Sex, drugs, money, Somali pirates living the "high life"

by SOLARLIFE | October 28, 2008 at 04:31 am

3932 views | 7 Recommendations | 10 comments

Why young Somalis are lured by pirate lifestyle

Somali pirates living the high life of luxury

The arrogant communication style repeats: "The lady of the house speaking "...."No information today. No comment," a Somali pirate shouts over the sound of breaking waves, before abruptly ending the satellite telephone call. "

He sounds uptight - anxious to see if a multi-million dollar ransom demand will be met.
He is on board the hijacked Ukrainian vessel, MV Faina - the ship laden with 33 Russian battle tanks that has highlighted the problem of piracy off the Somali coast since it was captured almost a month ago.
But who are these modern-day pirates?
According to residents in the Somali region of Puntland where most of the pirates come from, they live a lavish life.
Fashionable
"They have money; they have power and they are getting stronger by the day," says Abdi Farah Juha who lives in the regional capital, Garowe.

The crew on MV Faina are reportedly being well-looked after

"They wed the most beautiful girls; they are building big houses; they have new cars; new guns," he says.
"Piracy in many ways is socially acceptable. They have become fashionable."
Most of them are aged between 20 and 35 years - in it for the money.
And the rewards they receive are rich in a country where almost half the population need food aid after 17 years of non-stop conflict.
Most vessels captured in the busy shipping lanes of the Gulf of Aden fetch on average a ransom of $2m.
This is why their hostages are well looked after.
The BBC's reporter in Puntland, Ahmed Mohamed Ali, says it also explains the tight operation the pirates run.
They are never seen fighting because the promise of money keeps them together.
Wounded pirates are seldom seen and our reporter says he has never heard of residents along Puntland's coast finding a body washed ashore.

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Eustaquio Santimano

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 05:36 on October 28th, 2008

SOLARLIFE, I like this story. It's good stuff.

SOLARLIFE

at 11:49 on October 28th, 2008

Eustaquio thanks for Flag "Somali pirates luxury life"

Heritage

at 05:42 on October 28th, 2008

Piracy in many ways is socially acceptable....

There are many reasons that could cause piracy to become acceptable.....The report below cites massive environmental destruction, caused by dumping of toxic waste by companies from developed nations.

SolarLife, have you heard this side of the story before?

'Toxic waste' behind Somali piracy

Somali pirates have accused European firms of dumping toxic waste off the Somali coast and are demanding an $8m ransom for the return of a Ukranian ship they captured, saying the money will go towards cleaning up the waste.

The ransom demand is a means of "reacting to the toxic waste that has been continually dumped on the shores of our country for nearly 20 years", Januna Ali Jama, a spokesman for the pirates, based in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, said.

"The Somali coastline has been destroyed, and we believe this money is nothing compared to the devastation that we have seen on the seas."

The pirates are holding the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship carrying tanks and military hardware, off Somalia's northern coast.

According to the International Maritime Bureau, 61 attacks by pirates have been reported since the start of the year.

While money is the primary objective of the hijackings, claims of the continued environmental destruction off Somalia's coast have been largely ignored by the regions's maritime authorities.

Dumping allegations

Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy for Somalia confirmed to Al Jazeera the world body has "reliable information" that European and Asian companies are dumping toxic waste, including nuclear waste, off the Somali coastline.

SOLARLIFE

at 11:57 on October 28th, 2008

Heritage...dumping of toxic waste. For sure a dirty business, I agree, should not happen. But did the Somali pirates ever risk their live, like Green peace to avoid toxic dumping ? To justify piracy with dumping , Hmm ? It is if I rob my neighbours money, saying his dog pi..in my garden. However we should go for the toxic dumping story as we know it now from you, especially nuclear waste. I can imagine this is true. Thanks for "toxic report"

Heritage

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 15:33 on October 28th, 2008

SOLARLIFE, I like this story. It's good stuff.

It is if I rob my neighbours money, saying his dog pi..in my garden.

Not quite SolarLife.... how about robbing your rich neighbors because they destroyed the seafood breeding grounds that enabled you to work and support your family and refused to pay compensation?

I guess nothing can really justify piracy, but what if it was us and our families what would we do? What if it was our communities and family were getting sick and dying?

Fascinating to consider that this piracy could have had been caused by environmental destruction.

