Does kidnapping pay?
| 08:45 UK time, Monday, 15 November 2010
The news has obviously come as a huge relief to them and their families. But, as Nuala pointed out yesterday, unconfirmed reports suggest a ransom was paid - and that has been the cause of much debate.
The family's statement acknowledges outright that disclosing anything about the release process, for fear that it would "encourage others to capture private individuals and demand large ransom payments."
And indeed, in this case, the pirates initially demanded some $7m. The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s security correspondent Frank Gardner says the sum paid for their eventual release had been "the best part of $1m" (£620,000), although there has been no official confirmation of this.
The point is, though, should a ransom ever be paid?
. The payment of the Chandler's ransom is unlikely to encourage them to relinquish their hostages without remuneration.
, explains:
I can't fault any family for doing everything in their power to free their loved ones. But ransom payments do make the world a more dangerous place. Caving in to hostage-takers encourages them to keep kidnapping and tempts more criminals to the trade.
He adds that though the British government has been very insistent since the Chandlers were released that they did not pay any ransom - nor ever will - their efforts have been frustrated because there are a number of other countries that do pay ransoms.
As a result, kidnapping has become a booming industry in places like Afghanistan. Surely, the argument goes, this would not be the case if other countries took the British stance.
But the counterpoint to this is obvious. Hostages are not commodities like the cargoes of the boats the pirates routinely capture; they are human beings with families and friends.
And if your wife or father or best friend were captured, would you not also do everything in your power to see them again - even if it involved giving thousands to criminals?
These are the words of after money was paid to secure the release of the five-year-old British boy Sahil Saeed earlier this year.
"Yes, there was seed money. There were two ways: to catch them [the kidnappers] and have the boy killed - but what was decided was that the life is more important."
Earlier this year, the , capturing 35 of them.
However, it involved the use of four mother ships and six smaller boats. Obviously, the average family or community, desperate to see their loved ones again, does not have access to that sort of equipment. But they do, perhaps, have it in their power to raise enough money to meet the kidnappers' demands.
And that is precisely why kidnapping can be so lucrative.
So should a ransom ever be paid? What would you have done in the situation of the Chandler's family? Does kidnapping work, regrettable as that may be?
