An iftar phone call makes a mother's nightmare come true

As a family in Chattogram were enjoying iftar on the first day of Ramadan yesterday, a phone call from a loved one shattered.

Chief Officer Md Atik Ullah Khan of the Bangladesh-flagged cargo ship MV Abdullah managed to make a phone call to his mother after suspected Somali pirates hijacked the vessel in the Indian Ocean.

While talking to The Daily Star at her residence in Chattogram city this morning, 62-year-old Shahnur Begum said, "My son has been working in ships since 2008. I have seen news of Somalian pirates hijacking ships on several occasions. I also followed the news about hijacking of another Bangladeshi ship MV Jahan Moni in 2010. At that time, I used to pray for the rescue of those kidnapped mariners.

"But I never thought that my son would fall victim of such kidnapping. Never thought my family would go through such danger," the mother said.

She said her son was able to make a phone call when they were having iftar yesterday.

"He informed us that a number of Somalian pirates boarded their ship and held them hostage at gunpoint in a cabin. But none were hurt," she said.

"About 15 minutes later my son sent a voice message, saying the pirates were taking away cell phones of every crew and they might not be able to contact," a weeping Shahnur said.

After gathering herself, she resumed narrating the sudden nightmare visited upon her family, "My daughter-in-law is pregnant and she fell sick after she heard about it."

Shahnur urged the company that owns the vessel and the government to take all steps to bring back his son and 22 other crew members home safely.

Somalian pirates hijacked MV Abdullah yesterday around 500 nautical miles off the Somalian coast.

The ship was sailing from Maputo in Mozambique to Al Hamriyah in the UAE with 58,000 tonnes of coal when it was hijacked by pirates in the afternoon yesterday.

MV Abdullah is owned by SR Shipping Limited, a concern of KSRM Group.