‘We cannot hear from my father for 50 days’

* Photo (From left to right): İbrahim Iğnak, Selim Ekmekçioğlu and Lütfi Erman Atamer

Click to read the article in Turkish

"We have no more strength to stand anymore," says Ceren Karali and adds: "Neither an image nor a voice since April 25... I have two children, I try to stand for them... I mean, as much as I can..." Ceren Karali cannot hear from her father İbrahim Iğnak since April 25, 2020.

İbrahim Iğnak, Selim Ekmekçioğlu and Lütfi Erman Atamer... They are three sailors from Turkey. Sailing around the world, they were trying to go from Suez Canal to the Indian Ocean, then, they were hit by a storm. They wanted to anchor in Massawa Port in Eritrea, but their phones were confiscated by the Eritrean soldiers and they were taken to the Penisula di Buri island, which is some 29 miles away from the port.

They have been detained there since then. The families of sailors in Turkey are worried about them.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey addressed a letter to the Foreign Minister of Eritrea, says Karali, but without any results. The last contact between the sailors and their families was a message from Selim Ekmekçioğlu to his son, where he said: "Tell your mother that they are seizing our phones. They will take us to an island 29 miles away from here."

Karali shares the following information with bianet:

"Mr. Ekmekçioğlu had been on a world tour since 2017. My father and Erman Atamer joined him in Sri Lanka in late February. They first went to the Maldives from Sri Lanka, then to Djibouti. Meeting their needs and having some rest in Djibouti, they were going to the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal. As the canal was closed due to the pandemic, the ports in Egypt did not accept them. They wanted to return to Djibouti. But they were hit by a storm on the way. They had a problem with the motor and one of the sails got ripped off. So, they wanted to go to Eritrea by getting a permit. The wife of Selim Ekmekçioğlu met Eritrea Ambassador Aykut Kumbaroğlu.

"After consulting with the authorities, Mr. Kumbaroğlu told them that there would not be any problems, but they had to go there at daytime. When they entered the port, two soldiers came along. They took their phones away and took them to a different island.

"We know that they are held at the Marine Forces Command in the island. But we have no idea about why they are held, where and in what conditions they stay. As far as we can understand, there are two administrations in Eritrea, one military and the other civilian. That being the case, they do not let our fathers talk to the ambassador, either.

"Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu wrote a letter to the Foreign Minister of Eritrea, but we have not received answers to our questions. Last week, they said that they would take care of it, but there is not step. The Foreign Ministry said, 'They are fine, they are in good health, but the bureaucracy is proceeding slowly. Wait in patience'."

"And we are trying to wait in patience, but we have no more strength to stand anymore. I have two children, I try to stand for them. As much as I can...

"We have exhausted all means. We want the process to speed up now. We want a living evidence. If they are fine and in good health, then let them at least give a voice, an image so that we can get relieved.

"All we want is something that will help us to sleep at peace. We are three families over and done with." (HA/SD)