Filipinos enter sixth month of captivity by Somali pirates

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Ruel de Guzman seemed destined for a life at sea.

Several relatives have served in the U.S. Navy, and growing up in the Philippines, he envied the nice houses neighbors were able to buy on a seafarer’s salary, much more than he could make on land.

For 20 years, the sea was good as de Guzman married, then started a family. He had risen to second mate on the MT Stolt Strength, a chemical tanker, sending home nearly $2,000 a month to support his wife, Vilma, their four children and his 81-year-old mother.

“In the province, people flaunt their wealth, and so he wanted a nice house, too. His father was a tailor and his mother was a teacher. He was the first to finish school,” Vilma de Guzman said. “He became a seaman to help his family.”

Then on Nov. 10, Somali pirates swarmed aboard as the tanker sailed through the Gulf of Aden while hauling a cargo of phosphoric acid destined for Japan. Since then, the 46-year-old de Guzman and 22 other Filipino crew members have languished for months with scant rations, little water and constant threats as negotiations for their release drag on.

For them, a military rescue like the one that freed American Capt. Richard Phillips is unlikely because the Stolt Strength is anchored in a pirate stronghold. Their only hope is that a ransom will eventually be paid.

While sailors from richer countries get freed relatively quickly in exchange for multimillion-dollar ransoms, those from poorer countries such as the Philippines, Bangladesh and Indonesia often wait for months, stuck in the middle because the companies they work for can’t afford to make a big payoff.

Almost half of the nearly 300 seamen currently held by Somali pirates are Filipinos — a Greek-owned ship was snatched Tuesday with 22 Filipinos on board, starting a fresh ordeal for a new group of families.

Vilma de Guzman was at the shipping company with other hostages’ wives when her husband called last Friday for only the second time since the pirate takeover and talked with their three daughters, ages 15, 10 and 7, and their 9-year-old son.

“He told them, ‘Take care of mommy, take care of your siblings, love each other,’” Vilma de Guzman told The Associated Press. “He was saying goodbye to his kids just in case he does not come out of this ordeal alive.”

“I know when you are a seaman, it’s really a high risk. But to say that you’d be taken hostage by pirates, we never imagined that would happen to him. We continue to receive his salary. He gets a big salary, but what will we do ... if we lose my husband?”