'There will be Eid again when we’ll reunite with our family'

Eid is about homecoming and family reunion. But this year's Eid-ul-Fitr brought no such joy for the 23 crewmen of hijacked MV Abdullah.

Held captive by Somali pirates for a month now, they offered their prayers under the watchful eyes of heavily armed pirates on the Eid day.

While today marks a joyous Eid for most Bangladeshis, for the families of the MV Abdullah crew, it's merely another day overshadowed by anxiety and fear for their loved ones.

In an audio message sent to his family yesterday, a senior sailor expressed frustration over not being able to return home before Eid. The Daily Star is protecting the sailor's identity for safety reasons.

At the beginning of the message, he said, "We've heard that Allah accepts prayers from the oppressed and travellers. So, we prayed with all our hearts to spend Eid at home. But it did not materialise. Wish we were together today," he told his loved one.

The sailor praised the ship's captain Abdur Rashid for effective management during tough times and for building rapport with the pirates. According to him, cooperation with the abductors is the only sensible approach once taken hostage.

"Initially, the pirates treated us harshly but later eased restrictions. They allowed us to pray and fast, " he said.

The crewmen were eventually permitted to use cabins during the day but had to stay in the bridge room at night, and could make one weekly call to family via satellite phone.

He mentioned that the pirates primarily supplied them with Dumba (fat-tailed sheep) as a source of protein for their meals.

"Under these circumstances," he said, "we've grown accustomed to eating Dumba meat and having access to water for only one hour per week." "We've also become accustomed to enduring sleepless nights, hoping for an end to our hostage situation," he added.

Sometimes, he mentioned the entire ship trembles from the sound of gunfire. "The pirates fire shots in the air. At first, such sounds were frightening. But now we have grown accustomed to it," he added.

But he is hopeful. "We will survive. We will return soon," he said.

"In Shaa Allah, there will be Eid again when we'll reunite with our family ... When we will be with our loved ones, in our beloved motherland, Bangladesh," he said.