planet earth looks blue

The Somali pirates went too far this time as US warships close in on the Indian Ocean.  For the first time an American citizen is held hostage, and for the first time in a century, an American ship has been attacked by pirates.  The Maersk Alabama  freight ship was carrying food aid for Somalia and Uganda.  The ship’s captain, Richard Phillips, is being held hostage in a life boat, while his ship is being run by his crew.  He let himself be taken hostage in exchange for the safety of the ship and crew.  The Alabama crew did manage to take a pirate hostage, but when they released him for Phillips, the pirates didn’t return their hostage.  What did they expect? - they’re pirates.  And now the pirates are surrounded by fully loaded warships, afraid that if they let Captain Phillips go, they’ll be killed.  As millions of dollars have traded hands over the past few months, the pirates have gotten used to taking prisoners, making money, and then allowing ships to pass.  No one has been killed so far, and it is doubtful that the US Captain would be the first - although cornering men into a state of terror and desperation might not be the wisest move to keep Phillips alive.

Somali officials have asked for help from the international community.  They have apparently petitioned everyone for some sort of support so they themselves can reign in the pirates, but no one has offered any assistance.  At this point, Somalia doesn’t have an actual working government, and the fishermen turned pirates have been able to act unchecked so far.  It may be too late at this point to simply reign in a problem that has gotten this far, that is founded on the chaos of years of civil war.

Meanwhile, now the United States at least is forced to focus on the Somali condition.  Many nations, including the US, have sent ships to patrol the waters before, and the international community has been sending food and aid for years, but until order is restored, and fishermen can be fishermen again, I don’t see how things are going to change, which means that Somali will continue to be a drain on everyone’s resources.  A scenario that could be reversed if the international community wanted to - help the country, really care about the people - don’t leave humanity to humanitarian groups, they can only do so much.  We all have to have humanity.  We all have to want the success and well-being of impoverished nations.  I’m sure they would love to be self-sufficient in Somalia, which is exactly why men are choosing to become pirates in the first place - they are trying to take control.