Since the hijack of the Sirius Star on November 17 the world has focused on Somali piracy. In this report, we talk with pirates and those who live in the towns nearby, to uncover how and why they do it.
‘We climbed aboard and demanded the captain stop’, tells one pirate calmly. ‘When we got our money…we released them’. Pirates claim that their country has had no effective government for 20 years and piracy is one of the few ways to make money. In Garowe, where much of the money ends up, they are applauded. ‘I very much support the pirates, nobody else gives us anything.’ But in Eyl, pirates are seen as armed youths after ‘easy money’.
Nick Sturdee, SMI Productions
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