Somali Piracy Culture

Somalia is one of the poorest nations in the world whose economy depends largely on their fishing industry. However, powerful nations have ruined the country’s fishing industry by using huge offshore fishing vessels and by illegally dumping waste material into the Somali coastline. The UN Security Council, the European Union, and NATO largely supported these acts through resolutions. Being confronted by these powerful institutions, a powerless nation, such as Somalia, does not have an array of resources to battle this exploitation. To make their voice be heard, a Somali Pirate culture developed in the past twenty years. It consists of hijacking vessels and demanding a ransom. While their actions did not attract much attention in the beginning, publicity and awareness of this issue has steadily increased. The purpose of this paper is to show that the Somali pirate culture has reached a point, where they successfully influence the global economy, which has consequences in countries around the world.

By controlling international trade routes, Somali pirates uphold this power. These efforts by the Somali pirates exhibit their disparity and signify that they will not allow the piracy of their own resources without retaliation. To draw attention to their dire situation, the Somali pirate culture developed over two decades ago, raiding fishing and commercial boats and ships in order to demand ransom from other countries. Though their methods may not be of the most legit methods, their efforts have been effective. Somalia’s coastline extends to just under two thousand miles, allowing control to most of where the Gulf of Aden empties out into the Indian Ocean, and creates a choke point. “Equipped with small skiffs, firearms, grapnels and ...

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... very reason this culture has been initiated, they continue to fight the war against the Somali pirates.

Works Cited

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Reuters. (2009, April 15). Reuters. Retrieved January 12, 2011, from Reuters.com: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE53E2JR20090415?pageNumber=2

Thakurta, S. (2008, October 10). Somalia piracy: The world can't afford to ignore . Retrieved January 12, 2011, from Merinews: http://www.merinews.com/article/somalia-piracy-the-world-cant-afford-to-ignore/144093.shtml

Wright, R. (2011, January 16). Financial Times. Retrieved January 17, 2011, from FT.com: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/658138a6-219b-11e0-9e3b-00144feab49a.html#axzz1BKVMULD0