By Ramola Talwan Badam

DUBAI // Help free our men is the appeal to the international community from the relatives of hostages being held by Somali pirates for nearly three years.

The pirates still want money but there is nothing in our hands to pay them,” said Fatima Farhana, a Sri Lankan schoolteacher and the daughter of the MV Albedo’s second engineer, Mohammed Bisthamy. Mrs Farhana spoke on telephone from Maldives.

“My father has said we need to do something fast but there is no one to help. We need our fathers, we need our men back. There should be some end to our suffering. Our families have lost everything.”

Mrs Farhana’s father is among 11 sailors from the Malaysian-flagged MV Albedo currently being held by Somali pirates.

The 24-man crew were captured by Somali pirates in November 2010 in the Gulf of Aden after the MV Albedo left Jebel Ali for Kenya.

One Indian sailor was shot dead by pirates in 2011 in an effort to pressure the Iranian owner to pay the US$2.85 million (Dh10.5m) ransom.

Eight Pakistani sailors including the captain were released in August last year after a US$1.1 million (Dh4 million) ransom was raised by Pakistani businessmen, families and charity groups after nation-wide appeals by the seamen’s families.

The pirates refused to release other sailors from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India and Iran unless the entire amount was paid.

In July this year, the ship sank off Somalia’s coast during rough weather. The pirates told relatives four Sri Lankan crew were missing and the remaining 11 were being held on land.

Relatives are now hoping to reach out to delegates at the two-day Dubai counter-piracy conference to remind the world about the men.

The families worry about the men after hearing about the brutality they were subjected to from the freed Pakistani crew. The men were denied water, food and toilet access for days with the pirates firing at random and hitting them with pipes and rods.

“We cry when we think about him,” said Mrs Farhana who last spoke to her father in August.

“We cannot eat properly because we always remember the men have nothing. He was saying how sad they were about the four missing sailors. We tell him to be patient but no one should face this.”

Since the hostages were often the only earning members, relatives depend on family and friends for survival.

Mrs Farhana’s mother has moved in with her sister after the bank repossessed their home.

“My father went on the ship to save our house; now the bank has taken our home and there nothing in our hands,” she said.

Jawaid Khan, the captain held hostage for 21 months has been invited to the Dubai conference with his family to speak about the ordeal.

His wife Shahnaz Jawaid said news of the missing sailors had upset him.

“It affects him and us because we know what it is like to constantly hope for any news,” said Mrs Jawaid who had dealt with incessant threats from pirates that the crew would be killed if ransom was not paid.

“All of us think of the remaining crew and we feel some guilt about them being left behind. This haunts us. It was not our fault because if we had not handed the money to the pirates they threatened to kill all the Pakistanis.”

The wife of another hostage, who did not want to be identified, said countries must come together to free the hostages.

There are 64 sailors currently held in Somalia, of which 53 have been held for more than two years, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

“Someone must step forward to talk for us,” she said.

“Will they be forgotten because we are poor and have no money. How long will this continue?”

Source: The National