recently watched a one hour special on somalia .
for anyone who is truly interested in why the pirates are out there , it pays to look at the history of somalia .
somalia was occupied and exploited by italy for decades , only to be tossed around after WW 2 by various outside forces .
the somali fishermen have lost their fishing grounds due to invasion by foreign trawlers and factory ships that suck up any fish around .
fish is often the only source of protein for somalis - and the fish have been stolen from them .
remember when the governmant of iceland sent out gunboats to chase british trawlers fishing in their waters ?
the canadian navy and coastguard boarded portuguese trawlers that were caught fishing in canada's 20o mile zone and brought them into canadian ports where the captains had to face canadian justice (it was dubbed "the halibut war" ) .
somalia does not have a functioning governemnt that can go to the U.N. in new york to launch "formal protests" - the people of somalia are left on their own fighting for their survival .
the somali coast is a dumping ground for all kinds of refuse from foreign nations all over the world (including "leftovers" from uranium used in atomic power-stations ) - and now we are surprised that some somalis refuse to die of starvation and resort to piracy ?
if that would happen in U.S. waters i don't think that the U.S. coast guard and navy would stand by idly - problem is : the somalis do not have a coast guard or navy . so the somali fishermen have to fight for themselves .
(i believe there are some a2k'ers that have stated that they would fight to protect their own property without waiting for their governemnt to do it ) .
i wonder how many a2k'ers would willingly let their families die of starvation without trying some desparate act (that the well-fed of the world find so dispicable) ?
i am wondering (not really) where the pirates get their weapons from ?
did they perhaps buy them on a flea-market ?
i have no doubt that some weapons' manufacturers and middle-men are making good money selling weapons to those pirates .
i certainly do NOT support piracy ... but i also do NOT support letting millions of people die of starvation .
'nuff said !
hbg
one of many articles dealing with illegal fishing by foreign trawlers in somali waters :
http://www.geocities.com/gabobe/illegalfishing.html
Quote: The Illegal Fishing Issue
Somalia's coastal communities who eke marine resources are appealing to international community for help to keep foreign ships, which engage in illegal fishing out of their country's territorial waters. This is a critical time for the world at large in particular international organisations to integrate Somali people with their environment and safeguard their natural resources. The illegal fishing along the Somali coastline heightened after the disintegration of the Horn of African country into clan-based states following the overthrow of communist dictator Siad Barre almost a decade ago.
Taking advantage of a lack of patrolling securities, the foreign ships use prohibited fishing methods like drift nets, dynamites, breaking coral reefs and destroying the coral habitats where lobsters and other coral fish live. According to Somali Fisheries Society and Somalia Marine Resource Management, which monitor the country's marine environment, the illegally fishing vessels stay away into deeper waters during the days but come closer to the shore at night. They apply their destructive fishing techniques, which reduce the local population's harvest and damage nets and traps set by local fishermen. On several occasions, there have been reports of large amount of fish floating near the shore. Similarly, the Ocean Training and Promotion (OTP) has collected information that more than 200 foreign vessels have since 1991, been engaged in illegal fishing in the Somali coastline.
Some of these fishing vessel come to exploit from the developed and developing countries, which were thousands of miles away in particular those whose fisheries resources were drastically overexploited or are under reservation. Some of them use very sophisticated factory-fishing vessels, which are modeled for distant-water fishing. Their concern is short-term outlook and refusal to acknowledge ecological limits is devastating. Somalia does not only experience political displacement but also resource displacement.
The distant-water fishing vessels include those sailing under flags of conveniences such as China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Honduras, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Pakistan, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Soviet Federation, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Yemen had allegedly fished within 12 miles Somali waters. These vessels are in search of Dolphin fish, Grouper, Emperors, Tuna sp., Mackerel sp., Snapper, Swordfish, Shark sp. Herring and of course, other valuable in Somali coastal water species.
