136 Days

136 DAYS

UNTOLD STORY OF MV SEA JOHANA SURVIVORS

CAPTAIN KAZIM ABBAS

ADEEB ONLINE

Copyright © 2023 ADEEB ONLINE

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. The publisher expressly prohibits the creation of any videos based on the content of this publication, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes.

136 DAYS

Untold Story of MV Sea Johana Survivors

Narrated by

Captain S. M. Kazim Abbas Naqvi

Written by (in Urdu)

Saghir Mehdi Zaidi

Translated by (in English)

Laraib Kafeel

Illustrations

Mirza Rehan Ahmed

Cover Design

OKTOPUS-TECH

Reviewed, Edited, and Published by

Syed Fasihuddin Ahmed

To my beloved parents, whose unwavering love, support, and guidance have molded me into the person I am today.

***

To my fellow companions aboard the Sea Johana, who stood by my side through 136 days of imprisonment and hardship.

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

FOREWORD

THE STORY OF MY LIFE

01 - MY DREAM

02 - POLICE STATION

03 - THE HAUNTED HOUSE

04 - THE PIRATES

05 - JAILHOUSE

06 - THE FIRST HOPE

07 - A VICTIM OF TORTURE

08 - THE FIRST MIRACLE

09 - THE FIRST CAMP

10 - POISONOUS THORN

11 - THE SECOND MIRACLE

12 - THE GOOD NEWS OF FREEDOM

13 - THE JOURNEY OF FREEDOM

14 - THE MIRACULOUS COIN

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF THE CREW

PUBLISHED NEWS AND ARTICLES

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE

136 DAYS IN CAPTIVITY

About The Author

FOREWORD

It was November 21, 2021, when I first met Captain Kazim. We had previously spoken a few days prior when he sent us the digital copy of the first edition of his Urdu book after watching Adeeb Online’s TVC. As soon as I began reading the initial pages, I was immediately struck by the intense and unique nature of the story, realizing it must be published on Adeeb Online. To my surprise, Captain Kazim was residing in Dubai, not Singapore, as mentioned in the book’s introduction. Since I was living in Abu Dhabi at the time, we decided to meet over the weekend.

When we met the following weekend, Captain Kazim presented me with a copy of the book and briefly explained the events that I later explored within its pages. I can confidently say it is one of the most fascinating stories I have ever read. As a keen follower of adventure stories since childhood, I have been captivated by works such as Daniel Defoe’s fictional masterpiece Robinson Crusoe, the intense WWII movies The Great Escape (1963) and The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), and the true escape story of Henri Charrière in Papillon. These books and movies have left a sensational and thrilling impact on me that I can still feel today.

The late 20th century and early 21st century were marked by media reports on the stories of Somali Pirates. They would often kidnap cargo ships, taking the crew hostage and demanding exorbitant ransoms for their release. These news stories would surface for a while and then fade away without much follow-up or in-depth details, leaving the conclusion that matters had been settled and the ship, along with its crew, had been freed. Apart from Captain Richard Phillips’ famous book A Captain’s Duty and the subsequent movie Captain Phillips (2013), I am not aware of any similar accounts that provide a comprehensive illustration of what transpired within the captivity of Somali Pirates. Perhaps many crew members were unable to document their experiences, or they chose not to revisit those horrific memories. Therefore, I can confidently assert that Captain Kazim’s firsthand account is the very first book that portrays the true horror of those 136 days, deeply touching the hearts of its readers and painting vivid images of those moments.

As Captain Kazim explained to me, the story of Sea Johana is unique in many ways. When their ship was hijacked, they were not kept hostage onboard but were taken to the shore and denied any chance of returning to their vessel. They were eventually released across the Kenya border. Another exceptional aspect is the duration of their captivity—136 days, which equates to nearly four and a half months. During that time, two significant events for Muslims, Eid ul Fitr and Eid Al Azha, took place. This harrowing abduction began on December 23, 1998, and concluded on May 7, 1999.

The story has the flavor of religious extremism as well. When these people saw during captivity that some individuals walking around did not look like locals but resembled South Asians, they tried to attract their attention by calling them "Bhai Jaan! (Brothers). It was later revealed that these individuals were religious extremists, and one of them, Ahmad," brutally tortured Captain Kazim simply because he belonged to a different sect (i.e., Shia).

The story’s most intense dimension arises from the fact that these captives not only faced danger from their captors but also came under attack from rival tribes who sought to prevent their rivals from gaining any financial benefits from the ordeal. The captives’ potential access to more resources would enable them to strengthen their own defenses. Consequently, these tribes were willing to go to any lengths, including killing the hostages, to prevent this. It was a multi-dimensional threat where the captives found themselves praying for the lives of their captors, who, in turn, became their protectors. Captain Kazim assured me that while he may have missed some details, not a single part of the story has been exaggerated, nor has any fiction been added. The events are as true as they unfolded.

