Paul Goldsmith
12 October 2008
(Page 2 of 2)
Meanwhile, the force of African Union peacekeepers that are supposed to replace the Ethiopians and the small Uganda contingent is unlikely to materialise.
If the Bush regime's "Long War on Terror" (LWOT) has effectively maintained a focus on internal events in Somalia, its narrow focus on the several individuals linked to Al Qaeda, like the quest to neutralise Aideed, has proved disastrous for governance across the Horn of Africa.
Although US air strikes have vaporised at least two of the prominent Islamicist outlaws, their colleagues survived to scuttle the political dialogue offered by the Djibouti accord.
There is no reason to expect a change in the contemporary status quo -- itself a product of misguided interests, bungled interventions, and naked opportunism -- or incentive for the international community to meaningful engage.
But this has changed since the Pirates of Puntland waltzed on to centrestage.
The return of the tanks
Compared with other Somali inhabited regions, conditions in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland are in many ways exceptional.
Large expanses of Puntland are true desert, yielding pasture during short and unpredictable bursts of rain that, in some places, may only appear twice a decade. The maritime plains and low mountain on their fringe are called guban, the burnt land.
As in the case of Kenya's overcrowded Central Province, these conditions pushed the predominantly Majertain clan inhabitants to seek education and employment in the colonial administration.
Large numbers of Majertain migrated south, many settling in cosmopolitan Kismayu after independence. The turbulence erupting in the south forced many of them to undertake the precarious journey back to Puntland.
Thousands of these internally displaced persons live in camps on the outskirts of Bossaso, swelling the population of this isolated gubanistan to an estimated 800,000 souls.
A VISIT TO PUNTLAND LAST year introduced this well-travelled writer to the most forbidding landscape I have ever seen.
Puntland makes Kenya's most arid district, Marsabit, appear lush in comparison. Except for several tame gazelle in the walled compound where I stayed in Bossaso, I did not see one domestic animal on the ground or from the air; no one I talked to could report seeing man or animal during the eight-hour journey to Puntland's capital, Garowe.
I was pleasantly surprised by the popularity of fish in the local cafes and the extent to which Kiswahili is spoken in the port and in the streets.
Bossaso's port, a larger version of Lamu's main jetty, is the engine of the Puntland economy and competes successfully with the modern facilities in Berbera. Yemeni-style wedding cake high-rises are sprouting along the oceanfront.
Security is at best tenuous. A mid-day shootout at a petrol station caused a traffic jam while I was there, and armed youth manning mobile roadblocks routinely collect cash and mobile phones after 8pm.
Wahabi fundamentalists now control most of Bossaso's mosques, while the persistence of Eastleigh-style nightlife provides a counterpoint.
The rise of Bossaso's role as the headquarters of the piracy sector is consistent with these trends. Puntland's long coastline borders Africa's richest fishing grounds but Somalia's marine fishery has declined to less than 10 per cent of the tonnage recorded before the governance meltdown.
When Kenya's Environment Minister, Francis Lotodo, finally chased away the foreign trawlers that used to light up the coastal horizon at night in 1997, the poachers moved north to the waters off Puntland.
The shimmering offshore lights induced impoverished entrepreneurs to join the illicit food chain. Unlike the occasional reports of small freighters (usually transporting famine relief) coming under attack while at dock, it follows this activity went unreported at the time.
The growth of the pirate industry followed the usual curve, and began to spike in 2006. Capital investment enabled the maritime mooryan to range over 200 kilometres offshore; a captured vessel was converted into a mother ship and the self-proclaimed Central Somalia Coast Guard began to justify their designation as pirates proper.
Details of the operation have circulated in the press of late: 60 ships captured, $30 million in ransom, the TFG's laissez faire stance, a money trail leading from the pirates' cove in Eyl to Garowe, Nairobi, and Canada; and imputed links to Al Shabaab militias.
But comparisons to the Carribean privateers who transformed the British colony of Port Royale into the party capital of the New World are superficial; the Pirates of Puntland are social bandits in the tradition of Robin Hood, not buccaneers.
They steal from the rich and share the cash with extremely poor communities. If the investors claim the lion's share according to local custom, their spokesman, Ali Sugulle, reports that the syndicate also funds local community development projects.
Unlike Captain John Morgan's crew, they don't kill and torture their captives for entertainment. Instead, they treat their captives humanely and share the same food and housing.
A British captain who spent several weeks in their hands told the BBC they gave him a goat, although he did not realise the significance of this gesture of Somali hospitality: "For some reason, they gave us a goat, which we took in as pet; but several days later, they slaughtered the animal and cooked him for us to eat."
These "Jalle Rogers" deviate from the universal pirate code and return the cargo intact along with the ransomed crew.
Like most of the reportage emerging out of stateless Somalia, the pirate phenomenon raises unanswered questions.
The lack of response on the international level -- US, EU, regional governments -- is an anomaly.
