The adventurous, resilient Chandlers
Greetings from Mogadishu - a city I wish we could visit more often.
"This is a stinking dangerous place," said one American engineer, earlier on Sunday. He was sitting in the airport VIP lounge looking out on to the sun-baked, beachfront, heavily-guarded runway - a big surf breaking on the rocks beyond, and from time to time, the distant snap of gunfire.
He was summing up a wider sense of unease about the decision to bring the Chandlers to Somalia's capital, instead of flying them straight out to neighbouring Kenya. Out of the frying pan, into... well, into somewhere any weary ex-hostages would probably prefer to avoid.
To raise the stakes even further, Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) decided it shouldn't send the new prime minister down to the airport tarmac for a quick handshake. Oh no.
The news conference was good PR for Somalia's beleagured government
The Chandlers' small charter flight arrived soon after lunch, and the couple were immediately bundled off the plane, without even time to put on flak jackets. They were made to climb into one of the giant armoured cars belonging to Amisom, the Ugandan-led peacekeeping force that protects what little territory the TFG controls in the city.
They were then driven through Mogadishu's perilous streets to the presidential palace for a quiet chat, a brief news conference, and then a return trip on what Paul Chandler called, with the sort of jovial patience one might expect from a tourist - "the airport bus".
To be fair to the TFG and its ever-changing cast of characters, it does appear to have been closely involved, along with many other groups, in finally securing the Chandlers' release. Officials were understandably keen to take some credit, in a country with little to crow about.
A government official angrily accused me of "looking for bad news" when I suggested the airport bus journey was at best unnecessary. The information minister was adamant that "no ransom" had been paid by the TFG. And the city is a little quieter than usual right now.
As for the Chandlers, they were remarkably gracious throughout. Paul - not quite shaking off his tourist-image - carried a large camera around his neck and, before leaving Mogadishu, took some snaps of the airport while his security guard growled, yet again, at the handful of journalists trying to film the couple.
Paul's wife, Rachel, seemed intermittently more weary, but rallied during the news conference to give a bright and moving description of her elation, her enthusiasm for the people of Somalia, and her relief at no longer being surrounded by criminals.
An adventurous, resilient couple, then. They made a terrible mistake 13 months ago in trying to sail from the Seychelles to Tanzania.
They were treated badly - and beaten at one point by their captors. But the experience has clearly not broken them. I got the sense that the Chandlers aren't the sort of people to hold a grudge against a whole country - even one as relentlessly chaotic, and violent, as Somalia.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~35~RS~)
I’m 
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I have just listened to the worst interview I have ever heard, by Will Ross.
His interviewing technique was to say "So [this is what I think is true], isn't it?".
To which Mr Chandler replied (to most questions) "er, no, quite the opposite".
If I were Chandler I would have told Ross to sod off and go back to reporters school.
BBC take note - remedial training required!
(Sorry to invade this blog. I couldn't find anywhere else to vent my dissatisfaction with Ross.)
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while we're on the subject of standards, what was going on with the camera work for Harding's interview with the Chandlers? It was all over the place, out of focus and badly framed, doesn't the bbc bother with proper camera operators any more? Just give a handicam to the driver or fixer and let them do it, that will do. Well no it won't actually, it looked like amateur hour.
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ah fred, i'm afraid i'll have to take credit for that one... there was only room in the armoured car for one of us, and I got lucky in the scrum, and filmed the whole sequence with a small camera. profound apologies for spoiling your viewing pleasure.
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I'm so glad that Chandlers are of that place.... :-)
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I've got no sympathy for them at all, they were warned not to go to that area and as you know they ignored that advice and we all know what happened next. When i heard that they were warned i actually laughed.
I think they'll be taking advice a bit more seriously next time.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
It was extremely foolish of the Chandlers to have attempted this perilous journey in the first place. Having lived and worked abroad for most of my working life, occasionally in very "strange" places, I never ceased to wonder at the extreme foolishness of some tourists and holidaymakers abroad. If expatriates had acted in a likewise manner, they would not have survived and would never have been able to return to their own home country, and earn a well-deserved retirement?
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to comment 5 "they were warned not to go into that area..... I actually laughed."
That area now includes almost the entire Western Indian Ocean, ships are being hit near India and down near Madagascar. Millions of innocent people who may benefit from tourism and thousands of innocent sailors from poor countries like the Phillipines who crew merchant ships on meagre wages to support families at home, now risk their lives sailing those waters.
The Chandlers took a risk and it backfired badly on them, but the situation as it stands is a disgrace that a vast part of one of the most beautiful oceans on earth is off limits thanks to gun toting thugs. They were sailing from one sovereign nation to another (Seychelles to Tanzania), both relatively poor countries that benefit from tourism, neither represented by these pirates. Rather than laughing, we need to pressure our Governments to in turn pressure the UN to put an end to this disgrace. The ones who suffer the most are actually the people of Somalia.
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This is a stinking dangerous place," said one American engineer, earlier on Sunday. He was sitting in the airport VIP lounge looking out on to the sun-baked, beachfront, heavily-guarded runway
I didn't think there was anyone in Mogadishu apart from the Somalis, peacekeepers and journalists.Assume he was from Coca-Cola or McDonalds.
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I agree with post number 5. They were warned an did not heed the warning .... their boat gets boarded by pirates at night...no surprise there.
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Pathetic that the West spending hundreds of billions on defence cannot protect from thugs important shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean that are crucial for the world economy. Telling Chandlers not to sail in 'dangerous' international waters is pathetic too.
