Read more: http://www.cracked.com/article_20895_5- ... zz2qu95UE35 Things I Learned Working With Somali Pirates
Somali piracy has finally hit the big time with its own Tom Hanks movie, bringing public awareness to the issue in the same way we became aware of the problem of lovable foreigners getting trapped in our airports.
The truth is that pirate attacks along the Somali coast are actually on the decline today, but just a few years ago bands of latter-day buccaneers ruled the Gulf of Aden with an iron prosthetic hook. They hijacked a boat full of Ukrainian tanks, caused a crisis in the U.S. that required the intervention of Navy SEALs, and extorted the shipping industry for billions of dollars.
So who are the human beings behind these maritime assaults? We spoke to Thymaya Payne, who in the course of shooting a documentary got to know both Somalia and its pirates in a way rare for men who haven't been held for ransom by them. He found ...
Interesting article on how piracy works in Somalia. Not massively in depth, but gives you pointers to more detail. I hadn't really deeply considered the developmental aspect of the situation before, though I was aware that it was created by rich nations not sharing the wealth and pissing in the pool to boot...
Unfortunately, it looks like Somalia is going to be a war zone again, ostensibly against terrorism, but really a front for maintaining economic imperialism in east Africa. From the evidence though, the economic situation needs to be improved to sort out the fundamental problem. Otherwise, it'll just fan the flames and create a bigger issue
