In the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, a young British Captain James Norrington proposed a single solution to all Piracy problems, with a “short drop and a sudden stop”, much to the uncomfortable shudder of a young Elizabeth Swann. While the effect was comic, it actually highlighted a very effective strategy of the Europeans during the 17th-18th century to tackle the single most disruptive threat to the maritime traffic during the Sunny days of Europe.
However times have changed. If any politician or government officer proposes the sentence of hanging to tackle pirates these days, even before any actual action takes place, there will be protests and candle light marches. And probably the desperate pleas of the widow of some Nigerian prince in his mailbox will have competition with hate mails from some odd rights group somewhere.
Agreed, Pirates have rights. The pirates, if at all they are caught by the multi nation fleet guarding the Somalian coasts, are generally given medical checkups, biscuits and dry fruits, cigarettes, and are left to go home, after a trial, which almost inevitably always proves that the host country don’t have any facility to lock them up. Occasional engagements are also there. We see rare headlines of Chinese merchant vessels saved from pirate attack, when the mothership is destroyed by Indian navy. Imagine the situation in the Chinese Governmental Public Relations department, when they have to acknowledge their ship was saved by their southern neighbours, with whom they share the most “cordial” of relationship? Oh…the horror…
A serious aspect however is often neglected. What of the hundreds of sailor, and seamen, currently in captivity in some unhygienic Somalian coastal village? Most of these seamen are poor fishermen or merchant navy hands and a majority of them are the sole bread earners for their family in East Asia. Don’t they have human rights? The family of four pensioners from US, who wanted to sail to Mumbai, but were killed by the pirates in a botched attempt? Some questions are not to be raised.
Often these pirates are high on drugs, known as “Khats” in local parlance, which makes them savage during an operation. Naturally they are out of their sense in judging which vessel to attack, and which to be spared. There have been hilarious examples of attempts to rob and attack military vessels of Dtch and Russian navies, which the pirates couldn’t identify and mistook for merchant vessels. The result is obvious. But they are rare instances. The reality is much more grim. Here are the stats. Over 800 seamen still hostage, some captive for years, over 5.4 million dollar, is the cost of an average ransom to a group of pirates, and a staggering amount over 2 billion dollar spent on task force operations in and around the coast of Somalia each year. The total cost to Global economy, over 12 billion dollars, due to costly reroutes, hijack, and ransom amounts combined.
That is obviously leaving the number of people who died.
Why this lack of concern? “Most of the captives are not from EU, NATO or wealthy nations. Most of them from India, and Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and some other Asian countries. If they we’re Europeans, Americans or Japanese there would be worldwide media outrage.” says Rick Blears, who is spearheading a campaign called “Save Our Seafarers”, in reply to my email. “We now have the support of 22 global shipping associations, and we are constantly campaigning to the politicians, to stiffen their political will. Somalia’s intractable problems, however caused, cannot be used as an excuse for this barbarous, sustained attack on a virtually defenceless but essential industry.”
Does that sound like racism on the part of politicians? It is not. Me being from India, I can assure that out governments, and that of most of the Asian countries don’t value the lives of their citizens like their European or American counterparts.
The other question is obviously Somalian situation. With no effective government from 1991, the coastal towns are a hub of this kidnapping and hostage business. No effective administration, no law and order, and a steady pearl of villages and towns at the disposal of the pirates, who use it as bases from where they get a steady supply of arms, foods, and fuel. Also as mentioned above, these pirates are not the romanticized modern Jack Sparrows. Many of them are members of the outlawed Islamist Al Shabab group, an affiliate of Al Qaeda, and a hefty amount of these ransom fits into their agenda of global jihad.
There have been retaliations too. Atleast over five motherboards were destroyed in “combat”, by Indian, and US navies. A bunch of pirates just “disappeared” in the sea, on their way back, after an engagement with Russian Marine Commandos. President Medvedev of Russia warned of treating the pirates the same way, “as our forefathers did with them.”
But that’s not a permanent solution. Without genuine and effective strategy, this fight against piracy, is inconsistent, based on the effectiveness of the Navy guarding the stretch of the sea, and tend to be vigilante at times. Without any legal legislations, over 80 percent of the pirates are let off even after being caught. And without any effective coastal base these pirates just go back, re-arm and venture out for a new assault. Any operation of a bunch of Navies is meaningless without land bases across the Somalian coast. It only increases the cost, and the burden on the taxpayers, without providing any effective solution.
Before ending, here’s a story. Admiral Lord Sir Edward Pellew, First Viscount Exmouth, ordered his troops to negotiate with pirates in the Barbary coast of Algeria with “nothing other than bullets”. Result was a piracy free trade zone in the coast, and a stoppage on slave trading.
But, that was a different time, a different era. Those men knew something, which we forgot over the ages. The policy of “Blood and Iron Fist”. Often for greater good, one has to take actions which might be tough, and to some extent brutal.
For that, a strong will and a strong spine is needed. Which is a rarity these days.
