Captives of ruthless Somali pirates escape

By Manjula Fernando

The two Sri Lankans Niroshan Perera (40) and the second Engineer of 'MV Albedo' Bisthamy, innocent captives of ruthless Somali pirates, arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport on Friday morning, into the arms of their loved ones who had been anxiously waiting for this day for nearly four years.

The vessel before it sank and with pirates on board

The sailors in Nairobi, shortly after their escape

Niroshan with his wife and three sons at the BIA

M. Bisthamy on arrival. Pix: Airport Corr Kumarasiri Prasad

Family members of the captive sailors in 2013

Soon after getting home, Niroshan speaking to the Sunday Observer on the telephone said he could not believe that he had come home. "I never thought this day would ever come. I can't believe I am alive."

The pirates intensified physical and emotional abuse of the captive sailors since December in a desperate frenzy to force the families or countries to pay up the demanded ransom. " I was taken to the jungle and beaten mercilessly and asked to call my family to beg for money. All had to endure such treatment."

"We realised we were going to be killed if we stayed further and we also were aware that we could get killed or tortured if we were captured in an escape bid. But we had to take a decision. The pirates were losing patience with us without any ransom money forthcoming ."

Four of their colleagues, Sarath Silva, Nalindra Wakwella, G.C.Perera and Anton Boniface were not so fortunate. They drowned a year ago when the MV Albedo sank in the rough seas in July 2013. The EU Naval Force monitored when the vessel sank but did not attempt to intervene since any attempt to free the hostages could have meant instant death to them as well.

G.C.Perera's wife who refused to believe her husband had drowned told the Sunday Observer, " I find it hard to believe that he has died. I am waiting for Niroshan to come back. He is the only one who knows exactly what happened."

Niroshan's wife, Shammika was elated to hear the good news of her husband's rescue. She was full of praise and appreciation for all those who helped them flee the pirate's clutches. She was struggling for the past four years to feed three sons and send them to school. "The Church helped us a lot and they did not ask school fees from me."

"We must also thank Mr. Chirag Bahri of the Maritime Piracy and Humanitarian Response Program,(MPHRP) (a charity registered in the UK) and the UN Hostage Support program. They were constantly in touch with us providing news of our husbands and offering financial support."

Mr.Bahri had always consoled relatives and made sure that they did not lose hope. Niroshan who worked as a welder in the cargo vessel and Bisthamy were among the fortunate 11 who survived the Somali ordeal.

Seven Pakistani sailors of MV Albedo were freed in 2012 after paying a ransom of US $ 1.1 million. The money for their release was raised by a businessman in a public campaign.

The Somali pirates seized MV Albedo, a Malaysian flagged vessel and its entire 23 member crew were hijacked by pirates, 900 nautical miles off the Somalian coast while it was sailing from UAE to Kenya in November 2010. The crew members were subject to cruel treatment in a bid by pirates to elicit US $ 2.8 million ransom brought down from US $ 4 million from the vessel's owner.

When the ship ultimately sank in rough seas after two years into the hijacking, its owner went underground and skipped taking part in meetings that were arranged with the help of many including the Sri Lankan High Commission in Malaysia to secure the release of the hostages.

The freed men said they had to endure extreme conditions during their captive days. They had been given meagre food rations and had never had access to clean water. Soon after the hijacking, an Indian sailor was killed by the pirates in a bid to scare the captors and exert pressure on the ships' owner to pay the ransom.

The sailors were beaten and from time to time the Ship's Captain was lowered to the sea tied in a rope to torment the other crew members to beg for money form their families and the ship's owner.

The toughest time came when the ship sank at anchorage last year reportedly due to rough seas and a mechanical failure. The media extensively covered the pathetic plight of the crew that was held in the sinking vessel by pirates at gun point. Of the 14 remaining crew only 11 survived the tragedy and four of the six Lankan crew members went missing afterwards.

Niroshan said the men who hijacked the ship were happy with the ransom they received to release the Pakistani sailors and were ready to set the others free. But the men who took charge of holding them and feeding the hostages were not paid, hence they had continued with the ransom demand.

"After the ship sank, we were taken to a jungle in the mainland. We spent one night under the trees. Thereafter they took us to a village run entirely by pirates."

Norishan and Disthamy was held in a single room house which is about 18 feet long and 14 feet wide. 'There was a tiny window in the house and that became our escape route".

According to Niroshan John Steed a former British colonel had mediated the escape of the 11 MV Albedo sailors with two of their captors. These two pirates were allegedly lured by promising US $ 200,000 for their assistance to arrange the escape.

"On June 6, after nightfall, we were given instructions to escape from the small window, I was the first to crawl out. I got stuck in the small window but freed myself somehow. Then I helped the others to come out one by one. We went on all fours until we reached the jungle. A vehicle was waiting to take us from there."

"We were transported about eight km into the jungle. From there we were asked to walk until we met another group who will take us on the rest of the journey. " "I had to carry Bisthamy on my back a fair distance because he could not walk, we had torch lights and we walked until we saw more torch lights in front of us coming in our direction. I could not describe the fear in me, we had no idea where we were going and our lives depended on the Somali men who had promised to help. It was difficult to trust them after what we had been through for nearly four years."

"Finally we met the other group, they transported us to another part of Somalia (Gulmudung region) 35 km away." The men demanded US $ 20,000 for the hire but negotiators reduced it to US $ 5,500.

The regional security officers provided accommodation to the freed sailors that night in a hotel with tight security. They were handed over to the representatives of UN office for Drugs and Crime on June 7 by the Gulmudung regional officers.

Later the UN flew them to Nairobi in one of their aircraft where they had hair cuts after many months and brought new clothes which restored their appearance.

The two Lankan sailors and co-workers who escaped in a risky overnight mission, enjoyed an excursion to the Nairobi park on Tuesday (10). They were appreciating the first days of their free life after being four years in captivity since November 2010.

The regional director, MPHRP Bahri speaking to the Sunday Observer on the phone said he was with the freed sailors strolling in a park in the Kenyan capital. He was based in Bombay and had travelled to receive the sailors and provide them accommodation and keep company until their repatriation.

Seven Bangladeshi sailors, two Sri Lankans, an Iranian and an Indian were among the freed men.

The Sri Lankan men who arrived via Doha Qatar were the last to come home with he Bangladeshis, the Indian and the Iranian (the captain of the vessel) being sent home earlier. Bahri said the families of the sailors who had gone through a lot of emotional and physical distress will receive medical help and financial assistance for sometime to help their rehabilitation and reintegration.

According to the UN at least 38 sailors are still being held by Somali pirates who were demanding ransoms.