Somali Pirates

In the fall of 2008 I had the opportunity to sit in on a community organization and development class at Houghton. I especially enjoyed the sections on artisan fisheries. So when I started reading about the increase in piracy in Somalia on the news, I decided to read a little more.

According to one report, the piracy began to be a problem about 10 years ago when, due to the lack of government regulation/enforcement in Somali waters, international fishing companies moved in and fished the locals right out of their livelihoods. Other corporations took advantage of the lack of enforcement to quietly get rid of toxic waste, which didn't get much attention in the news until waves from the 2005 tsunami, according to Al Jazeera, broke open several containers of toxic waste and washed the contents ashore.

So in response to these practices, small bands of fishermen began calling themselves the coast guard, hijacking fishing vessels and demanding recompense.

The straights of Malacca used to be the most pirated waters out there, but hijackings in 2008 off the coast of Somalia nearly tripled. It appears that the computer techies and militia warlords decided that the fishermen were on to something good, and they got a 30 million dollar a year 'business' going.

This sculpture reflects a little of my own perspective on the issue. There are more pictures of it on my Picasa web album.

cheers!