Why seek a UN security council resolution? Bush did not seek approval to shell the mountains behind Eyl when intelligence reported Hassan Dahir Aweis to be in the vicinity.
Why should the US intervene directly after Russia sent a warships, especially right after facing off with Putin over Georgia?
This in turn leads to the events in Ukraine and the enmity between the Orange faction and Mother Russia, raising the question, "Are these Ukrainian tanks or are they Russian tanks on an Ukrainian freighter? What if it was a Chinese shipment?"
These and other factors contradict the claims that pirate money is funding jihadi insurgents. Who is Al Shabaab anyway? Al Shabaab militias began popping up everywhere after the demise of the notorious Aden Hashi "Airo." Insurgency will stay in fashion until the Ethiopians depart.
Of course, the government of the day in Kenya once again finds itself caught in a dodgy position; why does Kenya, or the GOSS (government of Southern Sudan), need obsolete war machines like fuel-guzzling tanks anyway?
Looking at the big picture, the Pirates of Puntland have been extracting taxes from a neglectful international system.
The capitalist high-roaders have gone multinational. For example: The first reference to the three pirates who died after exposure to toxic chemicals on an captured Iranian ship is buried on page seven when you Google "Somali pirates."
It is wholly consistent for the excess-prone Somalis to ruin a good thing by pushing the envelope. It follows that, by the end of the day, the surcharges and premiums charged by shippers and insurers will trump by far the cash collected by the pirates.
Imagine that.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2008 The East African. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
Since the first time I came across your website i have noticed one thing,and that is you write negative articles and sometimes sweet dividing news about Somalia.We have good old days in our past ,present and same will come in the future.I usually dont believe what the west says about Africa nor what their students say about my country's past or present.I do read and do my own research to know whats fact and whats fiction.One thing is clear Somalia will come back united,strong and prosperous.For those who are campaigning to separate the North West from the rest of the country;You can not stand against the majority of the Somali people who believe a United Somalia.And the country should be one in peace or two in war.Most clans in the North(Somaliland) including the major powerful Dhulbahante,Warsangeli and the oppressed Gaboye are against the secession
This article is disjointed in its presentation. While the "writer" (I use that word loosely) might be a seasoned traveler, he has only elemental knowledge of Somalia's history, politics and culture. One takes from this article that Al-Shabab and the pirates in Puntland are one and the same group. That is hardly the case.
Somalis in Greater Somalia (the 5 stars) are fiercely independent nation (read here as culturally unique from others in the region) and do not take lightly that foreigners are pillaging their natural marine resources. While I am no fan of the pirates' tactics in enforcing this goal, I nevertheless understand why some say that the end justifies the means and they are playing a crucial role that the international community abandoned long ago.
Mr. Goldsmith,
I enjoyed reading your article. I would differ with you on two points.
First, the placement of a news story on GOOGLE regarding Somali pirates who died from some chemical exposure on a captured Iranian ship has nothing to do with how the rest of the world ranks the current crisis in Somalia.
Second, the death of 3 pirates on the Iranian ship was a claim that has never been substantiated. The claim was issued by a government official whose motivation is the elimination of piracy in Somalia. What better way to end piracy than to bring the West into the problem and no better way to grab the West than to claim chemical weapons on the ship were responsible for the deaths. And no better boggy man for this unproven claim than the chemical weapons were the property of those evil Iranians. Cue Oliver Stone and Michael Moore for the movie of the week.
No one is taking the bait. Unless proven, such cheap theatrics will only backfire on Somalia and reinforce for the West that a decision to remain aloof from the problems in Somalia was the right one. Offer some solid proof sir and you will be money ahead. Otherwise, your arguments fall on deaf ears.
R/ Mike
What stupidity. Does anyone who reads these article possess either intelligence or education or knowledge of the world? True the west has ignored Africa other than protecting its own interest. That must stop. We need to protect all opressed? Just because they cannot make it to our shores does not mean they do not deserve to be free. Stop piracy. We should do as the mullahs did. They steal ships. We steal their life. The world needs to unite to follow this doctrine in these dire times. We cannot even deliver humanitarian aid because we allow these terrorists to live and breed in this lawless area. Stop them. Kill them. Then bring in the aid for all of those who need to feed their children and mothers and who want to live in peace and harmony with their fellow man. For to long we have allowed the muslim fundamentalists to propagate and infringe on the rights of all of the people in this area. We do not need a Christian Crusade to save this area. We need a world Crusade to help our brothers and sisters live without fear or intimidation. So sayeth the Lord our God.
To Irasmus:
We need world JIHAD in the area not crusade. After all Islam is the predominant religion in the area. Crusade has a negative connotation in this overwhelmingly muslim region. I suppose world JIHAD can be brought to your neck of the woods, too. Let's say you.
The worst,most misleading article I have ever read!The author is biased and he should be cited for everything he wrote.Yet it looks as if he was bribed by some Somali clans to insult them others.Everything he wrote about people,land and history is an insult to Somali people.Shame on you.