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South African couple held captive: 'Like being on death row'
By Lucky Gold
“I was asleep when Debbie woke me up telling me there’s a boarding party arriving. And the next thing she said – it’s pirates.”
So began the gripping narrative of Bruno Pelizarri and Deborah Calitz, a South African couple kidnapped off the coast of Tanzania by Somali pirates back in October 2010, and only freed last week after nearly two years of intense negotiations.
Now back in Pretoria, South Africa, they appeared Thursday on CNN's Amanpour – their first interview since being released. Bruno recounted the terrifying moment when he had to face the pirates: “What do you do? What do you say?” Somehow remaining calm, he “put a pair of jeans on and went on deck to face them.”
“It felt like it was a dream,” said Deborah. “It wasn’t real. There was more fear in their (the pirates’) eyes than we had.”
In a bizarre role reversal, Deborah and Bruno found themselves trying to calm the pirates: “If they panic, they can shoot,” said Deborah. “So we told them don’t worry, everything’s fine. We’re sitting down, just relax, you’re going to be okay. We’re not going to fight you…There was no time to be scared.”
It was like being on death row
But fear would come as they were held hostage for twenty months, while the pirates demanded a huge ransom.
“Can you imagine being put in a cell, worse than a prison,” said Bruno, describing their confinement. “Death threats hanging over your head all the time.”
“We were treated like untouchables,” added Deborah. “We were humiliated; we were degraded. They psychologically tortured us.”
Elaborating on that torture, she said, “They would come in early hours of the morning, and shine a light in our faces. They wouldn’t say a word; they would just stare at us. We asked them what, what do you want? They’d just look at us and then they’d walk out, and then they’d come with sticks and bang outside the door, and then they’d cock their rifles. We didn’t know if they would kill us; they wouldn’t tell us anything.”
Eventually, the pirates made their intentions known: “They wanted money; if they didn’t have money they would kill us. So cold.”
The dictionary hasn’t got the words for it
Bruno’s sister Vera made phone contact with the pirates, who were asking for millions in ransom. Bruno tried to tell them, “We’re not celebrities. We are just workers. Just normal citizens.”
More months went by, as their family, along with the governments of South Africa, Italy and Somalia worked behind the scenes for their release. But Deborah and Bruno wouldn’t let themselves hope for rescue, having been fooled by their captors “so many times before.”
Asked if they ever thought they would die as captives, Deborah admitted, “Maybe. We were never sure. It was like being on death row. I understand what it feels like to be on death row. It’s terrible. It’s like a nightmare. It didn’t seem real.”
But eventually they were released, though for now they won’t discuss the details. And with their freedom has come “a new life,” said Bruno. “I’m a new person.”
Deborah agreed: “We’ll never be the same again. It’s changed our life forever.”
“The dictionary hasn’t got the words for it,” said Bruno. “I think we need new words in it.”
CNN’s Juliet Fuisz produced this piece for television.
@camanpour on Twitter
Oh! I thank GOD you came out alive. It's just like someone came out from Lion mouth.
Blessings to all.
Did you thank God when they were captured?
Bob thank you for asking this question. Dear Mr Joe who below talks about the Omnipotent God: your god is letting good people die and bad people live. I understand church community is pleasing, but please, when no one's looking, think for yourself.
@Bob. I did not thank God when they were captured. Instead i prayed that He will keep them safe and that His presence will always be with them even at their toughest times. I also prayed for their safe return. what were you doing?
So why did GOD allow them to be captured? Sounds pretty/sh!tty.to me.
We do not know the mind of God, do you? Do you know the mind of God? Who does? The only thing we can say at this point, is "Thank you God, that they made it out alive." And, whatever they went through has made them better people. Better than you will ever be.......
The pirates no doubt are God fearing muslims. Religious people will tell you that God is God regardless of the religion. Yet, they will also tell you we cannot know why God allows people to be tortured by God loving and God fearing people - which of course is senseless ... just as senseless as the Somalies being allowed to run ramshackle over the area torturing their own people and everyone else who comes their way.
u ask why God allowed them to be captured? Really? Have you maybe considered that God has a special plan for them? even though you cannot see it or refuse to believe it? i was molested when i was young and i couldn't understand why God allowed it to happen to me. but now i realize that it was so that i can fully understand what an abused child goes through and, in turn, it has made me into a better psychologist. and the irony of it was that i've always wanted to work at the child welfare since i was small (even before i was molested). How do you know that God was with them all through their ordeal? That they survived because He protected them. I was fortunate because He protected me from HIV and becoming pregnant or even succeeding in my suicide attempts because He has a better plan for my life. It just amazes me how people become so angry or defenceful when someone mentions God in a post. By the way, I did and was praying for them when they were captured – that God will protect them and that they will feel His presence even when things got tough and, most of all. for their safe return. So I was overjoyed when that came to pass.