In summary, as you embark on the journey through these pages, you will easily be able to visualize an intense and thrilling web series spanning over two dozen episodes, filled with breathtaking events. To aid your understanding, we have included sketches, images, maps, and charts that illuminate the terminologies, designations, and locations central to the story. We hope that this unique piece of writing will receive the appreciation it deserves from readers worldwide, making it easier for us to pursue our next project—an immersive web series based on this extraordinary event. We eagerly await your reviews and suggestions to enhance the text further.

Happy reading!

Syed Fasihuddin Ahmed

Co-founder, Adeeb Online

Adeeb Online is the first formal Urdu digital library App available in Android and Apple stores.

www.adeebonline.com

THE STORY OF MY LIFE

It has been almost 25 years since this incident; however, it feels like it happened just yesterday. I have never been able to escape the trauma of those 136 days. When I visited a psychiatrist a few weeks after my release, he suggested, You need a complete dry dock. He also mentioned that although the intensity of the nightmare I frequently experience will gradually decrease, I will never be able to completely erase the impact of the incident from my mind. In fact, as I grow older, there is a strong possibility that these events will resurface from my subconscious, and the particular nightmare I currently experience every few months will begin to appear again with increased frequency.

I do not know why this happened to me, why I was the one who was most affected out of the 21 crew members of MV Sea Johana, and why I was tortured based on having different religious beliefs. All I can say is that it was my fate that led me on that journey and exposed me to the suffering and experiences that shaped who I am. One may argue that the spiritual events I have mentioned in the book can be explained as logical results of my psychological and physical condition. Nevertheless, these were the most valuable moments of my life and the sole reason I have been able to compile the events that occurred during our captivity.

Though I've always wanted to turn this escapade into a book and share it with my friends, life got in the way. That is until I met Ali Raza's father, Saghir Mehdi Zaidi (Late), who had retired and also had experience in writing. Thanks to his unwavering dedication, the hijacking of MV Sea Johana and the subsequent 136 days of captivity now find their voice within the pages of this book. Before reading it, I want readers to know that this memoir is based entirely on truth. The events that occurred before and after the hijacking are recounted here exactly as they happened.

My family, my pillars of strength, were deeply scarred by this traumatic experience. My three older brothers, Ali Abbas Naqvi, Hussain Abbas Naqvi, and Jaffar Abbas Naqvi, stood by my side, bearing the weight of my anguish amidst the chaos of their own lives. Their efforts were joined by the prayers of my three sisters, my sisters-in-law, my niece, and my nephews, particularly Mehdi Abbas, whose unwavering support was instrumental in securing my release. My mother had passed away before the incident occurred, sparing her the trauma of living through it. My father, who had already retired, was further weakened by the ordeal. However, it was his prayers and supplications that not only saved my life but also helped me turn my experiences into this book. I would be remiss if I did not mention some of my closest friends who rallied to my aid during my incarceration. Muhammad Farooq Afzal, Muhammad Akram Tak, Rahim Akbar, Sameer Iqbal, Imam Kashif Nazir, and Irfan Awan went above and beyond in approaching the ship's owner and securing my release.

The first edition of the book, in Urdu, was published in July 2018. Since I was living in Singapore at the time, I could not contribute to the marketing efforts, and most of the copies were distributed solely to my friends and family members. I remember people from different parts of the world, including my relatives and those associated with the marine industry, calling me after reading the book. Many of them were literally crying and expressing their sympathies toward me regarding this horrific and tragic incident.

One day, while waiting to board the ship, I came across a beautiful ad for an Urdu Digital Library App named Adeeb Online. This encouraged me to send a copy of the book to be published in their library. To my surprise, Syed Fasihuddin Ahmed, the co-founder of the startup, promptly responded, requesting my contact details. We had a call followed by a meeting where he emphasized that the book must be published digitally on Adeeb Online. We also discussed the possibility of printing the second edition with the necessary improvements.

Hence, the digital edition was published in June 2022, paving the way for the grand unveiling of the second edition in December of the same year at the Karachi International Book Fair (KIBF).

After the first edition was published in 2018, I also wanted to translate it into English. However, the translators I approached were not up to par, and for a while, I lost all hope in the English edition. Then, I met Laraib Kafeel, a student at the National University of Science and technology (NUST), who embraced the challenge and successfully completed the translation. I am truly grateful for Laraib and her work.

