Thread: Is Toxic Waste Behind Somali Piracy?

I know you guys think that this is a big joke but, living in Italy, I can tell you that part of the story is true. Illegally dumping toxic waste, and waste in general, is a very big business for the Mafia here.

Of course it's true. What better place to skirt dumping laws than in The Land of the Lawless?

Does the fact that it is true (if indeed it is), and that these peoples' land/water was mistreated excuse their behavior?
It might lead us to UNDERSTAND the problem, but it does not solve it.

I don't care who you are. If you attack a human being, that human being has the right to defend themselves (lawful arrest, etc not included, of course), and if you attack the sailors or other citizens of a country, that country has the right to protect them. Even if you are from a class of people who have been mistreated.

Originally Posted by smokelaw1

Does the fact that it is true (if indeed it is), and that these peoples' land/water was mistreated excuse their behavior?
It might lead us to UNDERSTAND the problem, but it does not solve it.

I don't care who you are. If you attack a human being, that human being has the right to defend themselves (lawful arrest, etc not included, of course), and if you attack the sailors or other citizens of a country, that country has the right to protect them. Even if you are from a class of people who have been mistreated.

Yes, I agree with that ... but the question I would pose is, "Do you want to put a band-aid on the problem, or do you want a solution that goes to the root of the problem?"

Sure, we could send in warships and shoot up the place (we're good at that) but the problem of criminality will just pop up in another way. Somewhat like our highly successful wars on drugs, terrorism, etc. My attitude here is the same as my attitude towards Israel and the Palestinians: if you have a people living in misery (through no fault of their own) they have a right to do what they need to do to survive. If you don't do something to amerliorate that suffering, you're going to have to deal with the consequences. If your answer is force, you just perpetuate the problem, it will never go away and you will be wasting precious resources that could be used better elsewhere.

Originally Posted by Chimensch

I know you guys think that this is a big joke but, living in Italy, I can tell you that part of the story is true. Illegally dumping toxic waste, and waste in general, is a very big business for the Mafia here.

Originally Posted by Blade Wielder

Of course it's true. What better place to skirt dumping laws than in The Land of the Lawless?

Then let them attack Mafia ships from Italy and not dozens of innocent ships from all over the world.

Google can find many more balanced descriptions of what is going on. For starters see this wikipedia entry: Piracy in Somalia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. First paragraph...

Piracy off the Somali coast has been a threat to international shipping since the beginning of Somalia's civil war in the early 1990s.^[1] Since 2005, many international organizations, including the International Maritime Organization and the World Food Programme, have expressed concern over the rise in acts of piracy.^[2] Piracy has contributed to a rise in shipping costs and impeded the delivery of food aid shipments. Ninety percent of the World Food Programme's shipments arrive by sea, and ships have required a military escort.^[3] According to the Kenyan foreign minister, Somali pirates have received over US$150 million during the 12 months prior to November 2008.^[4]

Originally Posted by Chimensch

... If you don't do something to amerliorate that suffering, you're going to have to deal with the consequences. If your answer is force, you just perpetuate the problem, it will never go away and you will be wasting precious resources that could be used better elsewhere.

Some of the hijacked ships were involved in the various aid programs that are sending many millions of dollars of food, medicine, etc. to Somalia. Should those shipments be protected with force?

The recent hijacking that made the news is described here: Reuters AlertNet - Crew regain control of hijacked ship off Somalia. Note the following paragraph:

Maritime officials said the Maersk Alabama was carrying food aid for Somalia and Uganda from Djibouti to Mombasa, a Kenyan port, when it was seized far out in the Indian Ocean.