Somalia: Pirates

By: Fitz Bowen

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Somalia: Pirates   

          Most people have not thought of pirates to be around for many years, but since the early 90’s the Gulf of Aden has been prime for piracy. The Gulf of Aden is the body of water along the northern coast of Somalia that connects the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. This is the shortest route from Europe to Asia, which makes it a hotbed for all sorts of unarmed carriers. (Kennedy) The Somali pirates have been known for taking over massive boats and holding all crew members captive until they are promised money. This money goes toward the economy and to refurbish all poor cities along the coast. Piracy in Somalia needs to happen in order to attract the world’s attention towards their country’s political and economic instability.                             

       The piracy that has been a current issue in Somalia has forced the world to recognize Somalia’s poor economic conditions. The whole piracy issue started with foreign ships trawl fishing in the Gulf of Aden, stealing away the food sources to many Somali fisherman. (Hunter) In the 1980’s, the fishing industry of Somalia was prosperous and was good for income and food in all communites. The illegal fisherman were taking business from these people which caused this fishing industry to fall and left many hopeless fisherman. (Gettlemen) The idea of piracy came from these foreign fisherman stealing business, because fishing was the only way that these people could bring support to their families and communites. The money that these fisherman started to bring in from pirating, outdid their fishing incomes and provided a major economic boost. Although these men knew that what they were doing was illegal, it was beneficial to their country and families. Somalia is a very poor country and they lived off of whatever was brought in from the ocean by the fisherman.(Kennedy) Piracy became very common, because their jobs had been taken by illegal trawl fisherman. Trawl fishing is when a huge net is put behind the boat, trapping everthying in its path. Pirating was a way of revolt to these illegal fisherman, but instead they performed this on any type of boats they saw.(Nelson) It was not a major problem back in the 90’s, but now it has ramped up. Once these men realized that they could get tons of money from just one ship, no one wanted to go back to their fishing job.(Gettlemen) Overall, illegal fishing is the root cause of the piracy problem, and many Somali’s lived off of the fish caught. (Hunter) When there weren’t nearly as many fish off the coast, the fishermen started going back home empty-handed, leaving many hungry people at home. Piracy ramping up is a cry for help by these Somali’s who need food supply for everyone at home.                                 

       The political instability in Somalia has a downright effect on the pirating going on in the Gulf of Aden, as they have not played a part in stopping illegal fisherman. Somalia has lacked strong central government for the past twenty years, which has given people the thought of having no rules. There is non one telling them what is right and what is wrong, which gives them the sense that anything goes. (Hunter) If there was a governmental leader in this country, then they could have dealed with these foreign illegal fisherman in a much more sophisticated way. Because of the rules that this country lacks, humanitarian aid is impossible due to the mass amount of violence. Somalia has become a war zone eversince the government has failed, and its going to get worse before it gets better. (Somalia) The coast of Northern Somalia is very long, and the chances of them getting caught by a coastguard is slim. With majorly destructive weapons and no one telling them that this isn’t okay, these men have started to do this without any fear at all. (Nelson) If there was some sort of political structure in Somalia, piracy would have stopped a long time ago.                                 

      These pirates have gathered over one-hundred and fifty million dollars in the past year, and it has had an effect on all countries whose boats have been hijacked. (Gettlemen) Every dollar that has been forced out of an American ship from these pirates, is costing Americans money. The dillema is that the only way to get to Europe from the West is by the Cape of Good Hope. Also, the UN has made a treaty that ships must be unarmed when traveling through this body of water, which makes them easy targets for pirates. This piracy is a cry for help, as the Somali’s want their fishing industry back and no one to come through the Gulf of Aden. (Gettlemen) The United Nations cannot just take away one of the biggest trade routes in the world, so I think that they should allow weapons to be present on all carriers. If this were to happen, then these ships would have protection and would not always be a prime target. These Somali’s are fighting for their lives and there has to be a solution to stop this from going on. 


Somali Pirates Bibliography

 

Gettlemen, Jeffrey. "For Somali Pirates, Worst Enemy May Be Waiting on Shore." New York Times [New York City] 9 May 2009, Foreign Desk sec.

This was a great source that helped me understand the current effect the pirates have in Somalia right now. They are holding ships captive for money and have gotten a ton of money for themselves and their communities.

Hunter, Robyn. "Somali Pirates living the high life." 28 Oct. 2008. BBC News. 12 May 2009 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7650415.stm>.

This article was based around the fact that the pirates in Somalia have gotten so much money, that they used to be quite poor but now they are living the high life.

 

Kennedy, Elizabeth A. "Somali Pirates on Hijack Spree since weekend." 14 Apr. 2009. Associated Writers Press. 12 May 2009 <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090414/ap_on_re_af/piracy>.

This article was just about the recent piracy on the Suez Canal and how it has affected the relationship between Somalia and other countries, whose ships were held for ransom

 

Nelson, Dean. "Somali pirates turn sights on Seychelles." The Daily Telegraph [London] 8 May 2009, News

This article was about how Somali pirates have recently directed their hijacking toward the Seychelles ships and why they are doing that.




Last updated by Fitz Bowen on May 23, 2009


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