Just as with the Urdu edition, I requested Syed Fasihuddin Ahmed to take control of the project, and he did it with amazing passion. He was truly inspired by the originality of my thrilling story and suggested that we should add sketches and images to complement the reading and aid the understanding of readers. I would like to thank Mirza Rehan Ahmed for his remarkable artwork, as his strokes of brilliance complement the narrative with captivating visuals.

I am greatly obliged to Adeeb Online and Syed Fasihuddin Ahmed for making my dream come true, and I hope that my story will reach a wider audience.

Today, 25 years later, my wife, my beloved daughter Lubabah Zehra, and my son Hadi Abbas still listen intently to my stories and ask me questions about them. I hope that this volume will answer the questions of all the friends who were with me during that time but have since moved on.

I dedicate this book to my parents, Syed Intizar Hussain Naqvi and Syeda Khurshid Bano (Late). I am deeply grateful to all my friends who helped me during those difficult times and brought me back to the race of life.

Regards,

Captain S.M. Kazim Abbas Naqvi

[email protected]

Captain Kazim Abbas

01 - MY DREAM

The ship was sailing toward its destination, gently splashing the tranquil waves of the sea. At the time, I was working on this ship as a Second Officer. Once, during my free time, I was dwelling over the obscure thoughts of the past, times that were long gone.

Lying on a cozy bed in my cabin, I was reminiscing about my dream of captaining a ship. To actualize this aspiration, I stood in need of a license from the United Kingdom. This could only be earned after receiving a degree from Maritime College UK. On top of that, no less than 39 months of experience on a ship was required to get into that college. In that moment, I was reflecting on the hardships that I had encountered while being recruited as a cadet onboard, one after another.

Only I know what I went through to procure the Seaman’s Book specifically. I was reminded of the immense ordeal of hopelessness I encountered when the concerned officer stipulated a massive inducement after visiting his office three times a day for nearly eight months. For me, it was impossible to get such a large sum of money in the first place. I also did not want to begin my career by resorting to outrageous acts of bribery. As a result, in extreme despair, I considered trying my luck in another field.

Perhaps nature had mercy on me, or you can say that the divine power liked the sincerity of my intention to earn an honest penny. One day I happened to be sitting on a chair lying on the porch of my house with a very heavy heart, contemplating my situation, when someone put his hand on my shoulder and asked, What's the matter, dear Kazim?

It was my eldest brother, who was a Lieutenant in the Pakistan Navy and used to take good care of us siblings. He had just returned from the office, and I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I did not realize he had come home. I got up from the chair in a fluster and asked with some embarrassment and bewilderment, When did you come? I did not notice.

He said, That is what I am asking. What's the matter? Why are you so lost? I was aware of how he was also strictly against bribery like me. As he was older than me, I explained to him how the concerned officer had demanded delivery of a colored TV set to his home, only after which I would be able to collect my Seaman's book from his office. (Note: In those days, a colored TV set was a brand-new product in the market and was extremely expensive).

While having his meal, my brother called me and asked me to come to his office at ten o'clock the next morning.

The next day, as promised, I arrived at my elder brother's office at ten o'clock in the morning. He had already communicated with the Navy outpost, so I reached his office without any difficulty. He remained busy with work for a little while and then asked me to come with him. I supposed, without questioning, that he would take us to the officer who had demanded the colored TV set, but he suddenly wended his way to an even more senior officer. When we got to the office, I found out that he was my brother's long-standing friend. He extended us a very cordial reception and explanation of the delay in the Seaman's book. Seeing an officer in a navy uniform with his boss, the relevant officer sensed that the commission was now out of his reach. Hence, he finalized my file, and I was finally able to obtain the Seaman’s book.

Coincidentally, I was soon employed as a cadet on a ship. I also got a Panama license after eighteen months of experience. So that day, I was working in the same company as a Second Officer. Is there even a piece of work that I have not been asked to do during cadetship? From the usual spring-cleaning of the ship to even sluicing the washrooms down, I was asked to do everything. I do not have the slightest idea as to why they were hostile to me, to the extent that I had been overloaded with the work. All the toiling and perilous tasks would be done by me. Especially whenever the sea was in turmoil due to the waves of the monstrous gales, all five cadets would be called in while I was made to stand on the teetering bridge. Gladly, my personality was such that I did not have any qualms about doing additional duty. In fact, I sometimes even volunteered to take on extra work.

Once in the evening during Ramadan, the Second Officer was on duty at the bridge. He complained that the Iftar (breaking of fast at sunset) tray brought by the steward, who climbs up six stories from the kitchen to the bridge, always lacked something. In any case, he had this grievance that he had to break his fast there in solitude rather than sitting at the table with everyone else in the mess, chatting happily. Knowing that there was no place for me in his heart and that even my straight words seemed to be bitter to him, I went up to him one day and said, Sir, I would stand in your place. You can go to the mess to break your fast and come back after praying peacefully. He asked paradoxically, Can you perform this duty?

