The modern pirate tale has been one of romance and adventure and throughout my childhood, third on my list of preferred occupations right below “mermaid” and “faerie princess”, was “pirate”. When I hear of the Somali pirate attacks gathering so much attention this year, parts of me are secretly thrilled. I begin my search for photographic examples of modern day piracy and WHAT? What is this? Where is Johnny Depp? Where is my swashbuckling, grungy, endearing, almost-certainly-always-drunk, non-hero, hero? These guys look nothing how I imagined them. They have machine guns and hand grenades and rocket launchers?? There is a shocking lack of dreadlocks here… and teeth come to think of it, and WHOA! That guy’s head is HUGE! I keep scrolling, hoping desperately to find something even remotely similar to the fantasy I have conjured in my head. Please, please, please somebody be semi-attractive, anybody? Nope. Nothing. Not even close. And what’s up with all the aluminum buckets they keep referring to as “boats”? What happened to the Black Pearl? What happened to the Revenge? What happened to the Rising Sun? The very least they could do is put up a flag. I’m lodging a complaint! Where are the real pirates?
Somalia is a far cry from the Swiss family Robinson’s island paradise. The tiny arid country, located on the west coast of Africa, has been victim to civil unrest, famine, and poverty for much of its history. Thus far in 2008 there have been right around 92 pirate attacks off the Somali coast and of the 92 attacks 36 have been successful hijackings. The largest piracy hull in history was performed Tuesday, November 18, 2008. Somali pirates hijacked the Sirius Star, a Saudi oil-tanker estimated to be worth over 100 billion dollars. Pirates are still holding the tanker, its cargo (2m barrels of oil), and 25 crew members off the Somali coast. Their demands for the ship are yet unknown.
Poverty is one aspect of the rise in piracy, coupled with famine and civil unrest. According to the Rural Poverty Portal over 40 percent of Somali people live on less than one U.S. dollar a day. Somalia has essentially had no government since 1991 and the economy is in terrible shape. Piracy has become the best source of income for the country and will bring in more than 50 million dollars worth of revenue this year (NPR).
In a New York Times interview, Somalia pirates’ spokesperson, Sugule Ali, said that the pirates were hijacking ships merely because they wanted the money. He also stated that the pirates were simply protecting their territory from the illegal fishing and dumping that has been going on in the Somali controlled portion of the Indian Ocean. He went as far to say that they view themselves as guardians of the Somalia coastline. “We don’t consider ourselves sea bandits,” he said. “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” (NY Times).
The extreme desperation driving the pirate attacks is astounding. Poverty and famine have destroyed the livelihood of so many Somali citizens. For some, piracy seems like the most pragmatic choice. Violence and thievery have become the methods that many have turned to in efforts to survive. Piracy is no longer glitzy and glamorous. My fantasy is over. Needless to say, I no longer wish to be pirate when I grow up.
Works Cited
New York Times Web site. 30 Sep. 2008. The New York Times Company. 19
Nov. 2008
NPR Web site. 18 Nov. 2008. National Public Radio. 19 Nov. 2008
Rural Poverty Portal. 8 April 2008. International Fund for Agricultural Development. 19
Nov. 2008
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