Rachel and Paul Chandler held captive by Somali Pirates for more than a year

A former minicab driver who claimed to have masterminded the release of Paul and Rachel Chandler has received a hero’s welcome as he arrived back in the UK.

Dahir Abdullahi Kadiye, 56, was cheered by around 70 members of the British Somali community as he arrived at Heathrow airport.

He was handed flowers by a number of members of the group – some of whom came to the airport from as far away as Liverpool and Leicester.

The Somali Briton was reported to have negotiated the couple’s safe exit from Somali pirates who had held them for more than a year.

Following their release at the weekend, he told Channel 4 News he took on the job of hostage negotiator six months ago after his children said they felt ashamed when they watched the couple’s appeals on television.

Mr Kadiye did not stop to comment about how he organised the Chandlers’ safe release but said: “I’m very tired.” Mr Kadiye, from Leytonstone, east London, is reported to have come to England as a refugee in 1997.

Mohammed Elmi, chairman of community group Somali Diaspora UK, said the crowd gathered to show how proud they were of Mr Kadiye.

“We are delighted to be here to welcome our hero,” he said.

“To meet the couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler, and to negotiate is something that is very positive. The Somali community in the UK are very happy the couple are back home, safe and alive.”

The Chandlers, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, have spent their second full day of freedom on UK soil. The retired couple endured a 388-day ordeal which began in October 2009 when their yacht was seized by armed Somali pirates as it sailed from the Seychelles towards Tanzania. Mr and Mrs Chandler, aged 60 and 57 respectively, are expected to hold talks with media advisers to discuss interview deals.

Original source of article

While we continue to remain focused on helping Paul and Rachel obtain their freedom, we are also concerned about the overall piracy activity in the region. Since insurance companies usually settle these cases without much media involvement, the public is unaware of how rampant this situation has become.

The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) is currently running a big campaign to fight piracy and to persuade governments to commit resources necessary to end the increasing problem of Somalia-based piracy. Below is a link that will take you to a petition to help move this initiative forward. Please consider signing it!

An article was just posted by the Mirror that stated Pirate leader Maslah Yare put Paul Chandler, 60, and wife Rachel, 56, into a car and hid them in a forest. 

Al-Shabab, a group linked to al-Qaeda, had been closing in on the pirates’ lair. Yare, who wants a £1.3million ransom, said they would be abandoned if Al-Shabab got too close because “our lives are more important”.

It has been rumored that Al-Shabab may have similar financial interests in participating in the kidnapping of the British sailing couple,  Paul and Rachel Chandler.

The Somali group are desperate to help

SOMALIS living in Redbridge have vowed to do “everything in our power” to help free a British couple kidnapped last year by Somali pirates stalking the Indian Ocean.

Yusuf Munye, 34, of Chester Road, Seven Kings, is leading a united front among the borough’s Somali population in the push to get Rachel and Paul Chandler released.

They were kidnapped while sailing from the Seychelles to Tanzania in October.

Their captors have threatened to kill the couple if their demands for $7million (£4.4million) are not met.

Mr Munye said: “Some people think the Somali community in Ilford supports the pirates.

“The main reason we have come together is to show we don’t support them.

“We are totally against their actions and we support our British brothers and sisters.”

Video footage released of the couple at the end of January showed them appealing for help after almost four months in captivity.

Last week, members of the Redbridge Somali community met in the Cardinal Heenan Centre, High Road, Ilford, to discuss what they could do to help bring the couple home.

Mr Munye said: “The government has said they won’t pay a ransom but we’re thinking about raising money to help.

“We’re also talking about trying to make contact with these pirates to help bring the Chandlers home.

“If we’re able to talk to them or to others in Somalia, there’s a chance they will release them.

“We will do everything in our power to free them.”

Mrs Chandler, 60 and Mr Chandler, 56, are understood to have been separated by their captors and are being held in areas between the coastal village of Elhur and the small town of Amara, which is further inland.

Sourced from www.ilfordrecorder.co.uk

Somali Labour Minister Mohamed Abdi Hayir, who is from Suleiman sub-clan of the Habar-gidir, and reported to be a relative of the clan who have kidnapped Paul and Rachel Chandler, said yesterday: ‘We urge the pirates to release the old British couple unconditionally.’

He made the demand during a news conference at the Presidential palace.

‘We also urge the British government and all Somalis to participate in releasing the couple by whatever the means. They are innocent Britons in the hands of criminals,’ he added. However, he refused to elucidate further on what he meant by the reference to the British Government.

Cruising sailors Paul Chandler, 60, and his wife Rachel, 56, from Tunbridge Wells in Britain, were kidnapped at sea in October while a British ship stood by helplessly for fear the couple would be harmed if they attacked. The pirates have threatened to kill them if they are not paid £4.4million, although it is anticipated that a much lower figure would release the couple.

Images released recently, such as the one above, showed the couple, who are being held separately, looking gaunt and distressed.

The UK government says it will not pay ransoms because that would encourage further kidnaps of Britons.

The development came as Danish special forces dramatically recaptured a hijacked cargo ship. The troops, from a Danish warship, scaled the sides of the Ariella, whose 25 crew had locked themselves into a secure room. The pirates had already left, apparently scared off when the Danish ship’s helicopter fired warning shots at one of their boats.

It was the first time the EU naval task force off Somalia had intervened in a hijacking.

Last week the Chandlers were briefly reunited. ‘We brought them together a few days ago,’ said Abdullahi Dhagaweyne, a commander of the pirate gang holding the Chandlers in a phone call to British press. ‘I think they had some kindhearted meeting and enjoyable moments after more days of separation. We are going to bring them together again soon.
‘When we separated them again the woman was shrieking.’

