Somali Pirates
Feb 14, 2016
Somali Pirates
The following…Based on a National Bestseller, “Dark Star
Safari” By Paul Theroux“Relentlessly engaging… Theroux
demonstrates how a traveler’s finely wrought observations… sometimes offer the best political and social analysis.” – Washington Post
Where/how did it begin?Who are the real victims?What kind of impact has foreign ships had on
Somalia?What is being done?
Questions:
Who are they?Somali Pirates are Sea Bandits / Coastguards Living in Somalia, East Africa They consider themselves Coastguards, not sea
bandits. "We don't consider ourselves sea bandits. We
consider sea bandits those who illegally fish in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas. We are simply patrolling our seas. Think of us like a coast guard.” – New York Times, interview of Pirate.
Civil War• 1980 - Under the rule of Siad Barre, Barre
ordered his men to slaughter many innocent Somali civilians
• 1986 - Revolution breaks out against Barre
• 1991 - Siad Barre forced out of power
• Siad Barre exiled, civil war carries on between warlords
• Severe droughts force hundreds and thousands of Nomads to move to the coast, they develop communities.
• They depended on fish as a way of life
• Illegal fishing starts taking place from foreign countries
Battle of Mogadishu
1992 – UN and US troops land in Somalia1993 – A war broke out between Somalia and the
US/UN troopsDuring a rescue mission, a US helicopter was shot
down which killed everyone on board except for Michael Durant who arrived back home as a hero.
This was known as “Black Hawk Down” (theme for the 2001 Black Hawk Down film)
18 US troops killed, 84 wounded1000-1500 Somali civilians killedUS and UN troops withdrew from Somalia and let the
warlords deal with the mess.
Black Hawk Down
2000’s Somalia fishermen defend themselves and their
territory, but so do the illegal fishing ships 2004 – Tsunami washes up evidence on the
beaches of illegal toxic waste dumping.2005 - UN estimated that 700 foreign fishing
vessels illegally fish in Somalia waters
2004 TsunamiEvidence of illegal toxic waste dumping in
Somali watersBarrels are washed up on shoreMillions of fish diePeople start getting radiation sickness and die
Toxic waste barrels being removed after 2004 Tsunami.
Dumping continued…With all the waste industrial companies had
created, they found it easier and cheaper just to dump the waste somewhere unnoticeable
Started dumping in most developing countries in Africa
Businesses found this very profitable and found many creative methods of getting rid waste
This was called “Project Urano” developed by Italian businesses
Dumping in SomaliaBUT!.....Businesses were soon told that they were not
allowed to dump waste in the oceans and Africa anymore
They had ships that were designed to sink with all the waste on it
After “Project Urano” failed, industrial companies businesses had developed, “Project Urano II”
Contained information which decided that Somalia would be picked as the new toxic waste dumping site.
Bosaso RoadAfter finding evidence of dumping in Somalia,
more evidence had suggested that more toxic waste barrels had been dumped under the “Bosaso Road”
SomaliaDealt with civil wars, illegal fishing and
dumpingHit with every “curve ball” possible which has
destroyed the countriesThe result of these disasters has given Somalia
an un-stable government, corruption, pirates and the whole world has turned against them.
PiracyThe illegal fishing and toxic waste dumping
made Somalia's very angry and they had not much choice but to act in a violent way
Targeted oncoming ships (fishing, coast guards, travel, etc.)
Wanted ships to pay some form of taxResulted in kidnapping, which lead to rape and
murder
Right now…Different countries have struggled to shut
down the piratesDeveloped patrols Increase security on ships (naval and
tourist ships)Tried to avoid them
Final thoughts I really have a lot of sympathy for SomaliaWar and illegal activity have destroyed the
country and I think it will take a very long time for them to come back from this mess
The things they do (kidnap, rape, murder) are definitely wrong, but before you blame them, before you label them, look back at who started this and who is really to blame
“We’re always too quick to judge an open book, sometimes it pays to read between the lines, a lesson to be learnt only set by the truth.” – Jasmina Siderovski
“Don’t be too quick to judge if you don’t know the whole truth” – JP De Villiers
Work Cited: http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/04/13/us-somalia-p
iracy-qanda-sb-idUSTRE53B20A20090413 http://goafrica.about.com/od/africanews/a/pirates.htm http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~ahmed24h/pirates/intervie
w.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy_in_Somalia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFCqLNyOSrs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mogadishu_(1993) http://www.somaliaonline.com/community/showthread.p
hp/23684-Tsunami-and-the-Nuclear-wastes-in-Somalia