Freed hostages thank all who helped them come home
15.09.2009
The last three Seychellois men held hostage by Somali pirates have expressed their gratitude to the government and all those who helped to bring them safely home.
Conrad Andre, Gilbert Victor and Robin Samson were emotional on their arrival on Sunday afternoon, but they revealed they had a very bad experience in Somali and did not expect to return home to their families.
They thanked the authorities and all who helped them in one way or another during the difficult times since they were detained by the pirates.
They did not wish to share much of their story at this stage as they say there are issues they still need to discuss with the Seychelles authorities.
But they denied allegations that they were trafficking drugs when they were caught by the pirates.
Mr Victor and Mr Andre did reveal that Mr Samson was not with them when they were captured but was picked up later on, near Alphonse, from another vessel called the Virgo.
Mr Samson did not want to comment on his arrest by the pirates.
The three sailors arrived here on a Kenya Airways flight and were met at the airport by Vice-President Joseph Belmont, heads of the negotiation and family support teams – Minister Joel Morgan and Minister Vincent Meriton – families and friends.
Mr Morgan said he is happy the three men have arrived home safely despite all the difficulties.
Talking about the reactions of the three men, he said they have been through a very difficult situation. He expected them to be very emotional as Somalia is an unstable place and the Somalis are not interested in the wellbeing of other people.
Mr Morgan said the kidnappers are pirates and bandits, and they use fear to put the hostages under emotional stress to make them suffer and to put more pressure on the authorities.
He explained they had to keep the mission confidential as it was dangerous to remove the men from Somalia.
“If we had revealed all the information, we believe we would have put our men in a more dangerous situation,” he said.
He said when the three men were in Somalia, the people in charge of the negotiation team spoke to them on a regular basis when they were given permission.
“We reassured them when we had the chance that everything was being done to ensure their return home,” said Mr Morgan.
He again stressed that the government will never pay ransoms to pirates even if they attack again and take more of our people hostage.
“I can reassure the public that we are ready for the pirates. We are aware of their movements in our waters and we know they will come again,” he said.
He added that the government will not tolerate piracy as it is destabilising the fishing and tourism industries.
Mr Morgan revealed that the mission to release the sailors from the catamaran Serenity was more difficult than for the seven men who were on the Indian Ocean Explorer.
He said they had to hire a company specialising in such rescues, which sent two officers under the command of the team here.
The officers were asked not to talk to the Seychellois men for their own safety, but they knew their identities from their passport photos, he added.
Mr Morgan said these two officers have not been handed over to the United Nations but are still in the town of Garowe, and negotiations are now going on to secure their release.
Talking about the cost of the operation, he said it is about R1 million, of which the government contributed 98% and the rest was financed by international organisations.
Mr Morgan said they know the pirates will return to our waters soon after the south-east monsoon has ended, and this time the authorities are more than ready for them.
“ A committee has been set up and it has worked on a plan to counter piracy,” he said.
“It is under the guidance of the President and we are also getting assistance from other international organisations and governments.”
He said France, the UK and India are helping the government, along with the European Union.
Mr Morgan said a master plan has been put in place to counter piracy in the region, which includes our territorial waters and our exclusive economic zone. We also have surveillance and a response strategy to better deal with the situation.
He advised members of the public, especially sailors, to follow any alerts issued by the maritime safety administration, ports authority and coast guard before going to sea.
He added that the authorities cannot be everywhere as our territorial waters are vast, but they will do their best to ensure the safety of sailors.