Mr Dhagaweyne, who spoke from Haradheere, the pirate town on the central Somali coast where the couple have been kept, warned the gang was ‘losing patience’ and could sell them to al-Qaeda-linked factions.

He said: ‘I cannot confirm that they will forever be in our hands if no ransom is paid, there might be another decision in the future.’
A sale to Somalia’s radical al-Shabaab militia, which has been linked to al-Qaeda, is a potential alternative to a ransom payment which the Chandlers relatives and friends cannot afford.

‘There are negotiations by phone these days, but no tangible developments yet,’ he said. ‘No government has called us, only families and other so-called negotiators.

‘We may sell [the Chandlers] to anyone who pays us the money we want, if we don’t get ransom in the future.’

Since the kidnapping, Sail-World has been contacted by cruising sailors who were with the Chandlers before they set off for Tanzania. The sailors, who did not want to be named, said that the dangers were well known to all cruising sailors in the Seychelles and that they had been warned repeatedly that they should not hazard a voyage to Tanzania.

Now, the manager of the Seychelles Yacht Club, Andre Hoarau, has confirmed this, and that he also warned the couple.
‘I told them again and again, we all told them, that they should not go to Tanzania,’ he told British newspapers.

He said that he had passed on the multiple reports of pirate activity in the area.

by Sail-World Cruising

Paul and Rachel Chandler were captured by Somali Pirates almost 100 days ago.  They are being held captive in exchange for $7 million US dollars.   However, its been reported that the pirates would be willing to ’settle’ with approximately $100,000.

This site has been created not to argue the merits of hostage negotiations nor figure out a solution to end the piracy problem.  It was created with the sole purpose of obtaining freedom for Paul and Rachel Chandler!

My commitment is to create a vehicle where by people can donate for the cause.  Im also committed to helping facilitate the exchange – money for the Chandlers.   If by any reason, the money raised by this site is NOT used towards the ransom of the Chandlers, then I WILL offer the donors an option of full MONEY BACK or they can have me direct the funds to the family on their behalf.

As stated in the “about” section of this site, my goal is not to make money from this tragic event.  As a matter of fact, I have already put several hundred dollars and a LOT of hours into this with my only goal of seeing these two innocent people escape their captors.

Now you can help a cause AND have a Money Back Guarantee!

SaveTheChandlers.com was created in an attempt to raise both awareness and money to help gain the Chandlers freedom.  Via many emails from concerned citizens and heavy web traffic, it appears that more people are following as this tragic event unfolds.  However, Im sad to say that we have only raised a little over $100. If each viewer would have donated $10, I wouldn’t be writing this post right now!

We all have our opinions as to how to “handle” this situation.  Some believe that negotiations with pirates only encourages more kidnappings.  Others feel that we should give the money and help Paul and Rachel resume their peaceful lives.

Regardless of your personal and political beliefs around this matter, it appears we may be coming up against a deadline for action.   Considering the latest news obtained from telephone conversations with the Chandlers, the time to act is now!

Here are the facts:

Thanks to the valiant efforts of the Merchant Maritime Warfare Center (MMWC) and its chairman Nick Davis, they raised $100,000 which the pirates agreed would be enough to free them.

Unfortunately, the UK Government intervened and blocked the transaction so they could not make the exchange.

What I propose:

Since it appears that there IS money available and the only thing preventing their freedom is the UK Government, I propose a way in which the government does not have to be involved in the exchange!

The internet is a wonderful tool and should be used in this case as well!  By using a method of money transfer such as PayPal or even wire transfer to an account, we could effectively give the pirates the previously agreed upon sum of $100,000 US.    All they need to do is set up an account in their country and we can transfer the funds.

This can be performed in 2 stages so both parties will feel protected.  I suggest that we transfer $50,000 UPON Rachel Chadlers SAFE release and confirmed passage back to the UK.  When she is free, we will give them the money as a way of showing that we are willing to complete the exchange.  The pirates will still have Paul as collateral that we will perform our part.

After her exchange, the pirates should be able to see that we are willing to work with them and eager to exchange Paul for the remaining $50,000, also for his safe and confirmed release.

If you are someone who can represent the pirates, I suggest you contact me.

If you are a member of the MMWC and still have access to the funds, I suggest you contact me.

If you are a concerned citizen who wants to help (either through money or other support), I suggest you contact me!

Once again, my goal is not to challenge the pros and cons of hostage negotiations, its merely to see that Paul and Rachel have a chance to live out their natural lives!

The Chandlers yacht returns to UK

The yacht which British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler were on when they were abducted by Somali pirates has been returned to Portland Harbor, in Dorset UK.

The Chandlers are still being held for ransom for a reported $7 million, however news posts have mentioned that the pirates may be willing to negotiate for a lesser amount.

The yacht, Lynn Rival was picked up by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Wave Knight. The Wave Knight returned to British waters yesterday to unload the yacht.

According to members on the military vessel, the crew had been ‘forced’ to watch as the couple were kidnapped by pirates. Military officials insisted the crew members could not have acted without endangering the Chandlers lives.

There were 75 merchant seamen and 25 sailors aboard the Wave Knight at the time of the abduction.

The couple were forced to change course to Somalia before being put on a container ship, the Kota Wajar, which had also been taken by the pirates. Based on videos released last week, they now appear to be ashore.

Mr Chandler, a quantity surveyor, and his economist wife have spent several six-month spells at sea.

It later emerged the Wave Knight, carrying a helicopter, was near to the drama.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “Every effort was made by the Royal Navy and the international maritime fleet to locate the Lynn Rival.

“We did everything we could possibly do without further endangering the lives of Paul and Rachel Chandler.”

Portions of this article were sourced from www.dorsetecho.co.uk