Matthew
Burk
Piracy
In Somalia No Longer An Environmental Issue
When piracy first began in Somalia,
it was based on the idea of protecting their waters and way of life, in short
an environmental issue. The government in Somalia is for the most part weak and
corrupt, allowing outside actors to bribe their way into power or simply ignore
their orders. Rampant piracy and overfishing of resources in Somali waters
along with toxic dumping was completely ignored, forcing the people to act. The
locals of the area eventually had to turn to piracy seeing how their entire way
of life to make money, along with their environment, was destroyed. At the start
of the piracy, it was purely for environmental and economic means, but it seems
that the idea has gone to the wind. Until the Somali pirates go back to their territorial
waters and focus on their original goals of protecting their environment and
economy, they will not be able to make a permanent difference.
When the piracy began it was taking
place immediately off the coast of the Somalia, in relatively close waters.
Many of these piracy attacks took place directly off the coast of Somalia in
the Gulf of Aden where much of the pollution and overfishing was taking place. As
stated earlier, the pirates at first held these ships hostage and for ransom
since these same boats had overfished their waters and dumped toxic waste in
them, completely destroying their way of life. As a direct result of these
companies and countries overfishing and toxic dumping, these people completely
lost any chance of income or a job. The pirates absolutely had to deal with this
economic and environmental issue, and ransoming ships was the way to do so.
In the beginning the effects were
immediate and well known. After a short time ships were avoiding the Gulf of
Aden and Somali waters, taking longer shipping routes. If this was a truly
environmental issue for the Somalis they would have continued to police their
own waters, but they did not. According to the map from the financial times,
the pirate attacks have occurred over 1000 nautical miles away from Somali
shores. In 2008 the pirate attacks occurred in Somali waters and in the Gulf of
Aden but since then the range has done nothing but increase, taking away from
their cause. You can’t hijack a ship in international waters over 1000 nautical
miles from your shores and then claim that you are doing it to protect your
country and way of life, it makes no sense.
These piracy attacks may have
started with the best intentions but have certainly changed for the worse over
time. What started as an issue regarding a corrupt and weak government that
could not provide for its people and their subsequent actions and uprising, has
turned into a for profit ransom business. In more modern times the Somali
pirates have been linked to Al-Shabab, also known as the branch of Al-Qaeda in
the region, which destroys any credibility that the pirates had in the
beginning. If the pirates once again brought the range of their attacks into
their waters and affected areas, this would once again be an environmental and
economic issue.
The pirates have already
accomplished their goal of getting ships out of their waters and reducing the
overfishing as well as toxic waste dumping. Their presence and attacks have had
the desired goal, so why not go back to their old tactics? Expanding their
raids to 1000 nautical miles away completely undermines their entire cause and
ruins any improvements they have made. Continued action such as this will
result in more international presence in the waters and possible military
action. The only way to make a permanent environmental and economic impact is
with international support and cooperation. These raids and piracy operations
1000 nautical miles away make the international community and those who have
the power to make a difference regarding waste dumping and overfishing shun all
of their efforts. What was once a possibly noble defense of life and
environment has turned into a for profit piracy operation with ties to
international terrorists. The Somali Pirates started out as a noble effort to
defend their environment and lands from their own corrupt government, those who
overfish, and dump toxic waste into their waters. These once seemingly noble
efforts have quickly turned south with the expanded raids and even terrorist
ties. Until the Somali pirates take this back to an environmental and economic
issues within their territorial waters, they will be labeled as terrorist and
lack the international support and cooperation needed to make a permanent
different. This is what needs to be done to protect their environment and way
of life.
1.) Gettleman,
Jeffrey. “Q. & A. With a Pirate: ‘We Just Want the Money.’” The New York
Times, September
2.) Waldo,
Mohamed Abshir. “The Two Piracies in Somali: Why the World Ignores the Other?” Wardheer
News,
January 8, 2009. http://wardheernews.com/Articles_09/Jan/Waldo/08_The_two_piracies_in_Somalia.html.
3.) Hansen,
Stig Jarle. “Debunking the Piracy Myth: How Illegal Fishing Really Interacts
with Piracy in East
Africa.”
RUSI Journal 156, no. 6 (2011).ELMS
I agree that the Somali pirates began with a more noble reasoning for their actions by using the "coast guard" narrative. But as you point out, they essentially are in it for the money now, and are not too concerned with having a true role as the protector of the Somali seas . It seems like now that the pirates have been linked to terrorist organizations and are reaching out farther into the ocean that they have gained more international attention. Clearly, the coast guard narrative is easier to believe when you are truly guarding the coasts. But, (namely referencing the Debunking the Piracy Myth: How Illegal Fishing Really Interacts with Piracy in East Africa reading) do you think that it is possible that they targeted the the large cargo ships all along, and now that they are seen as targeting ships 1,000 miles out that their narrative is falling apart?
ReplyDeleteI do not think that whether or not the Somali pirates (coast guard) had nobel pursuits in the beginning has anything to really do with the environment. I am inclined to believe that no matter what pushed them to guard the coast and eventually begin hijacking foreign ships the root of their actions in Somalia's lack of a stable government and efficient political institutions. If Somalia had a legitimate government than foreign governments would have been more reasonable with the pirates and maybe even considered them as Somalia's coast guard. And, if Somalia had working institutions (policies and laws) then the pirates would be actually be able to work as a law abiding coast guard. However, like we mentioned in class it sometime easier to just blame the environment. In this case Somalia is blaming the environment and foreigners are blaming a lack of government. Do you think developed nations should work to help create a stable government or focus on environmental regulations?
ReplyDeleteHow do you think the pirates would be able to rectify this? You say: "until the Somali pirates take this back to an environmental and economic issues within their territorial waters, they will be labeled as terrorist and lack the international support and cooperation needed to make a permanent different." But how exactly do you believe that they could turn back at this point-- at least in the sense of being able to face the least amount of repercussions? I think, to a point, that they possibly do see how far they have strayed from their original mission, but that they might feel that there is a line that has been crossed that can not be uncrossed, and so it has set this sort of perpetual cycle in place. Could this end in any positive way for the pirates?
ReplyDeleteIt is fair to say that piracy off the Somali coast is a nasty affair and needs to be stopped, but don't you think there is a problem in tackling the issue considering it only from the point where it become ugly and problematic for the international community and ignore its beginnings where Somali claims were legitimate and ignored?
ReplyDeleteThat's definitely something I wanted to get into more. Even though the Somali were legitimate in the beginning the international community does not see it that way, nor do they care very much. It's definitely a problem that they were ignored in the beginning, but with the way they're operating now, the people in power don't care very much.
DeleteI think that in the beginning it was a completely noble effort but that has gone completely away at this point. If the Somali's goal was to remedy the environmental issue they would have stopped when the ships began avoiding their waters and stopped dumping, but that really isn't the case. I think the only way for this situation to be resolved is a multi-step process. It would have to start with offering the pirates another way to make money and survive, since their current pirate business is so profitable. After this the pirates would need to cease their interactions with the terrorist cells in the area and show the international community that they were only ever in it for the environment and country. Essentially the only way to this to stop is for the pirates to go back to their shores, stop associating with terrorists, and then for the international community help them set up a stable economy and government. Besides that it will most likely end in a war or shootout.
ReplyDelete