Somali pirates. can't miss them in the news these days. if you somehow have, the long and short of it is that pirates hijack vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian ocean, take them to areas offshore Somalia, and hold the crew,cargo, and vessel hostage in exchange for a ransom. It is certainly indisputable that the actions of these individuals is illegal and wrong. However, let's think bigger picture...
Why are people in Somalia resorting to these acts?
Why Somalia?
How come there has been little international reaction or intervention?
How come the United States had been silent on the issue until one of its own vessels with American crew was captured?
What should be done now?
What does it say about our media that we shifted from a mere mention of piracy in the past to 24 hour coverage when it involves Americans?
What do we do about all this?
Is it our problem or someone else's?
Wikipedia entry about Somali Piracy for background knowledge
Map of Somalia Pirate Attacks since December 2007
Think about all sides involved in the issue, not this the victims. Comment respectfully...
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ReplyDeleteMr.metz.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of the Tripoli attack!
We should blockade the port and or attack!
not bad, but not that easy to fix. bigger problems to address.
ReplyDeleteI guess that piracy IS a good way for in income. The risks are large, but the profits are large as well. I know it's wrong, but if every time you captured a captain you got at least five million dollars in ransom, it's not a bad way to get some money. Just trying to see their side of things.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, it is common knowledge that countries lacking stable political and economic systems will resort to illegal activities. Somalia doesn't have a government; there are individual warlords in which one has to report to. Seeing that there is no government, it is impossible for citizens to get things they need, from food to work. With piracy, citizens can get a bit of money, some of which they will keep. A recent article in Scientific American, a science magazine, highlighted the food crisis, and how it will become worse. It had a list of countries that were most likely to collapse. Somalia was the first one. The country is in such a desperate position, so they have to resort to these terrible activities. If only there was another way in which they could gain wealth...
ReplyDeleteTo add...
ReplyDeleteThe American media is particularly biased in the way that they publish their information. If the United States isn't directly involved in some way, they aren't interested in the story. Hence, we get many American-sided arguments and such from the news. Take the economy, for example. The issue is quite blown up right now. The media feasts on the issue, and they make it much bigger than it really is. Since many Americans aren't intelligent enough to fully understand the crisis, they follow the media, which is saying how bad it is. The Somalia piracy wasn't an issue until the United States became involved. This wasn't any surprise, compared to other trends in the media. The United States media should strive to cover each story equally, whether the United States plays a part or not. This would be quite a feat; hopefully they will realize this. Somalia is more of a global issue, because a number of countries' boats are being captured. The United States shouldn't go in and fix things. That would lead to war, most likely. If a global act was taken to gently guide Somalia, things would possibly become better. This would be difficult to do, though.
If the USA goes to war with the piracy we could win but we would have to take troops out of other countrys.
ReplyDeleteThis is a strange thought....Has anyone noticed that the US has policed the world? It is very strang that this happens. Why do we have to police the world? why cant other people do it? well i have an thought. Is it that we are a strong cournty or that we have a strong millatry force? that is something to think about...