I saw him a few hours after I arrived in Manila and he was to leave for Singapore where MV Irene EM, a Greek-owned bulk carrier, was waiting for its Filipino crew members.
My brother Joven or Kuya Bob to us is a master electrician at the 35,000-ton ship which was delivering oil and cargo to China, Pakistan and Kenya.
He took a leave from his government job in hopes of starting a new career in the overseas maritime sector before making his early retirement. The current Philippine administration wanted their office abolished anyways.
Shipping companies pay well skilled personnel like my brother. His monthly salary would have been the equivalent of his half-a year wages from the Philippine government.
It was exactly what he needed to send off his oldest daughter, a biology major, to a good medical school and to support his youngest son who is considering to enter the seminary.
All was well until I received an email from my sister-in-law asking to pray for the safety of my brother.
MV Irene was hijacked by the Somali pirates off the Gulf of Aden at dawn of April 14. The attack came days after the daring rescue on Richard Phillips, the captain of the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama container ship, wherein three Somali pirates were killed.
NATO received a distress call from the St. Vincent and the Grenadines-flagged merchant about the incident. A Canadian warship sent a helicopter to investigate what was happening but it was too late. After MV Irene was secured by the pirates, four more ships were captured in the Gulf of Aden that week.
My mother who is in Canada visiting my youngest sister, Divrose or Dave, was devastated upon hearing the news.
We lost my older sister to liver cancer [not genetically linked] in 2005 and now my brother is held captive in Somalia.
Dave who is a nurse had to give my mother sleeping pills so she could sleep.
My father, who was left to the care of my oldest sister, who is also a nurse back home, was shaken.
In the succeeding days after the capture, my sister-in-law, along with the families of the other kidnapped crew members, were briefed at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila.
They were told to keep quiet and to not approach any politicians who may only use the issue ahead of the 2010 Philippine presidential elections.
My sister-in-law who works for a Manila-based U.S. funded government agency last saw my brother on web cam when the crew called port in Amman, Jordan.
From Jordan, MV Irene was to sail to Kenya, their final route, which cannot be reached without passing through the deadly Gulf of Aden.
As of May, 81 Filipino seafarers from different ships were captured by the Somali pirates. Most of them have been released to date.
MV Irene’s case is rather odd. It’s been more than three months now and still no news about when the crew members would be released.
The pirates too were unusually silent about their demands from the shipping company which a few years ago paid them $1.5 million in ransom.
My sister-in-law said the shipping firm told them the crew members are all safe. But it’s been three months and no proof of life was made—only text messages that they are well.
This month when I returned home again, she told me “nagtatawaran na daw sila” [They are bargaining for ransom]. I hope it’s true.
The ship’s supplies are good to last only until next month. My brother who has hypertension stocked up on his medication until August only thinking that he would be home by now.
Dave, who is now a Canadian citizen, got a warm response in Canada when she launched a campaign to free my brother, particularly from the media like the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
It’s ironic though as my brother is Filipino by citizenship yet the Canadians have campaigned strongly for their release among the members of the parliament who have pledged to bring their case to NATO.
I hope the Philippine government dares to act more boldly in rescuing distressed Filipino overseas workers, like those captive seafarers, whom it calls “new heroes” for keeping the country economically afloat with their remittances.
Last week, India rescued 12 of their seafarers with the help of the French government just days after the Somali pirates made the attack.
But in my brother’s case and that of the 22 other Filipino seafarers, it’s been three long months. The Philippine government should do something about them.
Piracy is a lucrative source of livelihood among many Somalis since the 1990s when the country experienced political and social unrest.
I was told that the Somali government is actually in cahoots with the pirates. 50 percent of the ransom allegedly goes to the Somali government, a quarter goes to the pirates and the rest of the 25 percent is used to buy weapons and ammunitions.
The Somali pirates are armed with sophisticated weapons from Russia. Its neighboring country of Sudan, which slaughtered hundreds of thousands of people in Darfur for ethnic cleansing, meanwhile, buys its weapons from China.
Somalia and Sudan are only two of the countries in Africa, which even if we like it or not, affect the world’s stability and security.
Piracy in Somalia and that of MV Irene’s case isn’t just about the captive crew members and their families’ crisis. This is about global maritime security that the international community should address to protect people, their livelihood, access to food and oil, and the right to live in a peaceful world.
Anarchy and poverty prevails in many countries in Africa like Somalia. They have become a perfect breeding ground for crimes and terrorists who are just waiting for an opportunity to attack the rest of us and their own.
The vast continent of Africa is still unexplored and in the years to come, the world will depend on its resources to meet its need for oil and minerals.
But if the world allows Africa to remain chaotic and lawless, the rest of us will never live in peace, no matter our distance.
For feedbacks please email [email protected] or [email protected].
