For years now I’ve heard about the Somali pirates. In my younger years I imagined this pirates somewhat like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean, but since learning more I’ve realized that description does not quite fit.
The Q & A article “We Just Want the Money” made me hesitate on disregarding the Somali’s tactics in protecting their waters. There were a couple things in the article that made me feel this way:
1. The men claim they are not going to sell the weapons to anyone in Somalia. Call me naive but I truly believe this is true. When looking at this failed state, it seems ludicrous that one would want to induce more pain and suffering, which is what these weapons would do.
2. The men who are taking over these ships are trying to protect themselves from what they see as the ultimate enemy: hunger. To us in the developed world these drastic measures do not make sense – food is all around us.
However, there are still some red flags to what the Somali’s are doing. For one, they are pocketing the cash, so the argument that they are in the coast guard does not stand. As I mentioned in class, it makes me nervous that these men are raiding ships for their personal gain. Although I do not have a good suggestion for how to institutionalize the money gain so that more Somali’s can benefit, it should not be solely for those who raid ships. Another concern I have is the fact that the Somali’s have extended their reach beyond the waters just located off-shore. This looks like more than simply protecting their waters. A final concern I have is the claim that this practice is to protect the waters from overfishing and dumping. This seems like a poorly disguised cover story for the true purpose of collecting money. Environmental protection seems like too big of a developmental jump for these men to be taking. After a state has failed, the people focus on the most basic needs for survival (food, water, procreation etc.) Environmental protection is not on this list of needs. Many countries that are still in the developing stages do not think about how their actions are affecting their environment – they cannot afford to do so. It seems counter to what I’ve learned in many of my classes for the environment to be top on the list of priorities for these people.
That leads me to the question of why cover their tracks with the claim of environmentalism. It is so people like us (and those much more qualified) can argue whether this claim has actual bearing. The time we waste debating whether environmental reasons are why the Somali’s are attacking other ships is preventing us from looking deeper into the issue.
I believe that the Somali pirates are not in the water to be a coast guard, or protect the environmental state of things or even to sell weapons in Somalia. I believe that the pirates are simply trying to survive and the way they have found to do this is through this measure. This way of protecting themselves does not take the form we (as the West) would like, but it is what the Somali’s have decided is the only way to reach their goals.
The true issue of the Somali piracy is one that highlights the challenges we will continue to face in a world where people do not have the nutrients they need to survive. Instead of admonishing the pirates for attacking ships, or even praising them for being the coast guard (as some villagers do) we must help these people. We must encourage education so that the people will be able to have higher food yields and feed more people. We must help the Somali’s to create a government that answers to the people and that institutionalizes a way to distribute food and resources properly.
Piracy is not the main issue in the problem of Somali piracy – it is only the surface level. By truly looking into what is happening to these people it is necessary for us to stop focusing on what is going on in the waters, and focus more on what can happen on land so piracy is no longer a necessary evil.
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