The Pirates of Somalia

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The Pirates of Somalia Page 29

by Jay Bahadur


  An Antonov prop plane operated by Jubba Airways, Djibouti, June 2009.

  Next stop: Somalia. (Courtesy the author)

  Boyah, a pirate leader who has claimed to have hijacked more than twenty-five ships, with a Blue Jays T-shirt slung over his shoulder. (Courtesy the author)

  A Toyota Surf, the vehicle of choice for pirates. The “18” on the license plate indicates that it has been recently registered. (Courtesy Mohamad Farole)

  The view from the mayor’s office, Garowe. (Courtesy the author)

  The house of a pirate, Garowe. (Courtesy Mohamad Farole)

  President Abdirahman Farole (right) and Abdisamad Ali Shire (centre) in Dangorayo, the first stop on the president’s visit to Bossaso, February 2009. (Courtesy Mohamad Farole)

  Presidential palace, Bossaso. The Italian architecture harkens back to Somalia’s colonial period. (Courtesy the author)

  Puntland Finance Minister Farah Ali Jama (left), Interior Minister General Abdullahi Ahmed Jama Ilkajir (centre), and Vice President Abdisamad Ali Shire (right) discuss politics over lunch, Qardho. (Courtesy Mohamad Farole)

  Elders in Armo gather to bring an inter-clan dispute to President Farole’s attention. (Courtesy Mohamad Farole)

  Qardho prison: much-needed, but not yet operational. (Courtesy Mohamad Farole)

  The redoubtable Colonel Omar, dressed in his characteristic striped track suit, on the beach at Eyl. The Colonel served as my guide (and unofficial bodyguard) during my second trip to Somalia. (Courtesy the author)

  The Puntland Coast Guard during the tenure of the Hart Security. (AP Photo)

  Eyl Dawad: reports of pirate mansions have been greatly exaggerated. (Courtesy the author)

  The author in the village of Dangorayo, February 2009. (Courtesy Mohamad Farole)

  A broken down refrigerated transport container, indicative of the state of Eyl’s fishing economy. (Courtesy the author)

  The Nugaal River, evaporating at the onset of the hagaa, the second of Puntland dry seasons. The river originates in the highlands of Ethiopia, flowing into the Indian Ocean at Eyl. (Courtesy the author)

  My bodyguard Said, on the beach at Eyl. The MV Victoria, a German-owned cargo ship hijacked on May 5, 2009, is just visible at the horizon (centre). (Courtesy the author)

  The MV Victoria, being held at Eyl, June 2009. (Courtesy the author)

  Minions of the pirate leader Computer, a reported psychic, loading the day’s supplies for the Victoria. (Courtesy the author)

  The MV Marathon, a Dutch-owned cargo ship captured on May 7, 2009, being held at Dhanane. (Courtesy the author)

  One of the Marathon’s hijackers (left), chewing khat and chatting with Ombaali. (Courtesy the author)

  The half-finished house of the pirate leader Kadiye, on the outskirts of Garowe. (Courtesy the author)

  A pardoned prisoner receives one million Somali shillings (approximately $30) before being released. The same day, I interviewed three inmates sentenced to life in prison for piracy. (Courtesy Mohamad Farole)

  A pirate in the central pirate base of Hobyo, October 2008. (EPA)

  Constanţa, Romania: the largest port on the Black Sea. (Courtesy the author)

  Two packages containing ransom money parachute (top right) towards the MV Faina, a Ukrainian tank transport captured by pirates in September 2008. (US Navy)

  Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150), a US-led coalition assigned to combat Somali piracy in 2008. (US Navy)

  Wanini Kireri, the warden of Shimo La Tewa prison in Mombasa, Kenya, where more than one hundred suspected pirates currently await trial. (Courtesy the author)

  Abdiwahid “Joaar” Mahamed Hersi, director general of the Puntland Ministry of Fisheries, enjoying a break from the office. (Courtesy the author)

  The Japanese chemical tanker MV Golden Nori is refuelled by the USS Whidbey Island after being released by pirates led by Abdullahi “Boyah” Abshir, December 2008. (US Navy)

  The destroyer USS Bainbridge tows the lifeboat of the Maersk Alabama, the first US-flagged vessel attacked by pirates in two hundred years, April 2009. (US Navy)

  Pirates aboard a mothership, two attack skiffs in tow, surrender to US Navy forces, April 2009. (US Navy)

  The Maersk Alabama’s Captain Richard Phillips poses with Commander Frank Castellano of the USS Bainbridge, shortly after Bainbridge snipers rescued Phillips from his three Somali captors. (US Navy)

  In November 2008, the Saudi oil supertanker MV Sirius Star was captured by pirates belonging to Mohamed “Afweyne” Abdi Hassan’s “Somali Marines.” (US Navy)

  A US Coast Guard detachment boards a pirate mothership, May 2009. (US Navy)

  Abdiweli Muse, lone surviving hijacker of the Maersk Alabama, in New York facing trial, May 2009. In February 2011, Muse was sentenced to thirty-three years and nine months in federal prison. (Getty Images/AFP)

  Suspected pirates surrender to the USS Vella Gulf, February 2009. (US Navy)

  A pirate in Hobyo, October 2008. (Mohamed Dahir/AFP/Getty Images)

  The destroyer USS Farragut sinks an attack skiff after taking eleven pirates into custody, March 2010. (US Navy)

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Map of Somalia

  Map: Expansion of Pirate Operations

  Prologue: Where the White Man Runs Away

  1 Boyah

  2 A Short History of Piracy

  3 Pirate Lore

  4 Of Pirates, Coast Guards, and Fishermen

  5 Garaad

  6 Flower of Paradise

  7 The Land of Punt

  8 Momman

  9 The Policemen of the Sea

  10 The Law of the Sea

  11 Into the Pirates’ Lair

  12 Pirate Insider

  13 The Cadet and the Chief

  14 The Freakonomics of Piracy

  15 The Road’s End

  Epilogue: The Problems of Puntland

  Appendix 1: Simplified Somali Clan Tree

  Appendix 2: The Victoria Gang

  Appendix 3: Piracy Timeline

  Acknowledgements

  Notes

  Illustrations

 

 

 


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