Reality versus Image: the impact of the Chandlers on the Somali pirates.

The trouble with the cautionary tale of Paul and Rachel Chandler is that the likelihood of a happy ending is becoming less and less likely.  The temptation of saying “I told you so” will be no comfort to their relatives should the ill-fated couple die and certainly no heroic feat for the Somali pirates who hold the Chandlers captive.  The Chandlers’ lives and the reputation of the Somali pirates are inextricably linked.

Paul and Rachel Chandler made the mistaken decision to sail from The Seychelles to Tanzania in October last October, despite plenty of warnings from all sides that they were venturing into pirate seas.  The hi-jacking of their yacht the Lynn Rival and their hostage-taking by Somali pirates made immediate world news headlines.  It was a sensational “hit” by the pirates but possibly a huge error. 

The pirates soon issued a ransom demand of over $4million and since then have been waiting.  Regrettably the family is not of those means and the pirates are still waiting while the Chandlers are increasingly languishing in captivity.  Their plight makes good newsprint of the human tragedy variety exacerbated by horrific accounts of Mrs. Chandler being regularly beaten and nearly being raped last week, neither of which reflects well on the humanitarian image of the pirates. 

It is a desperate story for the Chandlers for there is almost no help forthcoming from Britain.   Initially negotiations by Nick Davis of the not-for-profit Merchant Maritime Warfare Centre succeeded in orchestrating a ransom of roughly £100,000.00 being agreed by the pirates, only for any payment to be blocked by the British Government:  "We do not negotiate with pirates/terrorists/hostage-takers” is the British Foreign Office credo.  Since then a Californian website called “Save the Chandlers” has raised over US$900 but that is a paltry sum to the pirates used to their $millions.   Now there is deadlock with the pirates holding an increasingly sickly burden and little to no ransom being available.  The pirates’ latest move has been to threaten death by starvation, which only brings further disapprobation on their heads.

However, this impasse has brought about a strengthening pressure group from ex-pat Somalis in Britain.  So far Somali organizations in Bristol, Camden, Wembley, Walthamstow and Brent have been calling on their fellow Somalis in Britain and back home in Somalia to pressurize the pirates into releasing the Chandlers.  Local British Somali TV and radio shows have been broadcasting appeals and information regarding the plight of the Chandlers: “Our agenda was to educate the community that these people are innocent,” said Mohamed “Elias” Ahmed, the station manager of Somali On Air. Harbi Farah is a member of Help Somalia Foundation, based in Brent.  She said, “We will do whatever we can to secure the Chandlers’ safe release.”   Last Sunday there was a “Save Paul and Rachel” public meeting held in Camden and aimed at the local Somali community to encourage them to bring pressure to bear on their contacts back home in Haradhere where it is alleged the Chandlers are being held. 

If the Chandlers are murdered the repercussions for the 25,000 Somalis based in Britain could be severe.  As Abdirahman Mohamed Jama, a former teacher from Harrow, now a Somaliland MP, said: “We are very sorry about what has happened. The Chandlers are poor. They cannot pay any ransom, and if they die in captivity there will be severe consequences.”   This view was reiterated by Abdullah Hussein Maaryaa, a Somali journalist working in Britain.  He stated: “The Chandlers should be released without condition. There is no excuse for holding them. Their kidnapping blackens the name of all Somalis.”  Maaryaa is on the panel of the Somali satellite Universal TV channel’s programme “Have Your Say”.   For the past three weeks the presenter, Mr. Abdiwali, has been focusing on the Chandlers to the extent that word has indeed reached the pirates who called him and asked if he was working for the British Government.  Despite the irony of the situation this is a measure of some minuscule progress.
British Immigration has been relatively welcoming to Somalis seeking asylum from the internal civil wars raging in Somalia.  Hostility from other elements of the British population will not be slow to surface if the Chandlers meet a sticky end in Somalia.  A Bristol newspaper printed local Somali businessman, Mohammed Omer’s comment: “We feel sorry for them and hope the pirates let them go ... If the Government doesn't want to pay, the Somali community in Britain will.”  This elicited the  following reaction on the paper’s website: “If they want to sponsor Somalian terrorists, go home and do it.”  If further violence is meted out to the Chandlers such reactions may be replaced with much nastier physical responses.

Regrettably ex-pat Somalis bring with them per se a reputation of lawlessness.  The fact they chose to flee from this reality does not alter their image in their new home country.  Mr. Abdiwali is correct when he says: “This (the Chandlers’ ongoing captivity) is very bad for our reputation and it’s our responsibility to do whatever we can.” 

If this pressure can reach out to the Somali Diaspora around the world as well as to the Somali pirates themselves, maybe the Chandlers will be released.  It seems to be their last and only chance of survival. This is a double-edged sword of which the pirates should beware.  The Chandlers’ release will heap praise on the heads of the pirates for listening compassionately to world pressure and proving that human life is of a different value to £s and $s. If the innocent Chandlers die at the hands of their captors, the pirates will lose any remaining shreds of international sympathy for their impoverished Robin Hood-like image they have been wont to portray.  As real time killers they will be relegated to the ranks of international murdering thieves and bandits.  The last deadline given by the pirates was for the end of February 2010 but to what end?

Feb 16th 2010