The joy of the family of the sailor captured by pirates

(Baonghean.vn) - For the past two days, people in the hamletDong Hung 2, Nghia Yen commune (Nghia Dan)came to visit and congratulate the family of sailor Phan Xuan Phuong - one of three sailors freed by Somali pirates on October 22. The small, simple house, which had long been devoid of laughter, was now filled with joy.

By this afternoon, October 25, Mr. Phan Xuan Phuong and his father, Mr. Phan Xuan Linh, had met in Hanoi. Mr. Phuong is currently undergoing medical examination procedures.

Speaking to reporters over the phone, Mr. Phuong said that after being captured by pirates for 4 years and 8 months, he was taken to several places to be detained, sometimes in the forest, sometimes drifting at sea.

"After being captured, we crew members were forced to work and serve the pirates. Every day, we were only allowed to eat two bowls of rice in the morning and evening. In addition, we had to find more vegetables to improve our meals. 24/7, the Vietnamese crew members and I were also under strict control, extremely miserable," Mr. Phuong added.

Neighbors and relatives share joy with the family.

Phan Xuan Phuong is the third child in a family of four children of Mr. Phan Xuan Linh and Mrs. Le Thi Hoa.

Ms. Hoa said: In early 2011, the family took out a bank loan to pay for the Vinamotor Labor Export Center, a subsidiary of the Vietnam Automobile Industry Corporation, so that Phuong could go to Taiwan to work as an export laborer.

Phuong's job is as a crew member on a ship with a salary of 300 USD/month. Phan Xuan Phuong left the country on April 5, 2011, and more than a year later, on May 3, 2012, he was kidnapped by pirates.

Ms. Le Thi Hoa was able to talk to her neighbors about her son's situation as he was about to return home.

Since going abroad to work, Mr. Phuong has only been able to call his family three times. In early May 2012, Mr. and Mrs. Hoa's family were shocked to receive a phone call from their son informing them that he had been captured by Somali pirates while fishing on a boat with 25 other crew members.

Mrs. Hoa talks to her son on the phone.

The family recalled that when they were arrested, my child called home and said: "Mom and Dad, please save me and try to borrow money to pay the ransom so we can come home."

Hearing that her son was held by Somali pirates and held for ransom at a very high price, Ms. Le Thi Hoa collapsed and then suffered a serious stroke. Now she can sit up and walk in a wheelchair but needs help.

She said: "These past few days, when I heard the news that my child was about to come home, I was so happy and excited that I couldn't sleep. Finally, he's really home. There is no greater joy."

It is known that Mr. Phuong's family has 4 siblings, his father is a demobilized soldier, his mother suffered a stroke, the family is considered a near-poor household, currently the family still owes 60 million VND since Mr. Phuong went to work abroad./.

Minh Thai

(Nghia Dan Radio)