Nick Nuttall, a UNEP spokesman, told Al Jazeera that when the barrels were smashed open by the force of the waves, the containers exposed a "frightening activity" that has been going on for more than decade.

"Somalia has been used as a dumping ground for hazardous waste starting in the early 1990s, and continuing through the civil war there," he said.

"European companies found it to be very cheap to get rid of the waste, costing as little as $2.50 a tonne, where waste disposal costs in Europe are something like $1000 a tonne.

"And the waste is many different kinds. There is uranium radioactive waste. There is lead, and heavy metals like cadmium and mercury. There is also industrial waste, and there are hospital wastes, chemical wastes – you name it."

Nuttall also said that since the containers came ashore, hundreds of residents have fallen ill, suffering from mouth and abdominal bleeding, skin infections and other ailments.

SOLARLIFE

at 08:54 on October 29th, 2008

Heritage thanks for your engaged update "dumping nuclear waste at somalis coast".

"Somali coast waste dumping as little as $2.50 a tonne, where waste disposal costs in Europe are something like $1000 a tonne."

This should be investigated in cooperation with the newly created Union Méditerranée, headed by France/Egypt at the moment. They intend to take care of clean Mediterranen sea. If this are european companies too, dumping waste at Somalia, this is not OK. A name of the companies involved would help; also a second source of information.

I never heard that the Somali pirates set up a website for the environment; Being equipped with high tech speed boats, having millions of dollars for 125 people still captured, they should. Pirating with reference to the environment has to stop as the illegal dumping of waste. There is no justification for pirating, or we go all wild and "backfire" from the ships.

dtfl (not verified)

at 17:42 on November 19th, 2008

I'm sorry but you are, for the most part, misguided, Heritage

First, I would like proof of the European "dumping"--mroe than a questionable Al Jazeera source.

Second..and more importantly...the Russian occupation of the 70s and 80s is what destroyed their fishing grounds. The Russians also opened packing plants which dumped the refuse into the coastal waters....that refuse was food for sharks..hence the reason the waters along the coast of Mogadishu are infested.

I know this because I was in that area on 2 occasions for 5-6 months. Had numerous intel briefings and even went to Mogadishu.

gerrypopplestone

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 18:16 on October 28th, 2008

SOLARLIFE, I like this story. It's good stuff. What a dangerous area!

SOLARLIFE

at 07:58 on October 29th, 2008

gerrypopplestone..what a dangerous area, somali pirates living high life

A REFUGEE (not verified)

at 21:37 on November 21st, 2008

NONE OF YOU COULDNT RELATE. AS A REFUGEE FROM SOMALI BEING BORN THERE AND THEN GOING THRU THE WAR AS A CHILD AND IMMIGRATING I WILL TELL YOU.

SOMALI HAS BEEN NEGLECTED FOR MANY YEARS. U.S TRIED BUT LEFT WHEN THEY SAW THEY WERENT BENIFITING LIKE THEY WERE FROM IRAQ YEA THEY GOT SHOT DOWN AND LOST 12 SOLIDERS only. BUT THERE COULDNT BEEN A BETTER EFFORT MADE IF YOU ASK ME. AND SO ME BEING A SOMALIAN I AGREE WITH MOST OF THOSE PIRATES ARE DOING THEY HAVE NO OTHER WAYS OF SURVIAL THERE IS NO BUSINESS IN SOMALI AND THEY PROBABLY HAVE NO ONE ON THE OUTSIDE . ITS ALL ABOUT SURVIVAL THE U.N HAS DONE NOTHING.

PIRACY IS THE ANSWER FOR NOW. BUT I DO WISH FOR A BETTER WAY I REALLY DO. I LOVE MY PEOPLE AND HATE TO SEE THEM GO THRU THIS BUT TO KNOW THEY ARE SURVING FEELS GOOD ALSO AND IF YOU CANT UNDERSTAND. YOU ARE NOT IN A PERDICIMENT TO UNDERSTAND. UNLESS YOU HAVE LEFT YOUR COUNTRY AS A REFUGEE 15 YEARS AGO AND STILL CAN NOT GO BACK TO BECAUSE OF HOW UNSTABLE IT IS. THERE IS NO AIPORTS IN SOMALI YOU MUST LAND IN ETHIOPIA THAN DRIVE INTO SOMALI. YET THE WHOLE WORLD STILL IGNORES IT. AND THIS HAS WHAT BECOME OF IT.