Canadian journalist Jay Bahadur spent weeks with the sea robbers to understand the workings of the groups and why the international community's ‘solutions' won't really help
By Omar Shariff, Deputy Editor, Weekend Review
Image Credit: Supplied
American obsession with the “war on terror”, which has in no small measure fuelled the rise of piracy in Somalia.Image 1 of 212
War. Famine. Lawlessness. Somalia, a failed state if ever there was one, seems blighted by fate. But in the past few years, especially since 2008, the issue of piracy off the coast of the Horn of Africa has ensured that the country constantly remains in the headlines, for all the wrong reasons. Since 1991, after the fall of brutal dictator Mohammad Siad Barre, Somalia has not had a functioning central government. There is no proper police force, let alone a navy to guard its more than 3,300 kilometre coast.
What originated as an attempt by some Somali fishermen to defend their nation's territorial waters against blatantly illegal fishing by unscrupulous trawlers from countries such as Taiwan has well and truly mutated into robbery on the high seas. As Jay Bahadur informs us in Deadly Waters: Inside the Hidden World of Somalia's Pirates, the pirates call themselves badaadinta badah or "saviours of the sea" — the coastguard, in other words. But ordinary Somalis see them for what they are: burcad badeed, which literally means "ocean robber".
Bored with writing tedious reports for a Chicago-based market research firm, Bahadur tried sending unanswered pitches to various editors and planning ways of getting his name in print. He then bought a ticket to Somalia and left the comfort of his hometown, Toronto.
In an interview with Weekend Review, he said: "Going to Somalia and trying to sell a book (before I had even had so much as a newspaper article published) was certainly an unusual way to go about becoming a journalist, but I had run out of ideas. Before piracy started making headlines in 2008, I had already intended to go to Somalia to cover the March 2009 election in [the self-declared republic of] Somaliland, by way of breaking into journalism; I was absolutely fascinated with Somaliland's homegrown democracy, and wanted to bring word of its success to international attention.
Image Credit: Supplied
American obsession with the “war on terror”, which has in no small measure fuelled the rise of piracy in Somalia.Image 1 of 212
War. Famine. Lawlessness. Somalia, a failed state if ever there was one, seems blighted by fate. But in the past few years, especially since 2008, the issue of piracy off the coast of the Horn of Africa has ensured that the country constantly remains in the headlines, for all the wrong reasons. Since 1991, after the fall of brutal dictator Mohammad Siad Barre, Somalia has not had a functioning central government. There is no proper police force, let alone a navy to guard its more than 3,300 kilometre coast.
What originated as an attempt by some Somali fishermen to defend their nation's territorial waters against blatantly illegal fishing by unscrupulous trawlers from countries such as Taiwan has well and truly mutated into robbery on the high seas. As Jay Bahadur informs us in Deadly Waters: Inside the Hidden World of Somalia's Pirates, the pirates call themselves badaadinta badah or "saviours of the sea" — the coastguard, in other words. But ordinary Somalis see them for what they are: burcad badeed, which literally means "ocean robber".
Bored with writing tedious reports for a Chicago-based market research firm, Bahadur tried sending unanswered pitches to various editors and planning ways of getting his name in print. He then bought a ticket to Somalia and left the comfort of his hometown, Toronto.
In an interview with Weekend Review, he said: "Going to Somalia and trying to sell a book (before I had even had so much as a newspaper article published) was certainly an unusual way to go about becoming a journalist, but I had run out of ideas. Before piracy started making headlines in 2008, I had already intended to go to Somalia to cover the March 2009 election in [the self-declared republic of] Somaliland, by way of breaking into journalism; I was absolutely fascinated with Somaliland's homegrown democracy, and wanted to bring word of its success to international attention.
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