title: daesh executing civilians as iraqi forces advance
text: more filipino fisherman arnel balbero r who was held hostage for nearly five years by somali pirates cries as he meets his relatives after arriving at the manila international airport on october   photo by afp 
  five filipino fishermen who were released after being held hostage by somali pirates for nearly five years have reunited with their families 
  the seafarers arrived at the airport in the philippine capital manila on friday 
  i am so happy this is what i had been praying for every night said arnel balbero  as he was embraced by his four siblings at the airport 
  just to be with my family even if we have nothing even if we have only little to eat i am already happy he said 
  his sister lilia trembled at the sight of her brother its like a miracle we never lost hope he would be freed she said 
  the filipinos were among  freed hostages from cambodia china taiwan indonesia and vietnam who were freed on october  the  hostages plus three others made up the crew of naham  which was seized south of the seychelles in march  
  the captain of their omaniflagged but taiwaneseowned vessel died during the hijacking and two other crew members succumbed to illness in captivity 
  recounting memories 
  balberos cousin and fellow exhostage elmer said the somali pirates had cared little about the health of their captives 
  we asked the pirates for medicine but they did not give us any instead they said where is your money said elmer 
  the captives also said they suffered beatings at the hands of the pirates 
  in our first week they called it our introduction they used bamboo to beat us arnel said 
  to survive the filipinos did chores for their captors washing their clothes and even their weapons 
  we took it as a chance to also wash we couldnt take a bath often because they only gave us a liter of water each day arnel said 
  hugging his two teenage daughters elmer said it was thoughts of seeing his family again that kept him going during his captivity 
  taiwans foreign ministry said the men were freed after a ransom was paid by the ships owner as well as groups contracted to negotiate with the pirates taiwanese media reported 
  john steed who works with the hostage support partnership said the local community and tribal elders were involved in the difficult situation 
  these are poor fishermen the ship had no value they had no insurance and of course governments dont want to be involved in these sort of negotiations either he said sailors who had been held hostage by pirates for more than four years stand for a group photograph as they prepare to board an airplane after being released in galkayo somalia october   photo by ap 
  the sailors are believed to be among the last remaining captives seized by somali pirates during the surge in hostagetaking in the mids 
  piracy off the coast of somalia has reduced significantly in recent years due to stronger international naval presence loading