UN can't make difference, says pirate

Garowe: Yassin Dheere is a 39-year-old Somali who took to piracy five years ago and has made a fortune from the mushrooming business.

Dressed in expensive-looking traditional robes, he stroked an AK-47 rifle as he told his story, starting with his birth in a notorious pirates' haven.

"I was born in Eyl town and I used to be a fisherman. ... I was forced to hijack foreign ships after the central government collapsed. No one was monitoring the sea, and we couldn't fish properly, because the ships which trawl the Somali coasts illegally would destroy our small boats and equipment. That is what forced us to become pirates.

"The first time I was involved in hijacking a ship was 2003. It must have been Arabian, there were 18 Yemeni crew. It was a big fishing ship that destroyed our boats several times.

"We surrounded it with our boats and seized it at gunpoint at night. We did not know these modern methods of using hooks and ladders, so we got near with our boats and climbed on.

"We held it for two weeks, then some Somali and Arab mediators stepped in to negotiate. We were convinced to take $50,000 (Dh183,500) as compensation. Gosh! This was a huge amount for us. That inspired us and gave us an appetite for hunting ships ...

"It's difficult to stay being a pirate but we have changed our previous strategies. We have transformed our operations in the Indian Ocean with new types of attacks, using modern equipments including GPS to show us where warships are passing ...

"At the moment we have a new, active young generation which wants to take part in piracy. They mostly like money.

"If the UN gives approval to fight pirates on land, that will only lead to death of innocent Somalis. They cannot differentiate us from ordinary Somalis ... Piracy will not stop unless we get a government."

Piracy seems like a bright career prospective in Somalia! Something should definitely be done to stop the promotion of such crimes. They do not seem to understand that what they are doing is wrong.
Sonia Kamal
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: April 12, 2009, 11:22