What a pack of low life bushwhackers those pirates are.
Long,hard time.
Like the old days, pirates should be fair game. I'm sure a few experienced soldiers will get them if they are paid handsomely for every scalp they bring back..
on that experience- you can face any type of problems- and smile on it- best of life for the two of you. i think there are reason and you can answer that word years to come..
I am happy that it ended favorably, but let's think a little more about the reason. Men who have jobs and can support their families and succeed in their goal to have a better life and educate their children to contribute to their family, their country and their world – do not need to kidnap people to get money for life. Perhaps some people are simply mean-spirited, but I think the majority are well-intentioned, want to help their families, but have little choice. Social justice is a first step toward a world where people have more opportunity to help themselves find a place in a society with mutual respect for each other. The concept of treating others as you want to be treated is in many religions and philosophies; frustration and failure after failure to achieve social justice changes people. Seeing your children hungry, unable to get an education, inadequate medical care–those are hard things to live with day after day, year after year. Until we have walked in their shoes........ We need to do something, not to the pirates, but something to change the situations with lack of opportunity and peace and jobs that turn good people into pirates. if one has not walked in their shoes, it is not easy to imagine how it feels. I would be interested in what the kidnapped couple have to say about their kidnappers – mean-spirited and just nasty - or desperate, good hearted people with family responsibilities beaten down repeatedly by life, who could not see any other practicable choice? Without knowing all the facts, we should not jump to conclusions on the value of a human being who is acting/reacting differently than we would.
Nonsense.
There are plently of impoverished people in Africa and they don't resort to piracy.
It is critical to understand, but not excuse, why piracy has increased so dramatically. The majority of the villages along this coast were fishing villages – the international fishing industry (not only the eastern fleets but European as well) fished the stocks illegal taking absolute advantage of the fact that with limited government and no money the locals had no way to protect their waters. And so these villages went from fishermen feeding their families to starving. Piracy started as a desperate action to steal from the sailors goods that could be sold on. International organised crime syndicates moved in and use locals as foot soldiers.
Don't worry, the un is on the job of stopping this, and have been since 1992. I am sure the issue will be resolved any time now.
God is a miraculous God so in every situation we must thank the Omnipotent. I wish you happy recovering from shock.
Sorry, what's the point of thanking him? Please advise. I'm not aware that thanking him or not thanking him has ever had an effect either way. The ancient pagans used to thank every spirit they could and every pious person since has thanked their god(s). A lot of good it's done them. You might thank your toilet seat for the support, too.
Amen.
@Mr Joe: God will continue to take care of them – even when people have long forgotten about them (as is the case most of the time).
Welcome home Debbie and Bruno! You guys are awesome!
Doesn't matter which religion you pick, God created good and evil. God created the heavens, the earth and everything in it. God omnipotent. God then, knowingly, created Lucifer. Therefore, God, knowingly, created evil. Nothing wrong in that, we just think there is for some reason. To understand happiness, you must know pain. God is smarter than all of us combined.
@ Thomas: one last thing, u are the one letting good people die and bad people live because you don't even stand up for them. one of the greatest gifts that God has given us is the gift of choice. if you see a homeless person on the street asking for some change to buy some food you choose to ignore him/ her instead of buying him food. Or when you hear a woman being abused by her husband or boyfriend, you turn a deaf ear (and when that woman is killed you ask why God didn't save that woman). God will not force HImself on anyone but He will let you choose whether you want to believe in Him or not, whether you want to do the right thing or not. so don't blame Him for the choices and consequences of other people's (or even your own) actions.
These people are NOT South African. They might LIVE in South Africa. They might be BORN in South Africa. But they are NOT South African. FIGURE OUT WHY.
Julius Malema's legacy lives on. Evict the intruders. {{-_-}}
Ja, neh. Malema is South Africa.
So why the frack did they go there in the first place? Are they DUMB or something? I just hope they were not ransomed with public funds.
Thank you Easter Bunny for their sweet return!
Thanks God, as this couple have been freed a week ago. Really, It is a news very great. I don´t have word to describe this moment. So we must give to thanks God. We have to read positive news. Grettings.
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