Help Needed by MV SUEZ Crew…!
Has the world gone to sleep?
Is this a reiterate of the Dark Ages?
I would like to draw your attention to an incident that has left the people of Pakistan, Syria and Egypt in horror. It all began almost a month ago when MV Suez, a Panamanian registered ship belonging to the Red Sea Navigation Company was sailing in the international waters off the Gulf of Eden.
Disaster struck in the early hours of August 02, 2010 when Somali Pirates hijacked the bulk carrier MV Suez - Egyptian-owned; Panama-flagged; 17,300 DWT and with a crew of 23 while transiting the Internationally Recognized Transit Corridor (IRTC) with a cargo of cement bags.
PAKISTANI's including my relative Captain Syed Wasi Hassan and Muhammad Muzamil, Syed Alam, Ali Rehman are onboard MV SUEZ and the whereabouts of the ship to date are not known. A naval helicopter was launched immediately after the alarm but upon arrival on the scene, found the pirates to be already on board.
According to a statement by Mohamed Abdel-Meguid, commercial director of the Red Sea Navigation Company said the owners were ready to pay a reasonable ransom. It has been said that the Somali Pirates demanded a ransom worth 6 Million which has now gone down to 2.5 Million Dollars.
I’m completely aware of the conditions in my country right now but how can one ignore so many lives lost in the middle of nowhere.
Has our Government turned deaf to such a tragedy? Can we do nothing to save our brothers? The families here in Pakistan are trying very hard to approach the government for assistance but in vain. Children await their father’s arrivals, mothers mourn in pain, wives praying for their husbands and the authorities seem to appear blind to all the sufferings.
Can we do nothing to save these lives?
It has been reported, "Unfortunately, channels of communication with the Somali hijackers have been cut," says Abdel-Meguid. This is a tactic the pirates often use to exert pressure on the owners of ships to accept their conditions."
Does this mean we sit around and do nothing?
Innocent lives onboard may be fighting to live this very minute and we sit here to wait for communications to go up again. Is this how the world deals with international issues? Why are not the World Leaders taking the necessary steps? Is this how we treat people who have no one to reach out to?
Sadly, there is another dark side to this picture. Tarek Saleh, the brother of one of the kidnapped crew, told Al-Ahram Weekly that the company had refused to mediate with the pirates. "The owners refused to take any action, saying it is up to the government to negotiate with the pirates.”.
Authorities at the Red Sea Navigation Company have supposedly be involved n making efforts to the supply the captured ship with food and medicine. Can anyone guarantee the safety of those 22 men onboard the ship?
What about the 22 families praying for loved ones with no one to reach out for help?
Hossam Zaki, official spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, says the Egyptian government is consulting with its envoys in Somalia on how to secure the safety of the ship and its crew.
It is up to us to take a stand; we cannot let innocent lives be taken just because the world’s leaders fail to pay heed to us. We have to make sure, that everyone onboard that ship returns to their homeland safe n sound.
This is my initiative towards making a difference, I request you to come forward and join this effort and let’s ‘bring our heroes back home’…!
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