Ill-fated 'DenDen' Crew - When will they be Freed from Mangalore?
by Melka Miyar
pics - Dayanand Kukkaje
for Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (NR)
Mangalore, Aug 27: Actually they do not have any inkling as to what is happening in the world outside the hotel, where they are currently detained. Their most ardent desire is to go back to their own country. The only unspoken question on their lips is…. “When will we be allowed to go back to our own home-land.” and it has been more then two months since they have been here on foreign soil.
Yes, one is indeed referring to the 21 crew members who were rescued from the sunken ship ‘Den Den’ on June 23 near Tannirbavi beach, who are now getting increasingly restless and bored at having to while away the hours, cooped inside a hotel room, here in Mangalore. No doubt all their needs and comforts are taken care of. They get everything out here. But sadly they have no permission to go outside the hotel. They have permission only to go to a hospital, in case one of them happens to fall sick. Even in the case of such an eventuality, they will have to inform their agent here and the agent in turn has to then take permission from the police, on their behalf. Only on completion of this formality, will the sick crew member be taken to a hospital, under strict police surveillance.
As of today, a total of 5 armed police personnel, including an Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) are guarding and keeping a 24-hour strict vigil on them, here in a hotel located near Colaco Hospital. Surprisingly, as stated earlier although they have completed two months in Mangalore, till date they have not seen any part of Mangalore city. The answer to this is very simple, indeed. In keeping with the law of the land, they are not permitted to step outside the hotel premises, until certain formalities are completed.
It must be noted that earlier, a band of 20 policemen, including 2 sub inspectors and 4 probationary sub inspectors were guarding over them, maintaining a full 24-hour vigil. However, now probably the law enforcing agencies sensing that they are not such a big threat, the police force have been accordingly reduced. Out of 21 crew members here, 3 are from Ghana, 3 are from Pakistan, one from Sudan, one from Srilanka and 13 from Eritrea.
The only silver lining in their ordeal is that they are allowed to be in contact with their family members. But otherwise for them staying in a hotel here, is like living in the luxury of a jail. The only friends they happen to have are the policemen, who are guarding them since the past two months.
Mohammad Yusuf, the chief engineer of DenDen, a Pakistani national, is quite happy with the food served at the hotel. The only fact bothering him is why he has been detained for such a long time over here. Yusuf is also unhappy about the fact that he is not allowed to see the city. He seems to be quite comfortable speaking in Urdu and is very grateful for the help extended to him by the Mangaloreans when the ship capsized. Moreover, he did not forget to invite Daijiworld staff to visit Lahore in Pakistan, where he is residing.
On the other hand, the African crew members are not particularly happy about the food that is served to them. “But we have to adjust,” says Edward, an electrician in the ship, who is from Ghana. Their only wish is to go back to their homeland as early as possible. They too have absolutely no idea about what is happening in the world outside the hotel.
Abraham Kwaw, the captain of the ship and a Ghana national informed that the ship belongs to the Eritrean Government and its general agent is in Dubai. The Eritrean Government has to first forward a Letter of Indemnity to the Director General of Shipping in India, regarding the settlement of the wreckage of the sunken ship. But the letter has not yet reached the concerned authorities. Hence, it is due to this delay that they are being detained in the hotel, he added. He is however hopeful of getting this letter, within a week.
Ravindran Nayar of the Atlantic Shipping Company, who is the agent of DenDen here, while speaking to ‘Daijiworld.com’ informed that local marine department formalities are already done with. But the crew members are detained here because the Eritrean government has not shown any urgency in sending the letter of indemnity to the said shipping authority in India. Nayar too is hopeful of getting it very soon. But the police sources are not so confident and say that they have been hearing these affirmations for the past several weeks and still no progress has been made so far in the matter.
The crew members of the DenDen Ship have lost all their records and passports when their ship sank off the shores of Tannirbavi. So now even after they reach home, they will have to undergo lots of hassles in order to obtain fresh passports and certificates in their respective home countries. But for the moment reaching their home country, is in itself a big task for them. Every minute spent here, feels like a lengthy year, they rue. As of now, no one has the foggiest idea about when they will be free to leave this land.
However, one thing is absolutely clear the DenDen crew members' predicament and frustration is not due to their own making but rather due to the delay in processing of the necessary documents and completion of formalities by the Eritrean Government.
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