Piracy, it’s an ancient profession of robbery and violence at sea that arguably dates back to 5000 B.C. when Sumerians from Mesopotamia in search of fame and fortune sailed the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers in boats made of wood and animal skins.
With Sumerian boats laden with valuable treasures, enemies and thieves who sailed the same waters, would on occasion, challenge Sumerian sailors for outright ownership of boat, cargo and crew, creating through their efforts, a new profession and a new industry.
In the 21st century, Somali pirates who closely monitor the Indian Ocean have revived an “old school” profession, proving that the more things change, the more they really remain the same.
In the News...
On Sunday after 388 days of being held hostage by Somali pirates, the family and friends of retired British adventurers Paul and Rachel Chandler were finally able to exhale a collective sigh of relief, celebrating with sincere humility, the couple’s safe release from Somali gangsters. The couple’s liberation ended the most prolonged and dramatic hostage catastrophe to rock the U.K. in decades.
Motivated by the prospect of receiving a “king’s ransom” in exchange for the life of kidnapped foreigners, every two-bit scoundrel on Africa’s east coast with access to a fast boat, a determined crew and a cache of weapons, is fully aware that with a little patience and a lot of luck, they too can become instant millionaires.
Shortly after their 4 a.m. release to Somali negotiators, Paul and Rachel Chandler were quickly shuttled to a safe-house in Mogadishu. At the safe-house, they showered and changed into clean clothes. Mentally and physically drained from their horrific ordeal, they took a 90-minute nap and upon awakening, were treated to a British breakfast of fried eggs.
Looking fatigued and at least twenty pounds thinner, both husband and wife managed to smile throughout a small ceremony that was held in their honor in the Somali town of Adado.
According to the leader of the government administration in Adado, Mohamed Aden, every effort to free the couple by the Somali diaspora – the weak Mogadishu-based government – and Great Britain had failed, that is until Sunday.
“We are happy to be alive, happy to be here, desperate to see our family, and so happy to be amongst decent, everyday people from anywhere in the world who are not criminals”. Rachel Chandler said at a news conference in Mogadishu.
Later that evening, the exhausted couple left Somalia and arrived by plane in neighboring Kenya. Landing at Nairobi’s international airport, Rachel Chandler sounding both tired and relieved, told The Associated Press via phone: "We are happy to be alive."
The couple’s nightmare began on October 23, 2009 while sailing from the island nation of Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. Like “thieves in the night’, pirates armed with rocket propelled grenades and automatic rifles, forcibly boarded the Chandler’s 38-foot yacht threatening to kill them both if they resisted. Understanding the gravity of their situation, the Chandlers obeyed the agitated pirates.
The violent act by the pirates abruptly ended the couple’s planned six-month sea voyage. Married for nearly 30 years, both Paul and Rachel quickly realized that in order to survive their ordeal, they would have to cooperate as a team with men who regarded them as little more than objects of trade.
Britain's Foreign Office has always insisted that the British government never pays any ransom to hostage takers. A spokeswoman said the ministry wasn't immediately able to comment on the release.
The Chandlers do not come from a wealthy background, which is part of the reason their hostage ordeal took so long. A serious attempt to free them was made in June, according to a Nairobi-based Western official. Somewhere in the neighborhood of $450,000 was dropped from a plane to free the couple, but because of a break down in communication between the pirates and a different group of negotiators, the deal to free the couple fell through.
A spokesperson from the Chandler family said during prolonged negotiations with the pirates that it was "a difficult task" to get the couple’s captors to understand that the Chandlers were "two retired people on a sailing trip on a small private yacht and not part of a major commercial enterprise" worth tens of millions of dollars.
The statement said that "common sense finally prevailed" and a solution was found. The family said it would not comment on questions about payment to the pirates so as not to encourage the capture of other private individuals.
After rest and a complete medical examination in Nairobi the Chandlers will return to London where family and friends anxiously await them.
Over the last several years Somali pirates have made tens of millions of dollars from kidnapping foreigners and asking for exuberant ransoms.
In an attempt to protect the 25,000 ships which transit through the Indian Ocean sea-lanes each year and carry much of the world’s trade and energy supplies, the US, UK, Europe, China, India and several other countries began joint naval operations in 2008. The joint naval mission has had some successes. However, until the Somali government decides that stopping “homegrown” pirates is indeed in their best interest, expect to hear of more stories of Somali hoodlums kidnapping foreign crews and cargo in exchange for untold wealth.
Commentary
Who would have thought some 7000 years after Sumerian sailors first sailed the high seas with precious cargo, Somalis in eastern Africa, motivated by a lack of opportunity and a weak government would make “thuggery at sea” aka piracy, a most favorable and desirable profession for men and women hungry for instant fame and fortune.
One can only speculate with the number of successful kidnappings at sea this year standing at 790 and International Chamber of Commerce experts fearing that last year’s record number of 867 kidnappings will soon be surpassed, if indeed the success of today’s 21st century Somali pirates who stealthily patrol the Indian Ocean can be traced back to well backed financiers with “special” connections in high government places; an after thought of intrigue that only time and military intelligence will be able to truthfully answer.
Until next time Louisianans…. Good Day, God Bless and Good Fishing.
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