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Sailors reunited with families after 4 years held captive
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Family reunion: Former hostage Nelson Pesirero (left) hugs a family member as a teary Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi (right) looks on in Jakarta on Monday. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
F
our Indonesians who were taken hostage by Somali pirates in 2012 were reunited with their families on Monday, marking their return to Indonesian soil after over four years in the hands of their captors.
Representing the Indonesian government, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi officially handed over the four sailors to their families during a ceremony in Jakarta on Monday, a week after the men, who were among a total of 26 hostages from various countries, arrived safely in Nairobi following their release on Oct. 22.
"The release process takes a lot of effort and time especially because of the complexities of the situation in Somalia. Even at the last minute of the release, we faced a hurdle as there was another pirate group that wanted to take over the hostages," a teary Retno said upon seeing the hostages' family members crying as they were finally reunited on Monday.
The Foreign Ministry is waiting for the results of health checkups on the sailors, completed at Gatot Subroto Army Central Hospital (RSPAD) in Jakarta, before sending the men back to their hometowns.
The four — Nelson Pesirero from Ambon, Maluku; Supardi from Cirebon, West Java; and Ade Manurung and Sudirman, both from Medan, North Sumatra — spent one-and-a-half years on board vessels after their abduction and three further years in Somalia. Somali pirates hijacked the Naham 3 vessel, on which the sailors were traveling, south of the Seychelles in March 2012.
Meanwhile, Nasirin, another Indonesian sailor from Cirebon who was also on board the hijacked vessel, died from malaria in 2014, while in captivity. (dmr)
