Kidnapped cruising sailors reunited

7:34 PM Mon 8 Mar 2010 GMT

'Rachel Chandler and doctor who now says they are reunited' .

British cruising sailors kidnapped by Somali pirates and held near Haradheere in northern Somalia in separate locations have been temporarily reunited after weeks apart, a doctor who treated the two in February is reported to have said.

Paul Chandler is reported to be suffering from an eye disease that could produce blindness if untreated, and Rachel Chandler is suffering from scabies and is painfully thin. See this week's Sail-World story where hope is raised for their being freed soon. One dares to hope that their current reunion is part of the process of freeing them.

Paul and Rachel Chandler were also suffering from severe anxiety brought on by their separation and captivity in war-ravaged Somalia, Dr. Abdi Mohamed Elmi Hangul(pictured) told The Associated Press during an interview at Medina Hospital on Sunday.

The two were seized from their yacht, the Lynn Rival, in October and have been held apart for most of their captivity. Hangul said the pirates had phoned him on Sunday and said the couple had been temporarily reunited.

'The two hostages were in different locations but I advised the guys to reunite the couple, because both of them were worrying about their separation but they now told me that the two people have reunited already,' he said.
Hangul treated the two hostages last month at the invitation of their kidnappers, in the camps where they were being held along the Somali coastline.

At the time the doctor examined them, they were already suffering from their captivity. 'The hostages are suffering from diseases ... Paul was suffering just pain and coughs and (Rachel) Chandler was suffering from mental disorders, especially restlessness, palpitations and she was very anxious, because she was worrying about the separation between her and her husband,' he said.

'A new case of eye infection emerged later, (the pirates) informed me by telephone that Paul was taking eye drops, Paul told me that he finished the eye drops,' he said. He has not seen the Chandlers since.

A Somali politician last week expressed hope that pressure from Somalis in the diaspora could lead to the two being freed without a ransom being paid. But pirates have rarely, if ever, freed a vessel and crew without a payment. The Chandlers' captors have repeatedly said they will not free the two without a ransom - money the family says it does not have. The British government says it does not pay ransoms to kidnappers.

'I advised the pirates, you have to release these people, they are old, they don't have anything,' said Hangul. 'I always say that to them but unfortunately they still insist the only option is ransom money.'

The Chandlers are highest-profile of more than 130 sailors held captive on the Somali coast. The couple's plight has garnered more attention than that of hostages from developing countries like India and the Philippines, who make up the bulk of the captives. Furthermore, ship owners can leave them to languish for months before engaging in serious negotiations and families are often not kept informed of progress.

Experts say the pirate problem is a symptom of Somalia's lawlessness on land. It has not had a functioning government for a generation and the current administration is too focused on fighting an Islamist insurgency to go after the well-armed and well-paid pirates.

The multimillion dollar ransoms are one of the few ways to make money in the impoverished country. Attacks about doubled between 2008-2009 and are becoming increasingly violent.

by Sail-World Cruising round-up

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