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Johannesburg, SA, July 14, 2012 – Debbie Calitz says was raped by her
captors during her 20-month hostage ordeal in Somalia, a report has
said.
Speaking to the Daily News in Durban on Wednesday, Calitz and her
partner Bruno Pelizzari, who landed in South Africa almost two weeks
ago, relived aspects of their capture.
Calitz said the most harrowing part was the kidnapping. “It was like a
dream,” she said.
They described how they were taken hostage after their yacht, SY Choizil,
skippered by Peter Eldridge, was hijacked off the Kenyan coast en route
to Richards Bay from Dar es Salaam in October 2010. Eldridge was later
rescued.
“Bruno was asleep and I had finished my shift. Peter just started his
shift when I saw three speedboats. From a distance they looked like
whales,” she said. “Peter took one look and knew they were pirates. He
went downstairs and made a Mayday call. Within a minute the leader was
aboard, pointing a bazooka at me.”
About five other men also boarded, wielding AK-47 assault rifles, she
said. Cellphones, money and jewellery were demanded, in that order.
Calitz said each pirate had about six cellphones.
The third boat, which she described as a “supply” boat, arrived with
rice, beans, milk and sugar.
“I asked for a cup of food for Bruno and myself. It was nice, it tasted
like rice pudding.”
The couple and the skipper were held on the SY Choizil for about five
days before being taken to an island where they said they were
interrogated and assaulted.
Calitz said a woman and a girl had been present for a while. The woman
seemed to have some clout with the pirates, she said. “When they started
to beat me, I told her to take the girl away. She spoke to the men in
Somali and they stopped.”
The couple told the Daily News that before their release the couple wore
whatever they had on the day they were captured. For Pelizzari it was
jeans, a T-shirt and baggies.
Calitz had a bikini and a thin cotton dress, which turned to rags in the
first few months of their capture.
At one stage, the couple were separated and Calitz’s bikini was taken
from the bathroom, she said. “I was naked all the time.”
Shying away from certain questions, Calitz, who claimed she was raped by
her captors, said more would be revealed in a book they were planning to
write about their ordeal.
In their almost two years in Mogadishu, Somalia’s largest city, the
couple said they were moved – blindfolded – about 17 times.
Calitz said she bore no grudges: “They were young enough to be my
children, I can’t hate them. They don’t know any different.”
Pelizzari said some pirates appeared to be friendly, but they had a rule
not to speak to the hostages for more than a minute at a time.
“Some were ruthless, but others would sneak us a banana or something now
and again,” he said. “I don’t know if it was part of their plan.”
The couple said their only link to the world – and a source of
entertainment – was the oil-drenched newspaper wrapping their meals.
“We’d read whatever news we could find and do the cryptic crosswords in
our heads,” he said.
“Being in a dark room all day, forced to whisper, and no stimulation was
horrible. We needed something to occupy our minds.”
The couple also said that pink flip-flops and tarot cards are all that
they had kept from their ordeal.
Pelizzari said: “This is all I have from that time. We didn’t want to
keep anything.”
Calitz revealed a set of tarot cards made with scraps of paper. “This
was the third set we made. We made it from an old school book and pencil
Bruno found in a rubbish heap.
“The first set was made out of a sanitary box and charcoal. That was
confiscated. We made a second pack from a calendar hanging on the wall,
but that too was taken. I’ll never get rid of these,” she said.
Calitz told the Daily News that she would accompany Pelizzari to Dar es
Salaam soon to fetch his boat, but that she would fly back. She said her
children refused to let her sail again. Details about their release, who
had played an instrumental role in freeing, them may never be revealed.
Spokesman for the Department of International Relations, Clayson Monyela,
said: “Nothing more will be said on the matter. Security matters are not
for public consumption.”
Independent Online
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