![]() It is no wonder then that piracy has increased exponentially off the Horn of Africa. The pirate concluded by saying, "Piracy good mustaqbil." Mustaqbil is a Somali term for future. But working as a pirate, he got money, food, khat and cigarettes and he had married three wives. ![]() The pirate explained to Pralav that when he worked with the government of Somalia as a soldier, he only got food and khat (a plant that is cultivated and chewed widely in the region for its stimulant effects). "Sometimes we would get friendly with the pirates and when I asked one of them why he was doing all this, his answer was very simple - money, all currency, dollars, pounds, euro, all," shares Pralav. His observations and conversations with the pirates hold a mirror to the social situation in Somalia. In November 2011, Pralav participated in the Global Maritime Security & Anti-Piracy Conference 2011 in India where he presented a paper on his experience. From there we were sent back to our homes." Luckily, a naval warship rescued us and we sailed to Mombasa in Kenya. In fact, the ship was taking in water in one of the hatches. The pirates got the money on board, counted and distributed the money among themselves and just left, leaving us confused. Nd drop the ransom money at sea near the ship and a small boat was sent to get it to the ship. "We assembled on deck and saw a plane come a "On 8th March 2011, around 50 men came on board and said that we would be going home that day," says Pralav of their day of release. After a long wait of eleven months, negotiations for the ransom finally came to a close. For example, their captain suffered two strokes while in captivity, while their cook died just four days before the ransom was paid. Numerous situations called for medical help which was not forthcoming. While he says they were not beaten everyday nor did they face any direct violence, the mental strain was enormous. "If the negotiations slowed down, the hijackers used tactics like mock executions and crew lock downs in order to push the captain to plead with the ship company to accept their demands," he adds. "From day one, they studied the behaviour of individual crew members and tried different strategies to divide the crew - whether by using religion or by promising a cut out of the ransom money, if a particular member could provide them with certain information," says Pralav. The captives were heavily guarded by armed guards working on twelve hour shifts. They divided responsibilities amongst themselves such as fetching water and helping with the cooking. Although life was difficult with poor food, limited water, electricity and lack of medical care in the camp of captivity, their Captain encouraged them to remain positive. Slowly they realised that to get through the ordeal they needed to stick together. Talking about their lives as hostages, Pralav admits they were all very shocked when it happened. The 'Translator' called the ship company and started negotiations for the ransom and then it was a long excruciating wait of 332 days till we were free again," recounts Pralav. A representative of the pirates called 'Translator' was their chief negotiator, conducting all negotiations between the pirates and the company which owns the ship. A group of men came to assess the ship, cargo and crew, so they could decide on the ransom amount. "We were taken to Harardhere in Somalia where we anchored the ship. They threatened the crew at gun point, ordering them to repair the engine quickly and sail to Somalia. Pralav says a boat with some armed men rapidly approached the ship and before the ship crew could call for help, the armed men boarded the ship. The alarm was sounded and the crew started running and shouting that we had been attacked." "The maintenance work was going on when we heard gun shots. ![]() "On that morning of 11th April, we were just drifting as we were having problems in our engine," recounts Pralav. A nautical sciences student, Pralav and his shipmates were held hostage in Somalia for 332 days, only to be released after a ransom was paid. All this changed on the morning of 11 April 2010, when MV RAK Afrikana, a cargo vessel he was sailing with from Seychelles to Zanzibar was hijacked by Somali pirates. "I had heard of piracy from my colleagues, but I really did not know much about it," he says. India: 332 days at the mercy of Somali pirates - a survivor's accountįor 22-year-old student Pralav Dhyani from India, piracy was a very distant reality.
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