True Life: Somalian Pirates

From Brianna Howell

Throughout this term, we were able to constantly rely on those crazy Somalian Pirates for a blog post and current classroom discussion. We foucused on all the things these pirates have stolen, all the ships that have been hijacked and all the destruction they have caused. The Christian Science Monitor takes these stories a bit farther and begins to ask questions like, "why?" and "who?" I think it is time for us to learn a little more about these modern day pirates.

These pirates are mainly fighters for various warlords who have been fighting for control over the government since 1991. A combination of survival needs and entrepreneurial opportunity creates a motive for these modern day fighters to begin pirating. Initially, the pirates were working with Somalian Fishermen; they bought boats and weapons with the proceeds from every ship that was captured. Since then, things have escalated because of the rise in the cost of food and now it is every man for himself. The pirates are now raking in millions of dollars in ransom payments. There are speculations that these pirates have links to Al-Qaeda and corrupt government officials throughout Africa. But honestly, there is no reason for anyone to make such affiliations. These pirates are just doing what they can to provide for their families and bank accounts and doing it the best that they can.