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Today I will be writing parliamentary questions to the Minister of International Relations and Cooperative Affairs (DIRCO), Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, to find out what her department is doing to help secure the release of two South Africans, Bruno Pelizzari and Deborah Calitz, who were abducted by Somali pirates off the coast of Tanzania in October last year.

The pirates are demanding $4 million (R33 million) in ransom money from the couple’s family, promising to kill the two if the ransom is not paid. Though DIRCO has previously stated that it does not pay ransoms, it is important that the Minister does all that she can – utilising all of her diplomatic skills – to bring these South Africans safely home. She needs to clarify what her department is doing.

At the moment, the couple’s families are trying to raise funds through an NGO and SMS campaign, but have publicly stated that they can only raise about $500,000, far short of the funds required to secure the couple’s release. They have now been held against their will for over a year, since they were captured on 26 October 2010. Tragically, Ms Calitz will be spending her 50th birthday – today – in captivity.

As the department responsible for all South Africans abroad, DIRCO must apply its considerable pressure and prestige to this life-and-death situation. If it is doing nothing to help these South Africans, we want to know why. I will be writing today to the Minister to find out just what is going on.