A Somali Pirate Speaks
Interviewed by Xan Rice and Abdiqani Hassan in The Guardian:
We give priority to ships from Europe because we get bigger ransoms. To get their attention we shoot near the ship. If it does not stop we use a rope ladder to get on board. We count the crew and find out their nationalities. After checking the cargo we ask the captain to phone the owner and say that have seized the ship and will keep it until the ransom is paid.We make friends with the hostages, telling them that we only want money, not to kill them. Sometimes we even eat rice, fish, pasta with them. When the money is delivered to our ship we count the dollars and let the hostages go.
Then our friends come to welcome us back in Eyl and we go to Garowe in Land Cruisers. We split the money. For example, if we get $1.8m, we would send $380,000 to the investment man who gives us cash to fund the missions, and then divide the rest between us.
Our community thinks we are pirates getting illegal money. But we consider ourselves heroes running away from poverty. We don't see the hijacking as a criminal act but as a road tax because we have no central government to control our sea. With foreign warships now on patrol we have difficulties.
But we are getting new boats and weapons. We will not stop until we have a central government that can control our sea.
Greek sea captain Panayiotis Tzanetakos gives the view from his side to The Guardian's Helena Smith:
'No seaman has ever seen anything like this. It's a war zone out there and, put simply, the situation is out of control. They've got weapons, RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades], you name it, and it's not like before when they'd come on board and rob you. These days they hijack ships, take the entire crew hostage and demand huge ransoms. It's very primitive and very frightening....'When they attack you - and so far the Ellivita has been lucky - the game is up quickly. In five to 10 minutes the pirates surround you in speedboats; then using ladders they board the vessel and from that moment there's nothing you can do. They're the ones with the weapons and they've taken the crew hostage.
'We're mariners not military men and our job is not to use guns against other people. But I also think we have reached a point where to protect ships we have to have security teams, or weapons, on board. Right now it seems it really does seem as if it can't get any worse. But crews are also concerned that the next thing we'll be seeing are deaths, people being shot by pirates demanding ransoms.'
From IslamWatch, Mumin Salih writes:
Even though the pirates are Muslims who start their operations by saying Allahu Akbar and end it by saying Alhamdulillah, it is remarkable that no one refers to them as Muslims. Of course, it would be offensive to associate Islam with terrorism or piracy. The irony is that the Somalis find it offensive to call them anything other than Muslims who follow the footsteps of their prophet. What these Muslims are doing is an exact replica to Islams' most celebrated battle- the battle of Badr except that Mohammed practiced his jihad in the desert while his followers are practicing it in the seas.
Now, the Islamists are upset -- the pirates have taken a ship from a Muslim country, and it's only okay to for Muslims to go after non-Muslims. Uh-oh! From one of the comments on Jihadwatch:
And this is clear Kufr (Kufr Bawah) as the Saudi Permanent Committee (al-Lajnah ad-Da'imah) for Ifta' have themselves said in one of their Fatawa: "Whoever does not distinguish between the Jews and the Christians and the other infidels and between the Muslims except by nationality, and makes all of their rulings equal, then he is a kafir."
This sounds like a job for the Q-ship!
Paul Hrissikopoulos at November 23, 2008 8:22 AM
Ok, I'm just wondering why the hell merchant ships sail unarmed anymore. I know that at least until the 19th century, it was considered rather foolhardy to do otherwise. I have to wonder what the deal is nowadays? I see this as much like the Second Amendment; for most people, they don't want to have to use their weapons on another human being, but when self-defense against barbarians like these pirates comes into play, all bets are off.
Am I missing something here?
Kim at November 23, 2008 11:47 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2008/11/23/a_somali_pirate.html#comment-1607025">comment from KimMy boyfriend said it's because they're afraid of the weapons being used against them in a mutiny by the crew.
Amy Alkon
at November 23, 2008 12:07 PM
So who CARES what stupid religion they say they follow? A pirate's a pirate's a pirate's a pirate.
Blow them out of the water.
Technomad at November 23, 2008 2:58 PM
Its what happens when you laud self esteem over self respect, feeling good over being good, safety over honor.
But ultimately the blame doesn't only rest with the pirates, he'll they're criminals sure, but if you make it easy to be a victim, you've got no right to whine when you become one.
If no one can judge these men but Allah, well stock some armaments and help arrange the meeting.
Robert at November 23, 2008 5:58 PM
This shit will stop when they attack a U.S. boat. But since they know what the response will be (hint, it involves a carrier group, bombardment, missiles, and lots of dead pirates) they won't touch a boat with an American flag on it.
I'll bet after last week they don't go after anything that sails from India either.
Pirates only understand one response: brute force.
India brought the pain last week. The Saudis are pussies in dresses. They don't know how to bring the pain, and they don't dare pay someone else to.
brian at November 23, 2008 6:23 PM
I back Brian on this.
By himself alone the Halifax-Class HMCS Ville de Québec can put an end to this threat. the lack of orders to engage aggressively the piracy in this area is ludicrous.
Toubrouk at November 23, 2008 9:43 PM
I don't think anyone understands why the governments are (not) reacting. I mean, this is what navies are *for*. What India just did should have been happening from the start.
Arm the crews, yet, absolutely. There is a technical restriction on armed crews in port, which can surely be got around by having a sealable arms locker.
And finally, what's with the ransoms? Any policeman will tell you not to pay kidnappers ransom, or you are just encouraging them to kidnap again, and again. The only ransom should be a personal visit by a special forces team.
bradley13 at November 24, 2008 2:33 AM
Cluster bomb their villages and their boats.
As soon as piracy gets rewarded by bringing certain misery and destruction on the pirates and their enablers, it'll stop.
MarkD at November 24, 2008 9:24 AM
And don't forget to hack off their children's inoculated arms.
Paul Hrissikopoulos at November 24, 2008 10:01 AM
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