For the past 388 days, Paul and Rachel Chandler have been held captive when their sailboat was hijacked by Somali Pirates in the Indian Ocean. Almost a month after they were kidnapped, I was informed of their plight as I watched the evening news. While the TV is often filled with horrible stories, this one seemed to stand out among the crowd. I guess seeing a video of two innocent people being held at gun point really moved me!
Sometimes a person gets so inspired that they join a worthy cause so they can “make a difference”. I felt compelled to help these two unfortunate people, but had absolutely no idea how. After all, I did’t know them, didn’t know their family or friends, didn’t have any contacts in their homeland of England and certainly didn’t have any knowledge of Somalia or even pirates. Not to mention, Im also almost 10,000 miles away. So, I thought, how could one person from California possibly help?
A few months before this happened, I had read an article about the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips. After a 5 day stand off with Somali pirates, the captain and his crew, along with their cargo ship, were freed with the help of the U.S. Navy. I figured if I attracted the attention of the right people, this too could be resolved quickly. Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to use the power of the internet to raise awareness so people with more power than me would feel compelled to step in and offer assistance.
Shortly after I set up this site, more news surfaced about the Chandlers. There were articles about physical abuse and possible executions if demands weren’t immediately met. Amidst all the reports, different figures were published as to the amount of the ransom being requested by the pirates. As I was posting these news articles, the site gained in popularity and attracted more attention that I had anticipated.
On quite a few occasions, I fielded emails from both soldier-of-fortune wannabes and legitimate organizations that were actually qualified to help, albeit for a hefty daily fee. I was also contacted by quite a few people asking the same question, “What can I do to help?”. While it looked like my idea of raising awareness had worked, I began to notice something else which was rather disturbing. It appeared that the pirates were trying to use the media to help increase the Chandlers’ “value” and in turn the amount of their ransom demand. When I discovered this, I realized that posting all the news that was floating around the internet wasn’t such a good idea. I was also convinced, by some well known organizations who deal with this type of activity all the time, that I should be very careful about what I say. After all, the last thing I wanted to do was is to make matters worse so I took some of their advice.
Well, its been 388 days and Im pleased to say:
PAUL AND RACHEL CHANDLER ARE FINALLY FREE!!!
Im sure Paul & Rachel, their family and the viewers of this site are also excited to hear this news! I wish the Chandlers a very happy homecoming and hope they can resume their lives quickly.
For those of you that were also compelled to offer your support through private emails and contributions, THANK YOU! As for the money this site raised, while it was an extremely small amount, it was still successfully used as it was to be intended.
As for who I am now that this is finally over, well, lets just say that Im just an average guy named Scott from California who has learned quite a bit during this journey! I’ve met amazing people along the way and have been enlightened by some of the injustice that occurs outside my countries borders. And, when all that can be revealed is published, I hope that my efforts did more good than harm at helping 2 strangers Ive never met secure their freedom.
