Kidnapped

by Colin Freeman

After his bodyguards double-cross him, journalist Colin Freeman finds himself captured by Somali pirates - beginning a nightmare 40 days in the hands of some of the most dangerous men in the world. It is a terrifying experience - the gang's hideout is attacked by rival pirates, Freeman is threatened with being handed over to Islamists who wish to execute him and he constantly fears death at the hands of his constantly drug-addled captors. But he survives - thinner, greyer and wiser - to tell the tale of an astonishing adventure in a surprisingly funny and fond way.

â More than simply a terrific book on the scourge of Somali piracy, Freemanâ s wry style and heartfelt candour raises Kidnapped to the highest rankâ â Tim Butcher, author Blood River

'A hair-raising account of life as a prisoner of Somalia's 21st century buccaneers. Essential reading for anyone interested in the world's most broken state, and why it became that way' - Oliver Poole, London Evening Standard

About the

Colin Freeman is the chief foreign correspondent of the Sunday Telegraph. His first taste of foreign reporting came during the Iraq war in 2003, when he gave up his up job on the London Evening Standard and went to Baghdad to freelance. He lived there for two years, during which time he was shot and injured while covering a Shia militia demonstration in Basrah. Since joining the Sunday Telegraph full time in 2005, he has reported extensively across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. He is aged 41 and lives in London. He is also the author of 'Curse of the Al Dulaimi Hotel and other half-truths from Baghdad.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Africa

288 pages, Paperback

First published May 23, 2011

Reviews

[Cav · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We are being held in a mountain range on the pirate coast of northern Somalia, stashed away like buried treasure, but without the map where ‘X’ marks the spot.
Northern Somalia is one of the remotest, emptiest places on the planet, and even on Google Earth it comes up as little more than a beige smear..."

Kidnapped was a good story. I'm a sucker for books about real-life sagas like this, and will probably read every one I come across.

Author Colin Freeman is a writer and journalist specialising in foreign affairs. He was chief foreign correspondent of The Sunday Telegraph from 2006-2016, covering mainly the Middle East and Africa.

Colin Freeman:


Freeman has a good writing style, that I found to be fairly lively and engaging. This one didn't struggle to hold my finicky attention.
The author traveled to Somalia on assignment from The Telegraph, to try and write a story about Somali pirates. Chaos ensues...

He drops this quote near the start of the book:

"...I headed home and started typing. What has resulted is, I hope, not one story, but three. The first is my own tale of being kidnapped. The second is the wider story of the Somali pirates, whose activities I had originally gone to Somalia report on. And the third is the story of Somalia itself, and why it has fallen into such a state of anarchy that such outlaws can thrive in the first place.
This book does not claim to be an exhaustive account of either Somalia’s piracy or its politics. It is intended more as a snapshot of what remains a complex, disputed and ever-changing picture. This is partly due to the ongoing difficulties of reporting on the ground. Somalia remains as dangerous for foreigners as ever, and pirates, like most people in organised crime, do not generally welcome scrutiny of their activities.
I have also focused on those parts of the country of which I have some direct experience; inevitably, this means ignoring others. This book does not for example, discuss the rather happier picture in Somaliland, the breakaway region of north-west Somalia that has now been largely peaceful for two decades, and which wants its independence recognised by the outside world. Nor, contrary to the practice of many outsiders who write books on Africa, is this a book that tries to highlight the ‘good side’ – the virtues, decency, and courage-under-fire of the vast majority of the country’s inhabitants. Instead, it is about the villainous minority, the bandits, crooks and warlords who have so often enjoyed the upper hand in recent years. On which note, I should point out that for legal reasons, the names of a few of the people I have come across have been changed."

In this quote, he talks about the interesting difference between the pirates of old, and their modern counterparts, as well as the main purpose for his travels to Somalia:

"There was, however, one important difference between the pyrates of old and the pirates of new. Whereas the storybook buccaneers of my youth would steal a ship’s treasure and make its crew walk the plank, today it was the opposite way around. Somali pirates weren’t really interested in the ship’s cargo. A 50,000-tonne consignment of cement or mineral ore was impossible to ship ashore in their small launches, never mind to find buyers for. Instead, they were after the ship’s crew, whom they would take as hostages for ransom. That effectively made the pirates professional kidnappers rather than robbers, and, for obvious reasons, therefore a risky interview prospect.
Our aim was to try to meet one, and tell the story from his point of view. That point of view might be, though, that a pair of Western journalists would make far better hostages than a few Filipino deckhands..."

Something that I've read elsewhere is also covered by Freeman here. That is; Somalia is an extremely tribal society. It's all about what clan you come from, and there are generational blood feuds and other clannish in-group/out-group tensions.
He drops this old (African or Arab?) aphorism:

"My brother and I against my father. My father’s household against that of my uncle’s. My father and uncle’s households against the rest of the clan. The clan against other clans. And our nation against the world."

Although the book was entertaining, I didn't enjoy the flow and formatting as much as I hoped. There is also the inclusion of a large chunk of writing detailing other people's experiences with being kidnapped, which felt like padding. There was also a lot of anticlimactic writing at the end of the book, talking about Somali immigrants to England. All the above should have been left out, as the book proper was long enough without it.

The rest of the story is pretty interesting. I'll cover it with a spoiler:
He goes to Somalia to try and interview real pirates.
He and his photographer hire both local fixers, as well as security.
They hire seven or eight bodyguards to go and meet pirates.
The bodyguards turn on them and kidnap them themselves.
They are taken to a remote mountain cave and held for 40 days.
They are worried about being killed.
They get along with some of the kidnappers, but are particularly worried about an old guy they call "The Old Bastard."
Behind the scenes, people are working to negotiate their release.
They get released.
It is revealed that they had been targeted right from the start, and many Somalis were complicit in the plot to kidnap the two of them; from some fairly high-ranking politician, to their on-the-ground fixers and bodyguards.
The author never discloses how the release was negotiated, how much was paid, or any other details. He explains why he did that, and I get it, but it was kind of disappointing to not hear the other end of that story...

********************

Kidnapped was a decent, interesting telling of a remarkable story. I would recommend it to anyone reading this review.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

[W J · Rating 4 out of 5]

good biography

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost gave this book four stars because I found the topic of Somalian pirates to be very interesting. I think in terms of kidnapping experiences the author had things really easy. There were a few times he was a tremendous sissy. One particular instance he was fed spaghetti and he was complaining that it wasn't like at home where he had sun dried tomatoes and pesto. And then they didn't have a fork so he had to use his hands and he had to fight not to retch. He occasionally says offensive things like on page 92. "Assuming that someone was from Al Qaeda because they read the Koran was a little like assuming your local vicar was a fundamentalist Christian because he read the Bible." I am a fundamentalist christian and having this guy say my beliefs are comparable to Al Qaeda (just because he doesn't have the same beliefs) is ridiculous. One thing I did like about the book is he took some time to write about some of the recent history of Somalia and the experiences of other people who have been kidnapped.

[William Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Although I wish he had given more information on the Telegraph's hostage negotiations.
Also he made mention of difficulties with the Somali communities in the UK. But he fails to give any details.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. Very funny, has made me read quite a lot more about Somali pirates!