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All day, every September 19th, we celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day by basically saying “Arrrr!” But that sort of language is from another time and place (mainly Hollywood) -modern day pirates don’t talk like that. Real pirates in the modern world are liable to speak Somali, or other languages heard around the Horn of Africa.
The Horn of Africa is without question the hotbed of piracy today. A quick glance at the International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Centre Live Piracy Map shows a dense thicket of attacks, and even though some analysis indicates that the areas of attacks may be decreasing in size, and that the frequency of successful attacks is decreasing, the density of attack is increasing and the risk of attacks remains high. And the focus of this activity remains Somalia.
What languages are these pirates saying? Based on the IMB’s reported risk zones, and country data for Somalia from the CIA’s World Factbook, they are probably speaking in Somali, Arabic (probably a Yemeni dialect), Italian (a vestige of Somalia’s colonial heritage) or English.
Wired’s Danger Room blog has a handy chart with common phrases you may need if you encounter these pirates, in English, Somali, and Yemeni. Link -via Boing Boing
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Mohamed A. Mohamed was a native of Somalia living in Buffalo, New York for the past twenty years. When the president of Somalia asked him to become the prime minister of the war torn country he took the job to try and do some good for his countrymen. Now nine months later he is back at his office cubicle job for the Department of Transportation.
A few photos of him as premier were tacked to his wall by colleagues, the only visible reminder that these last nine months weren’t a dream.
“It’s a different feeling when you’re heading a whole nation and you come back to your normal life,” Mohamed said. “It’s a little awkward, to tell you the truth.”
Mohamed, 49, a Somali native who resettled in Buffalo more than 20 years ago, was forced out as Somalia’s prime minister in June, ending his remarkable months-long odyssey as abruptly as it began.
He returned to his job at the DOT on Thursday, as he tries to settle into his old life as civil servant, husband and father living on Grand Island.
Pirates operating in the waters off of Somalia have opened a stock exchange in order to encourage investment in their industry. The market has thrived, and the exchange now provides a business forum for 72 “maritime companies”. Mohamed Ahmed writes for Reuters:
It is a lucrative business that has drawn financiers from the Somali diaspora and other nations — and now the gangs in Haradheere have set up an exchange to manage their investments.[...]
“Four months ago, during the monsoon rains, we decided to set up this stock exchange. We started with 15 ‘maritime companies’ and now we are hosting 72. Ten of them have so far been successful at hijacking,” Mohammed said.
“The shares are open to all and everybody can take part, whether personally at sea or on land by providing cash, weapons or useful materials … we’ve made piracy a community activity.”
Link via io9 | Image: US Department of State
Bad idea: being a Somali pirate and attacking …
Really bad idea: … in the middle of the night …
Neatorama-worthy: a ship that turns out to be a French navy ship!
Admiral Prazuck told French TV station La Chaine Info the pirates seemed to be surprised that the navy ship fought back.
"Once they realised they were facing a ship that was responding and was heading towards them, they stopped shooting and attempted to flee," he said.
Perhaps this is the way to deal with Somali pirates, and get a little R&R at the same time: a Russian luxury cruise line is offering wealthy customers the chance to hunt pirates!
Wealthy punters pay £3,500 per day to patrol the most dangerous waters in the world hoping to be attacked by raiders.
When attacked, they retaliate with grenade launchers, machine guns and rocket launchers, reports Austrian business paper Wirtschaftsblatt.
Passengers, who can pay an extra £5 a day for an AK-47 machine gun and £7 for 100 rounds of ammo, are also protected by a squad of ex special forces troops.
Update 6/26/09 – It’s a hoax, though I think the proposed (morbid and not to mention unethical) solution is still a matter of interesting debate – Thanks rb!
