Atiq does not want to remember the days of hostage life anymore
Photo: Barta24.com
'Our hostage days were not good, we don't want to remember these days anymore. Everyone was waiting for this day. It's even better to see everyone together. People from all over Bangladesh prayed for us. Our gratitude to everyone, nothing more to say. Thanks to everyone who worked on this release. Special thanks to our company KSRM, the government and the media authorities of the whole of Bangladesh who prayed for us.
On Tuesday (May 14) at 4 pm, the lighter ship owned by KSRM came to Chattogram port MV Jahan Moni-3 and Atiqulla Khan said these words to Berta24.com.
After that, when he stepped on the ground from the ship, he first hugged his two daughters to his chest. When asked about his feelings, Atiqullah Khan said, 'I feel very good, which cannot be expressed. The feeling that people get when they get a second life that feeling is working now. A big point of pride was when I ran Facebook on a ship hiding from pirates. I used to see that the people of all Bangladesh were praying for us. That boosted our morale a lot. We consoled ourselves by thinking that there are people from all over Bangladesh with our family.'
When asked how much he was worried about his life as a hostage, he said, 'There was not much uncertainty. We already knew that our company had experienced such a pirate attack on a ship before. At that time the sailors were rescued by the company. From that experience, we had a hope that the company would outdo us. We had this trust. But there was an uncertainty about when to return home. Still, with the efforts and prayers of all, we were freed in just one month by the grace of Allah. But I did not expect to be able to return so soon.'
Chief Officer Atiqullah Khan said while highlighting the hostage situation, 'We heard the name of AK-47, or saw it on TV but never seen it directly. As a hostage, I saw that an AK-47 on the ship was looking at me. The situation must have been much more dire. At that time we prayed in our hearts, were patient and trusted in Allah. Thus passed the days of the ship. It was very scary. We are used to seeing these things. The pirates also brought many large machine guns. But sometimes when they fired, many of us woke up. There was a lot of fear at that time.
Atiqullah, holding two little girls in his arms, said, 'My two daughters hugged me first when they saw me. They are both very happy. If I had gone to the ship even earlier, since then they - say when father will come. Not everyone could come here, many family members are waiting at home. We are also looking forward to them.'
Meanwhile, Atiqullah's two daughters are happy to have their father near them after a long time. Eldest daughter Yashra Fatema says, 'I feel very good to have a father. Our exam is coming from the 23rd. After the exam, I will go for a tour with my father. I could not travel much during Eid. I will take my father now.'
Lighter ship MV Jahan Moni-3 arrived at NCT-1 Jetty of Chattogram port at 4 pm on this day with 23 sailors. Several hours before this, hundreds of people, including relatives of the sailors, gathered at the port jetty to catch a glimpse of the sailors.
On Tuesday at 11:40 am, MV Jahan Moni-3 left Kutubdia for Chattogram port with 23 sailors. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the long two-month wait ended. In the midst of this, the seamen's welcome festival begins. A few minutes before the red-colored ship arrived at the port, the sailors waved from afar and said, we have come! Meanwhile, everyone including relatives on the jetty welcomed them with raised hands. Then 23 sailors came down from the ship one by one at 4:18. Chattogram Port Authority welcomed the sailors. The family members of the sailors were already waiting there. A joyful atmosphere is created in the jetty area by meeting the sailors.
Earlier on Monday (May 13) at 6 pm, MV Abdullah anchored in Bay of Bengal's Kutubdia Channel with 23 sailors.
The 23 sailors who were on MV Abdullah:
Master of the ship Mohammad Abdur Rashid, Chief Officer Atiqullah Khan, Second Officer Mozaherul Islam Chowdhury, Third Officer N Mohammad Tarekul Islam, Deck Cadet Md Sabbir Hossain, Chief Engineer ASM Saiduzzaman, Second Engineer Md. Taufiqul Islam, third engineer Rokanuddin, Fourth Engineer Tanveer Ahmed, Engine Cadet Ayub Khan, Electrician Ibrahim Khalilullah, Mohammad Anwarul Haque, Md. Asifur Rahman, Md. Sajjad Hossain, Jai Mahmud, Nazmul Haque, Ainul Haque of Oiler, Mohammad Shamsuddin, Md. Ali Hossain, Fireman Mosharraf Hossain Shakeel, Chief Cook Md. Shafiqul Islam, Mohammad Noor Uddin and Fitter Mohammad Saleh Ahmad.
Earlier on March 12, the Bangladeshi ship MV Abdullah was captured by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean on its way to the United Arab Emirates from Maputo port in Mozambique. The ship, owned by Chattogram-based industrial group KSRM, was held hostage by pirates for 32 days. Then on April 14, the pirates got off the ship after getting the ransom.
