In October a British couple was kidnapped from their yacht by pirates. The couple set sail on their 38-foot Lynn Rival, and three days later the pirates took them. They recently pleaded for their lives on TV, saying that their captors were starting to lose their patience. The pirates were looking to negotiate a ransom with the British government.
They have demanded seven million dollars for the safe return of the couple. When the couple was seen on TV they were surrounded by men with guns. This is what the guy, Paul, said on the video.“Our kidnappers are losing patience. They are concerned that there has been no response at all to their demands for money. We are also concerned that these people will lose patience and will not feed us -- and I have no doubt that they will not hesitate to kill us, perhaps within a week or so of now if there is no response. So, please somebody get in touch. Otherwise we just sleepwalk to a tragic ending."The British government demands for the couple’s release, but is still refusing to negotiate with the pirates at all. I think that would be terrifying for these people. All they want is for someone to at least let the pirates know they are listening so their lives might be spared.The couple hasn’t been seen since the video was released so they could easily be dead. Before the video was released, the woman, Rachel was allowed to make a phone call to her brother. At that time they said they were in good health but feared the limits of their captor’s patience.
Pirates are a very big deal off the coast of Somalia. Somalia is lawless so pirates sail in its waters without any punishment. Two more vessels were attacked only one day after Paul and Rachel were kidnapped. One of the ships was taken over, but the other one successfully fought off the pirates.I think this is crazy. People shouldn’t have to fear their lives when they go out to go sailing. Paul and Rachel had been sailing for most of their lives and they knew the dangers of the pirates, but they still went out. I’m thinking there has to be something that can be done about the situation, but I guess since I’ve grown up in the US, I have really been sheltered from how bad it could get in a failed state like Somalia.
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