Relatives cry for trapped mariners; PM’s intervention sought

By AKM Moinuddin

Dhaka, Dec 19 (UNB) – Bilkis Rahman, a middle-aged woman, squinted at the newsmen and sobbed quietly. Suddenly, emotion got the better of her and tears flooded her eyes as she focused on a photograph. She wiped the tears with her scarf.
For the forlorn mother, the photograph was a most-prized possession – that of her 21-year-old son Engine Cadet Shahriar Rabbi, the youngest victim of MV Jahan Moni which was hijacked by Somali pirates. Rabbi’s father Ziaur Rahman, a cancer-patient, was also weeping beside her spouse, trying to hide his face in his shirt sleeve.
Bilkis, one among the relatives of the trapped Bangladeshi mariners, who came to Dhaka from Chittagong to meet journalists for conveying their plea to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her personal intervention for the rescue of her son.
The air of the entire hall room on the second floor of National Press Club where over 60 relatives of 25 mariners rushed to attend a press conference became heavy long before the formal briefing began.
Each and every relative of the mariners burst into tears. All of them - mother, father, brother and sister of the victims - were seen holding the photographs of loved ones. They could hardly talk to the newsmen.
The only message they wanted to convey was that they want Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s direct intervention for the rescue of their trapped near and dear ones from the hands of pirates.
Mahfuza Khatun, who got married just a year back with M Tariqul Islam, fourth engineer of the pirated ship, was also there. She narrated her last conversation with her hubby over phone.
She said: “It was December 12. I received a call from my husband. It was 12:03 am. The conversation lasted for about 8 minutes. He (Tariqul) spoke of food crisis and the ransom demanded by the pirates for their release.”
She said her husband informed her that the pirates demanded US$ 9 million (approx. Tk 62 crore) as ransom with five-day ultimatum. “He said `forgive me, I may not meet you anymore’.”
Mahfuza also read out a written statement on behalf of the relatives of the Bangladeshi crew of MV Jahan Moni, which was hijacked by Somalian pirates on December 5.
She sought Prime Minister’s direct intervention for the release of all the crew members.
“She (PM) is also a mother. She also lost her near and dear ones. She well knows how the pain of such loss means. Please spare us the agony of uncertainty,” Mahfuza implored the Prime Minister.
She also urged the government to take coordinated action with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), International Labour Organization (ILO) and International Trade Federation (ITF).
In their written statement, the relatives alleged that neither the government nor the owners of the pirated vessel have taken any steps though pirates gave five-day ultimatum on December 12 demanding US$ 9 million as ransom for releasing the vessel and its crew.
Shahin Ara Momtaj, an Assistant Director of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), said the pirates talked to the relatives of each of the victims for 2-3 minutes over phone on December 12 and conveyed identical message to everybody.
“My nephew (elder brother’s son) talked to us at about 7 pm on the day. He (Engine Cadet Shahriar Rabbi) even sought forgiveness from all saying ‘I won’t be able to meet you…food supply has already dried out’,” she said bursting into tears.
MV Jahan Moni with 26 Bangladeshis - 25 crew members and the spouse of a mariner on board - was pirated on December 5 from a place in the Arabian Sea 170 nautical miles from Lakkha Island of India and about 300 nautical miles from the Kochin port.
The ship carrying 43,150 tons of nickel ore was scheduled to arrive in Greece from Indonesia through the Suez Canal.
END/UNB/AKM