blog




  • Essay / Ransom on the high seas: the case of piracy in Somalia The root causes of piracy in Somalia

    This paper has identified two main causes of piracy, namely problems related to illegality and failure of Somalia's statehood, as the second problem. . In order to fully understand the genesis of piracy in Somalia, one must go back to the time when Somalia had a functioning government in 1991. At that time, Somalia's coastal waters were heavily used for fishing by both local fishermen and by international fishing. European boats. Osei-Tutu (2011) argued that piracy in Somalia began with local fishermen, exhausted by foreign fishing boats, taking advantage of the country's instability, dumping toxic waste and fishing illegally in Somali waters. In order to protect themselves, the fishermen took weapons, then reinforced their protection. Later, greed kicked in and fishermen began hijacking other ships for ransom, leading to a real piracy problem (Waldo, 2009). The second root cause is the one that was highlighted in the case study as the main root cause of current or modern piracy. The study focused on political instability resulting from the absence of a stable government with effective authority as the root cause. The absence of political authority to ensure population and border security has led to the fragmentation of Somalia (Saferworld, 2011). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayOver the years, with the absence of institutions and government structures, chaos reigned, making Somalia a prime target of abuses by Islamist insurgency groups such as Al Shabab seeking a base to destabilize other states. By extension, the lack of a stable government in Ethiopia led to a deterioration in the economic situation which ultimately resulted in massive poverty. This has resulted in extreme anxiety on the part of Somalis to survive amid high unemployment. The case showed some cultural aspects that perpetrated piracy. For example, the case indicated that some fishermen allowed pirates to use their boats, making it difficult for other patrol boats to differentiate the pirates from just local fishermen. The case also mentions the protection that Islamist groups provided to pirates. This is embedded in the collective culture of most East African countries, where communities support other communities within their culture. On the other hand, the pirates understood the culture of value for the lives of the captured crew's businesses and countries, which guaranteed ransom payment. J. Peter Pham's article "Putting Somali Piracy in Context" (2010) claims that the historic plundering of shipwrecks along the Puntland coast was "apparently driven by the local population, representing an important part of the economy trade [of the local clan], organized by traditional leaders, and may even have contributed to centralizing tendencies in the power structures of local sultanates. » Osei-Tutu (2011) also asserted that rooted in Somali pastoral culture, which is the antithesis of that of agriculture and fishing, greed is associated with sharaf (respect), particularly when we display the ambition to steal for the benefit of the clan. This support from elements of Somali culture appears to have fueled the growth of piracy. The difference between pirates and terrorist groups Pirates are mainly made up of unemployed local youth/fishermen who are looking for ends.