No one wants to be a pirate.

Instead of my usual post, today I present a video created by myself on the topic of the Somali Pirates. The main reason I created this video was to discuss not what the pirates are doing but rather why they are doing it. No one wants to be a pirate and the only reason Somalis have gone this route is to solve some of their problems.

While this doesn’t justify their criminal actions, it does behoove us as citizens of the world to examine why they are doing these actions and see if there is anything that can be done to resolve the issue without simply resorting to violence.

Ever since the bloody rescue of the captured American captain, Somalia is back in full frontal view of the American viewing audience, which hasn’t really happened since the Black Hawk incident back in the 90’s. Letting this problem linger since then is one of the many causes of the issues Somalia is facing.

Since the fall of the state back in the 90’s Somalia has been in constant turmoil over warlords and gunmen. This has led to a very destabilized society without any source of money, food, or growth.

Along with this issue, one of Somalia’s main sources of food, its seas have been facing major issues over the last few years. Overfishing from foreign boats who sign dubious deals with the “government” has taxed on villagers only source of food leaving many fishermen to take to arms to feed their families.

As well, one of the major concerns is the illegal dumping of toxic waste by foreign countries in the waters of Somalia. These actions threaten an already taxed and debilitated food source for the poor country.

These last two reasons have been cited by Somali Pirates as their primary concerns and justifications for their actions. They view their pirating and ransoming as a way to pay for food, medicine, supplies, and the removal and clean up of these illegal-dumping activities.

And with the spread of wealth as the money gets spent, the Somali citizenry becomes complacent with the use of illegal money to support their lives.

People shouldn’t have to resort to these activities simply to survive, and as citizens of the world in this global society we should look at solving the problems that are causing the criminal activity, not just punishing it. No one wants to be a pirate. We shouldn’t give them a reason to be.