You Been Lied To: 7 Things You May Not Know About Somali ‘Pirates’

[ZombieHorde]

I saw this article, which is sympathetic to the Somali pirates, but I don't know if any of these things are true. I wish the article had sources.

http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/04/02/you-been-lied-to-7-things-you-may-not-know-about-somali-pirates/

Somali ‘pirates’ are actually defending Somali waters from foreign invaders

In 1991, the government of Somalia collapsed. It’s nine million people who have been battling widespread starvation ever since. America and other European nations saw this as a great opportunity to rob the country of its food supply and dump their nuclear waste in Somalia’s now unprotected seas.

According to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, approximately 12 miles into the ocean from the coast is sovereign territory of the state. Every Somali highjacking that has ever occurred happened within those 12 miles.

European vessels are polluting Somali waters

As soon as the Somali government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels of nuclear waste into the ocean. Much of that waste can be traced back to European hospitals and factories. Soon after the dumping began, the coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after a 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed ashore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died.

European ships are looting Somali waters for seafood

While some European ships were dumping, other ships have been looting Somalia’s seas of their greatest resource: seafood. An estimated $300 million worth of tuna, shrimp, lobster and other sea life is being stolen every year by huge European ships illegally fishing in Somalia’s unprotected seas. As a result, the local fishermen have lost their livelihoods, and are forced into starvation.

You can read the other four things at the link.

http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/04/02/you-been-lied-to-7-things-you-may-not-know-about-somali-pirates/

[jberryhill]

1. Ah, we haven't had a "Somalian Seafaring Environmental Activists" thread in a while...

The Sea Shepherds of the Horn of Africa. Lovely folks.

[KansDem]

4. Aye!

South Australia
In South Australia I was born
(To me) heave away, haul away
In South Australia round Cape Horn
We're bound for South Australia
Haul away you rolling kings
To me heave away, haul away
Haul away, you'll hear me sing
We're bound for South Australia
As I walked out one morning fair
'Twas there I met Miss Nancy Blair
I shook her up and I shook her down
I shook her round and round the town
I run her all night and I run her all day
And I run her until we sailed away
There ain't but one thing grieves me mind
To leave Miss Nancy Blair behind
And as we wallop around Cape Horn
You'll wish to God you'd never been born
In South Australia my native land
Full of rocks and thieves and fleas and sand
I wish I was on Australia's strand
With a bottle of whiskey in my hand

Okay, okay...Cape Horn isn't the Horn of Africa, but still...

[dionysus]

2. yowza..

[greytdemocrat]

3. Arrgh matey!!!!

Hey, someone was gonna post it...

[Behind the Aegis]

5. It shivered me timber!

I have always had a soft-spot for some pirates.

[Bonx]

6. So they're not even Pirates - they are Freedom Fighters ! -nt

[ZombieHorde]

8. I wouldn't get too hung up on those labels. lol

I don't know if the article is true, but it wouldn't be the first time rich white people exploited poor black people.

[oldhippie]

7. Poor pirates ....

... they're just trying to get along. (sniff)

[ZombieHorde]

9. If the article is true, then yes. nt

[seveneyes]

10. vast barrels of nuclear waste in the ocean washing ashore

There should be vast amounts of documented evidence of these barrels of nuclear waste.

[Maedhros]

11. It is likely that at least some of the information in the OP is fabricated and some is true.

Just like the official information fed to us by the national security and propaganda organizations.

"Somali pirates" are a very nice Other that we can direct our 2 minute hate toward while oligarchs in our country rob us blind.

[Capt. Obvious]

12. I don't know why you're getting a backlash for this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_pirates#Sovereignty_and_environmental_protection

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_pirates#Illegal_fishing

Hey, fishermen with no more fish to harvest - what are you going to do with that boat?

[BlindTiresias]

13. It is pretty much accurate

European, South Asian, and East Asian vessels had been dumping things like medical waste and industrial toxins as well was overfishing the waters off of Somalia for many years due to the nation's inability to defend their own territorial waters. The "pirates" which are really more like militia organically responded to the problem with good results and especially when compared to some of their neighbors.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

14. Not the silliest and most morally repugnant thing I've read today, but close.

[closeupready]

15. Am I the only DU member who saw "Captain Phillips"?

I mean, wow. The ignorance here is mindblowing.

Thanks for posting, Zombie. K&R

[tammywammy]

16. This BBC article debunks at least two points.

1. That they only go after ships within 12 miles and 2. They never harm anyone.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12412565

[EX500rider]

17. Not to mention most of the fishing boats are Asian, not European. n/t

[EX500rider]

18. "Every Somali highjacking that has ever occurred happened within those 12 miles" BS!

The have taken ships as far away as 1,000k.

So lets see.....if there are no fish left then why would European fishing boats fish there? (and actually it is mostly Asian fishing boats in the Indian Ocean.)

"America and other European nations saw this as a great opportunity to rob the country of its food supply and dump their nuclear waste in Somalia’s now unprotected seas."

Which US fishing vessels fish in Somali waters? None? lol

The US or Europe drops nuclear waste there?!?! Right, they just let that stuff go anywhere with anybody...lol....good one! Please, there is a paper trail a mile long with any radioactive waste in the US or Europe.


"and formed the National Volunteer Coast Guard of Somalia." HAHAHA, that's a good one, they volunteer to go out 100's of miles and take over oil tankers in international waters. Quite the "Coast Guard" there.

"Piracy has become Somalia’s biggest source of income" NOT, it’s been over two years since the Somali pirates captured a large commercial ship.

The rapid collapse of the Somali pirates since 2010 was no accident. It was all a matter of organization, international cooperation and innovation. It all began back in 2009 when 80 seafaring nations formed (with the help of a UN resolution) the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia. The most visible aspect of the Contact Group was the organization of an anti-piracy patrol off the Somali coast. This came to consist of over two dozen warships and several dozen manned and unmanned aircraft, as well as support from space satellites and major intelligence and police agencies.

[madokie]

19. Been reading about this for a while now

[chrisa]

20. And Mexican Cartels who kidnap women as slaves and behead people are just misunderstood!

[ZombieHorde]

21. Maybe they are.

"Our" side does things just as vile.

[Bonx]

22. They're not.

Unless you consider chopping live women & children to death with a machete & filming it & sharing it with the world via social media as a warning to be 'just misunderstood'.

[Texasgal]

23. I had no idea that these pirates

were environmental crusaders! Whoa.