INDEX interview The IndexVIPs*
Paul and Rachel Chandler endured more than a year of capture at gun point after their kidnap by Somali pirates back in October 2009. Caroline Knight talks to them
Have you always lived in the area? Paul: No, I grew up in South Wales and eventually moved to London where I worked as a civil engineer. Rachel: I grew up in a north Buckinghamshire village, where I lived on a farm. I couldn’t wait to reach the big lights of the city. I met Paul when I was in my mid twenties. We married and, soon after, spent three years working in the Middle East. On return I studied, eventually gaining a degree at the London School of Economics before becoming an economist.
Why did you settle in Tunbridge Wells? Rachel: We were living near the Ashdown Forest and I was commuting to London, Paul’s work was in Tunbridge Wells. It dawned on us that we were spending all our time sailing and cruising on our yacht, Lynn Rival, leaving little time to spend in our cottage and garden. So we moved to Tunbridge Wells and absolutely loved it.
HOSTAGE_PS.indd 1 Rachel’s first sailing
experience, aged 26, with Paul’s father.
generation of young Somali men who are being criminalised. I feel sad for ordinary, everyday Somalis but have no sympathy for what the pirate gangs are doing. There are hundreds of hostages – ordinary seafarers caught up in this crime – but Western governments are not prepared to take the necessary action to contain the problem.
Paul’s first recorded sailing experience, almost two years old, with family.
Paul and Rachel in Greece with family and friends
What’s it been like for you to have been pushed into the media spotlight? Rachel: I was horrifi ed at the thought that our fi rst video, shot by our kidnappers, would be shown around the world. But we both came to terms with the fact that our lives would no longer be private. We were global news headlines…and eventually I was so happy to be free that I didn’t worry. I’ve become two people:
Paul, Adrian (back), Gavin (front), Sarah and Rachel on Lynn Rival in Menidhion, Greece.
What do you particularly like about the town? Rachel: It’s the whole eclectic mix – there’s something for everyone. We love to walk around the common or cycle out and about to nearby villages, like Groombridge. We love to visit The Pantiles and enjoy listening to the RTWSO perform at their Sunday afternoon concerts. I must also add that we really appreciate the concern everyone showed for us during our captivity.
You were captured by Somali pirates within the archipelago of the Seychelles, then taken to Somalia where you were held for over a year while your captors tried to extort a multi-million pound ransom. Given all that happened, how do you view Somalia and its occupants now? Rachel: My overwhelming feeling about Somalia is sadness. It is a totally lawless country. People there are already in dire straits and the recent famine has exacerbated this. The sad fact is that there is nothing to stop the piracy activities escalating. There is a whole
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me, the ex-hostage, and me, the same old Rachel, with an ordinary life. Paul: I think people were able to relate to what happened to us because we are just ordinary people. While I’m grateful to everyone who has shown support, I’m sad because my dad, who died aged 99 when we were being held in Somalia, would have loved to have witnessed our release and seen the media coverage when we were being entertained by the British High Commission in Nairobi.
2/8/11 16:51:33
And what happens in the next chapter of Paul and Rachel Chandlers’ lives? Rachel: We’re trying to get the boat back in order. It’s not only a question of repairing the damage done to her by the pirates but also that done during the process of her being brought back to England by the Navy – to whom we are grateful. Lynn Rival is a 30-year-old boat and she needs signifi cant refurbishment – but we will set off into the sunset again in the not-too-distant future. Paul: We’re keeping focused and are both looking forward to sailing in Lynn Rival again. We enjoy the Tropics, so I guess next time we will just sail south and then turn right!
Hostage, by Paul and Rachel Chandler, is published by Mainstream Publishing
13
*Very Interesting People
Paul and Rachel Chandler
The INDEX magazine February 2012
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