After reading about and discussing Somali pirates, I have
come to the conclusion that to claim they are simply using illegal overfishing
and waste-dumping as an excuse to loot and raid other ships is to be ignorant
of their history and narrow-minded about human nature and interaction.
As highlighted in Mohamed Abshir Waldo’s article, illegal
fishing and waste-dumping has gone on in Somali waters for around two decades
now. Most of the participating countries are from the EU, Eastern Europe, and
the Middle East. From the sounds of it,
they have been taking advantage of the fact that Somalia has little to no
government and certainly no power to authorize what is happening in their
territorial waters. Stig Jarle Hansen points out that most of the reported hijackings
conducted by pirates are not of fishing boats, but does not pay enough
attention to the idea that perhaps, because the fishing boats are there
illegally, those particular hijackings are not being reported. This would bring
unwanted attention to the illegal fishing industry that many modern, powerful
countries are a part of. And perhaps tankers are targeted not only because they
are slow-moving but also because they dump the most waste?
A few semesters ago, in a class regarding immigration
policy, we learned about humans and the concept of “the other.” We were talking
about in the context of citizenship and how it creates a clear definition of
outsiders, or others, but I believe it can be used in this context as well. The
Somali pirates may not see a British tanker as different from a Yemen fishing
boat, or a dhow from a cargo ship… At this point in time, after exploitation of
their waters and vulnerability, after being treated violently and aggressively
by outsiders (Waldo), perhaps the Somali pirates view us as all the same – the
“Other” that invade what they see as theirs, treat it badly, take what is not
ours, and leave nothing but damaged supplies behind.
I do not think Somali pirates claim environmentalism in the
same way that other groups do. I do not think they care about the future of the
fish populations in the sense of restoring ecosystems, keeping species alive
and leaving no trace of human infringement. I believe it is much more
short-term than that. They simply know that high levels of ship traffic, high
levels of waste-dumping and high levels of fishing lead to less fish in the
water than if there were low levels of all of this. One does not have to be a
scientist to observe what happens over time in an environment they are in every
day. They also know enough about borders, sovereignty, and states’ rights to
feel that the water surrounding Somalia is theirs, but that they do not have a government
to defend it for them. This gives them the sense that outsiders are infringing
upon their right to survive – their right to use their own water how they need
to without the problems that other foreigners bring with them.
Of course, with any movement, there are people with ulterior
motives. What was originally a fight to protect their own waters through piracy
could have expanded to be motivated by things like money. I am sure there are
Somali pirates who do not care about the fishes or quality of their water and
simply want money to go and buy food onshore or to purchase things like a new
boat or house. However, what is important is that we as an outside society
realize that the core of the piracy movement is driven by survival. Regardless
of if they want money, fish, clean water, or weapons, these men are trying to
survive and see foreigners as either a threat to their survival that need to be
dealt with or a way of getting enough resources (money) to survive until the
next day. To debate and argue about whether or not illegal fishing is what
directly causes piracy is a waste of time. Is there nothing to lose from stopping
illegal fishing other than profits for the countries partaking? To stop illegal
fishing could possibly cause a large decline in Somali piracy, and if it didn’t
at least it would remove that as an excuse for the Somali pirates and the
conversation regarding how to stop it could continue.