Crew fears for Somali cook's life
Source: Agencies |
June 20, 2010, Sunday
|
Print Edition
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THE pirate cook smuggled food to the terrified hostages held by his gang off the Somali coast. He bought them cell phone cards. And when the pirates started talking about harvesting their organs for cash, he sneaked them guns.
The hostages killed the pirates and escaped. But now the life of the Somali cook, known only as Ahmed, is in danger. Despite actions the crew described as heroic, European Union nations, Syria and nearby Djibouti have all refused to take him.
Ahmed has since disappeared. It is thought to be the first time someone working for the pirates has turned against them to help hostages.
"Sending him back to (Somalia's) shore would be putting him to death for his compassion," said John Burnett, the author of "Dangerous Waters: Modern Piracy and Terrorism on the High Seas." "This smacks of a bureaucratic bungle."
The tale began on February 2, when the pirates hijacked the MV Rim, a Libyan-owned, North Korean-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden.
During the first two months, the pirates gave food and water to the crew of one Romanian and nine Syrians. But when talks about the US$300,000 ransom went nowhere, the pirates grew impatient. The crew got little food or water, Virgil Teofil Cretu, 36, the Romanian crew member, said in Costanta, Romania.
Various pirate groups bought and sold the ship and crew, Cretu said. Ahmed bought a SIM card to use in a cell phone the crew had hidden from the pirates, so the hostages could speak with relatives. But the negotiations were not going well. No one from North Korea, Libya or Syria would agree to pay.
On June 2, Ahmed told the crew that the pirates had decided to kill them and harvest their organs to get some money out of the seajacking. Ahmed secretly passed the crew three Kalashnikovs. That's when "all hell broke loose," according to Cretu.
"All six pirates guarding us were killed or went overboard," said Cretu.
Now the crew has gone home, but Ahmed is nowhere to be found. His last known location was the Dutch warship Johan de Witt.
The hostages killed the pirates and escaped. But now the life of the Somali cook, known only as Ahmed, is in danger. Despite actions the crew described as heroic, European Union nations, Syria and nearby Djibouti have all refused to take him.
Ahmed has since disappeared. It is thought to be the first time someone working for the pirates has turned against them to help hostages.
"Sending him back to (Somalia's) shore would be putting him to death for his compassion," said John Burnett, the author of "Dangerous Waters: Modern Piracy and Terrorism on the High Seas." "This smacks of a bureaucratic bungle."
The tale began on February 2, when the pirates hijacked the MV Rim, a Libyan-owned, North Korean-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden.
During the first two months, the pirates gave food and water to the crew of one Romanian and nine Syrians. But when talks about the US$300,000 ransom went nowhere, the pirates grew impatient. The crew got little food or water, Virgil Teofil Cretu, 36, the Romanian crew member, said in Costanta, Romania.
Various pirate groups bought and sold the ship and crew, Cretu said. Ahmed bought a SIM card to use in a cell phone the crew had hidden from the pirates, so the hostages could speak with relatives. But the negotiations were not going well. No one from North Korea, Libya or Syria would agree to pay.
On June 2, Ahmed told the crew that the pirates had decided to kill them and harvest their organs to get some money out of the seajacking. Ahmed secretly passed the crew three Kalashnikovs. That's when "all hell broke loose," according to Cretu.
"All six pirates guarding us were killed or went overboard," said Cretu.
Now the crew has gone home, but Ahmed is nowhere to be found. His last known location was the Dutch warship Johan de Witt.
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