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True, the Chandlers were naive in the extreme to undertake a journey in an area known to be infested by pirates, but I still cannot understand why the West pussyfoots about with these criminals. 100 years ago, when Britain ran the show in this part of the world, pirates would have been strung up from the nearest tree. We still have a Navy, why doesn't it blast these thugs to bits!!
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I fully agree with Andrew Harding. What happened in Mogadishu was just adding insult to injury to the Chandlers, the brave and astonishingly composed British couple, who already endured captivity in very harsh conditions surrounded by armed militias, fearing for their lives, for more than a year.
But the violence and the chaos in Somalia knows no limits and the TFG is a travesty to everything we could think of as a decent governance and responsible leadership.
When there's no rule of law and no respect for human rights, and when everybody in power or near the power bases most certainly also is a beneficiary of a flourishing war economy the road to anything with some resemblance even to peace and democracy is rough and excruciatingly long indeed.
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Distressing though their experience undoubtedly was for them is it too much to ask that the Chandlers now silently fade into obscurity. Somehow I doubt it. I suspect that instead we will be subjected to endless interviews, tv appearances and who knows even books/films, as they try to cash in on their experience, presumably in an attempt to recoup some of the ransom money. Instead, they should just maintain a dignified silence thereby denying the pirates the continued media coverage which, by the Chandlers own admission (hence the super injunction), only aids their cause.
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I agree with no 5, They are selfish people who deserve what they got. Selling there home to sail around the world leaving his 98 year old father behind. His dad could have died on there way to Tanzania. They could have waited a few years.
But I do have a heart and dont wish anyone to go thought the trauma of been held at gun point.
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So Andrew, tell me, was it you who paid the one million dollars worth of ransom money to have the Chandlers' released?
And i wonder if, now that they are free (thank God!), they will have to repay that money to their benefactors as yet unnamed?
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Being kidnapped, beaten and imprisoned with little hope for liberty is what selfish people deserve?
Maybe Matt has very high moral standards, but I know that if I had one chance to see the world before I got too old to do it, I would go for it. And if I was a 98 year old, there is no way that I would stop my children from doing something they loved just so they could be there when I die!
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So, all the people who think the Chandlers got what they deserved because they were warned, don't a. smoke, b. drink, c. eat 'fatty' foods, d. get at least 6 hours sellp per night, e. fly in aeroplanes, f. etc., etc.,
Hmm, fair enough.
These people were unlucky and the incident should spur governments to do something about the situation but to blame the victim(s) seems a very heartless way to go. I believe there are still a lot of people (and vessels) being held for ransom. Let's hope something can be done for them.
Let's also pray for the folks holding themselves hostage to flip remarks and shallow judgements. Amen.
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I agree with a lot of what has been said but the stupidity of the escapade needs to be punished in such a manner that it disuades future involvement by other parties. I, like other correspondents, have spent years, as an expatriate, in "high risk areas" but have never exposed myself to obvious risk.
I feel that the British Government should punish these people financially to match the amount of time and effort needed to secure their release. I suppose they will now sell their story to the press and make a fortune at the expense of the British Tax Payer!!!
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I am very pleased that the British couple have been released by these Barbarians. However I do not condone the unending payment of ransom to these criminals as this only develops a sweet tooth to yet more daring piracy.
I also think that the world strategy on 'taming' piracy is grossly flawed. There is no point wasting resources in placing huge numbers of warships in the vast Indian ocean. The right way to go about this is to fight piracy and all forms of international banditry on the Somali mainland - occupy and destroy all their key havens and help stabilise the Somali Government. If you want to fight malaria effectively, you must destroy the breeding grounds of mosquitoes other than waste time chasing the fully grown and biting ones.
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I am happy they are safe. I know a ransom was paid but that is always inevitable (they would have rot given the stance of the British government). As i write a South African couple undertaking a similar venture are know in captivity. I just hope that people would take heed of the advice that has already been given
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You people what do you want to see in or around Somalia? It is a war zone.In that part of Africa,especially Somalia and Eritea, are no go areas.There is no or there is less value for human life.Becareful!!
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The article is not well balanced:
"speaks of "he said..." .....
"I heard... from some American ..."
Where is the Content?
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Lets look at the whole problem with Somalia.
The country is in shumbles...
What are the causes?
Who is to blame?
Where is America?
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Time for the UN to commit thousands of troops to finally stabilise Somalia. This would achieve three wonderful things.
1) It would eliminate the presence of armed pirates threatening the trade routes of the world's economy. Give the pirates a 30 day amnesty to surrender themselves to UN ships/troops, as well as releasing any captives and/or vessels. Failure to comply will mean lethal force being used to remove them from the seas.
2) A stable Somalia will not be home to Islamic extremists. More good news as they are deprived another secure base to plot from.
3) The people of Somalia can finally live in peace, and perhaps some of those who sought refuge in Europe can one day consider going home to rebuild their country.
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Criminals, Barbarians Pirates?? Try 'Ex. Fishermen', who have been deprived of their livelihoods by the hundreds of foreign trawlers illegally fishing the Somalia waters from the West, Middle East and South-East Asia, and being tactically protected by the warships of Nato, the EU and UN. It takes a person of extraordinary principals to let their extended family starve, rather than take the opportunity of earning a crust by being recruited as a pirate. Until the US and the western countries start to support the Somali Transitional Government (STG) and give them the means to police their own country, the problem will continue. The release of the Chandlers was brought about mainly by the Somali community living in the UK, and the STG, not by the firepower of the west - does this not send a message to us all as to where the solution lies.
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