Indian has already lost his life on board the MV Albedo. His body left to deteriorate in the vessel’s freezer, since July 2011; the freezer receiving only occasional electricity supply. Months ago, my father had told my mother that it takes them an entire day to separate the rice from the stones and other impurities before boiling it. “The condition of the crew is alarming” he informed her.
The shipping company that owns the MV Albedo has closed down after their sole vessel was hijacked. If the owner was in the position to pay, would this matter have dragged on for over a year and a half?
Over this 18 month period, the crew on board the vessel has seen 25-27 hijacked vessels being released in front of their eyes, whilst they remain where they have been since Nov 2010. Do you think all those ships were released without paying the pirates? The shipping companies that can afford to pay have their people released in a matter of months. Whereas, our people are still paying the price for joining a small shipping company to earn bread for their families. We, the families on the other hand are also suffering. Their children have already been taken out of school, cutting back on everything other than the most necessary of expenses.
After 17 months of negotiating, we were given a deadline of 20th April. The crew on board passed endless days since their hijacking, enduring inhumane conditions and torture at the hands of their merciless captors, motivated only by the hope of an eventual freedom, which evades them still. Their hopes were shattered once again, when we failed to meet the deadline for payment.
The pirates have started calling my mother, demanding the money be dropped off immediately. My father, a stoic and strong person, recently asked my mother “Shahnaz, I feel like jumping into the ocean, I cannot watch my crew suffer like this, Should we give up? My crew’s life is in danger.”