Transcript English IOP
The following… Based on a National Bestseller, “Dark Star Safari” By Paul Theroux “Relentlessly engaging… Theroux demonstrates how a traveler’s finely wrought observations… sometimes offer the best political and social analysis.” – Washington Post Questions: Where/how did it begin? Who are the real victims? What kind of impact has foreign ships had on Somalia? What is being done? Who are they? Somali Pirates are Sea Bandits / Coastguards Living in Somalia, East Africa They consider themselves Coastguards, not sea bandits. "We don't consider ourselves sea bandits. We consider sea bandits those who illegally fish in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas. We are simply patrolling our seas. Think of us like a coast guard.” – New York Times, interview of Pirate. Civil War • 1980 - Under the rule of Siad Barre, Barre ordered his men to slaughter many innocent Somali civilians • 1986 - Revolution breaks out against Barre • 1991 - Siad Barre forced out of power • Siad Barre exiled, civil war carries on between warlords • Severe droughts force hundreds and thousands of Nomads to move to the coast, they develop communities. • They depended on fish as a way of life • Illegal fishing starts taking place from foreign countries 1992 – UN and US troops land in Somalia 1993 – A war broke out between Somalia and the US/UN troops During a rescue mission, a US helicopter was shot down which killed everyone on board except for Michael Durant who arrived back home as a hero. This was known as “Black Hawk Down” (theme for the 2001 Black Hawk Down film) 18 US troops killed, 84 wounded 1000-1500 Somali civilians killed US and UN troops withdrew from Somalia and let the warlords deal with the mess. 2000’s Somalia fishermen defend themselves and their territory, but so do the illegal fishing ships 2004 – Tsunami washes up evidence on the beaches of illegal toxic waste dumping. 2005 - UN estimated that 700 foreign fishing vessels illegally fish in Somalia waters 2004 Tsunami Evidence of illegal toxic waste dumping in Somali waters Barrels are washed up on shore Millions of fish die People start getting radiation sickness and die Toxic waste barrels being removed after 2004 Tsunami. Dumping continued… With all the waste industrial companies had created, they found it easier and cheaper just to dump the waste somewhere unnoticeable Started dumping in most developing countries in Africa Businesses found this very profitable and found many creative methods of getting rid waste This was called “Project Urano” developed by Italian businesses Dumping in Somalia BUT!..... Businesses were soon told that they were not allowed to dump waste in the oceans and Africa anymore They had ships that were designed to sink with all the waste on it After “Project Urano” failed, industrial companies businesses had developed, “Project Urano II” Contained information which decided that Somalia would be picked as the new toxic waste dumping site. Bosaso Road After finding evidence of dumping in Somalia, more evidence had suggested that more toxic waste barrels had been dumped under the “Bosaso Road” Somalia Dealt with civil wars, illegal fishing and dumping Hit with every “curve ball” possible which has destroyed the countries The result of these disasters has given Somalia an unstable government, corruption, pirates and the whole world has turned against them. Piracy The illegal fishing and toxic waste dumping made Somalia's very angry and they had not much choice but to act in a violent way Targeted oncoming ships (fishing, coast guards, travel, etc.) Wanted ships to pay some form of tax Resulted in kidnapping, which lead to rape and murder Right now… Different countries have struggled to shut down the pirates Developed patrols Increase security on ships (naval and tourist ships) Tried to avoid them Final thoughts I really have a lot of sympathy for Somalia War and illegal activity have destroyed the country and I think it will take a very long time for them to come back from this mess The things they do (kidnap, rape, murder) are definitely wrong, but before you blame them, before you label them, look back at who started this and who is really to blame “We’re always too quick to judge an open book, sometimes it pays to read between the lines, a lesson to be learnt only set by the truth.” – Jasmina Siderovski “Don’t be too quick to judge if you don’t know the whole truth” – JP De Villiers Work Cited: http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/04/13/us-somalia-piracy-qandasb-idUSTRE53B20A20090413 http://goafrica.about.com/od/africanews/a/pirates.htm http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~ahmed24h/pirates/interview.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy_in_Somalia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFCqLNyOSrs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mogadishu_(1993) http://www.somaliaonline.com/community/showthread.php/23684Tsunami-and-the-Nuclear-wastes-in-Somalia