In my affirmative response, he interrogated some relevant questions regarding the duty, which I answered accurately. Considering the subject counted in his favor, he, without any further delay, communicated with the Captain about it. The Captain, flabbergasted, questioned me, too. I answered those questions and imparted to him that, as per my Fiqh (Islamic Jurisdiction), the Iftar timing was about 10 to 15 minutes later than theirs. And even if it took a little longer, it would not invalidate our fast. In a nutshell, during the rest of Ramadan, I would voluntarily stand in place of the Second Officer for fifteen to twenty minutes after Iftar.

Regardless of anything, I could not make my way into their hearts, and the reports kept going against me. God bless the wife of the captain who espied me standing on the bridge deck of the ship, epitomizing a foolhardy moron. This was, in fact, the episode that smoked out the nasty conduct of the Chief Officer against me. If not for this, I would still be a cadet today.

What happened was, once, after my off duty at night, I went for a saunter across the bridge deck. The ship was swaying in its usual manner, accompanied by a very pleasant breeze. The dim moonlight made the atmosphere enigmatic. There was a magical silence as I began to stroll on the bridge deck in a state of euphoria. I had an ingrained tendency to keep repeating important points about my course in my head while walking. Navigation was my passion. So even here on the ship, I would sit with the senior staff on duty in my spare time and inquire about it in order to understand the subject. The Third Officer was very compassionate toward me. In fact, he was quite mindful of the hostile attitude of the Chief Officer and the Second Officer. So, considering my ardency and enthusiasm, he taught and demonstrated to me, with attention and dedication, everything that could be of importance in this field. My passion was certainly at its peak, to the point where I would read literature on Navigation in my room while everyone else watched a movie in the mess at night after dinner. I would even repeat the information in my mind while I wandered off to keep it fresh in my mind and not to face failure or embarrassment in later times of need.

Even then, while I walked across the bridge deck, I was engaged in the same activity when I raised my head and caught sight of the sky. The sky was full of bright, dazzling stars. The flickering stars had me mesmerized, and I unconsciously gestured with both hands in a realm of bliss, muttering the names of the stars that helped determine the direction of the ship. While very difficult to conduct, this is extremely important in Navigation.

I was preoccupied with my diversion, not knowing when the captain's wife came to the bridge. When she spotted me doing ridiculously absurd things in the quietude of the night, she asked me, in a fearful and baffled voice, what had happened to me. First, I reassured her that I was fine, and then I explained to her the significance of the stars while standing at a distance. I am sure she would have run away if I had tried to move forward to her right away. When her fear tapered off to some extent, I moved closer and explained to her that I was memorizing the constellation of the stars. Then I stated in detail the names of the stars, their positions, the fifty-four navigational stars, and their significance in navigation. I also showed her a cluster of stars that was distinctly visible in the form of a question mark.

In the meantime, she calmly turned to the sky and listened to me. After soliciting my education and experience, she expressed her incredulity and said, You know so much, yet you are a cadet. What is the obstacle in the way of your progress?

The next day, the Captain called me to his cabin and asked me some very technical questions. When I answered satisfactorily, he seemed impressed with my answers and bid me farewell by saying, "Don't be disappointed, keep working, and remember that hard work is never wasted. You will have the golden touch soon, In Sha ALLAH."

The Captain's encouragement revived me and inspirited me with a new sense of motivation. I was incredibly happy that day. In the evening, the Third Officer disclosed to me that the Captain had briefly spoken to the Chief Officer about my performance. The Chief did his best to prove me disqualified, as expected. To my dismay, the Captain quietly listened and did not intervene on my behalf. It was extremely disappointing to realize that he did not say a single word in my favor, even after so much prior encouragement. Was the Captain also under the influence of the Chief Officer? It did not seem like it. But what could be said? Whatever the case was, it came to pass.

External appearances are often deceptive and may not serve the intended purpose.

It diminished my hopes of success, and I was filled with disappointment, but I did not let go of my spirits and determination. About four or five days later, the Captain was standing in his cabin talking to the Chief when I happened to pass by. The Captain called me and said, Young Man, do you intend to be a Cadet all your life? If you want to become something, improve your skills in this field.

This comment caught me extremely off guard. I was equally surprised and infuriated by this and wondered what he, who seemed very satisfied and happy with my professionalism just a few days ago, wanted to prove today. Did he further befriend the Chief and now want to humiliate me alongside him? That day, for the first time in my entire cadetship career, I spoke to someone in a slightly bitter tone, "It's