Durham man held hostage by Somalian pirates

Nov 20 2008 by Paul James, The Journal

Lifestyles of the rich and infamous

Somalia's sea pirates are making the most of their new-found wealth.

They are building sprawling houses, buying luxury cars, marrying beautiful women and even hiring caterers to prepare Western-style food for their hostages.

And in an impoverished country where every public institution has crumbled, they have become heroes in the coastal dens they operate from because they are the only real business in town.

"The pirates depend on us, and we benefit from them," said Sahra Sheik Dahir, a shop owner in Haradhere, the nearest village to where a hijacked Saudi Arabian supertanker carrying 100 million dollars in crude oil is anchored.

The boom towns are all the more shocking in light of Somalia’s violence and poverty: Radical Islamists control most of the country’s south, doling out lashings and stonings for accused criminals. There has been no effective central government in nearly 20 years, plunging the country into chaos.

Life expectancy is just 46 years; a quarter of children die before they reach five.

But in northern coastal towns like Haradhere, Eyl and Bossaso, the pirate economy is thriving thanks to the money pouring in from ransoms that have reached 30 million dollars this year alone.

In Haradhere, residents came out in droves to celebrate as the oil tanker appeared this week off the country’s lawless coast. Businessmen started gathering cigarettes, food and cold glass bottles of orange pop, setting up small kiosks for the pirates who come to shore to re-supply almost daily.

Ms Dahir said she is so confident in the pirates, she instituted a credit plan just for them.

"They always take things without paying and we put them into the book of debts," she said. ``Later, when they get the ransom money, they pay us a lot."

For Somalis, the simple fact that pirates offer jobs is enough to gain their esteem, even as hostages languish on ships for months. The population makes sure the pirates are well-stocked in qat, a popular narcotic leaf, and offer support from the ground even as the international community tries to quash them.

"Regardless of how the money is coming in, legally or illegally, I can say it has started a life in our town," said Shamso Moalim, a 36-year-old mother of five in Haradhere.

"Our children are not worrying about food now, and they go to Islamic schools in the morning and play soccer in the afternoon. They are happy."

Despite increased international presence, the pirates continue to seize ships, moving further out to sea and demanding ever-larger ransoms. They operate mostly from the semi-autonomous Puntland region, where local lawmakers have been accused of helping the pirates and taking a cut of the ransoms.

For the most part, however, the regional officials say they have no power to stop piracy.

Meanwhile, towns that once were eroded by years of poverty and chaos are now bustling with restaurants, Land Cruisers and internet cafes. Residents also use their gains to buy generators - allowing full days of electricity, once an unimaginable luxury in Somalia.

There are no reliable estimates of the number of pirates operating in Somalia, but they must number in the thousands. And though the bandits do sometimes get caught, piracy is generally considered a sure bet to a better life.

Nato and the US Navy say they cannot be everywhere, and American officials are urging ships to hire private security. Warships patrolling off Somalia have succeeded in stopping some pirate attacks. But military assaults to regain a ship are highly risky and rare.

The attackers generally treat their hostages well in anticipation of a big payday, hiring caterers on shore to cook spaghetti, grilled fish and roasted meat that will appeal to a Western palate. They also keep a steady supply of cigarettes and drinks from the shops on shore.

And when the payday comes, the money sometimes literally falls from the sky.

Pirates say the ransom arrives in sacks, sometimes dropped from helicopters, or in waterproof suitcases loaded onto tiny skiffs at sea.

"The oldest man on the ship always takes the responsibility of collecting the money, because we see it as very risky, and he gets some extra payment for his service later," Aden Yusuf, a pirate in Eyl, said.

The pirates use money-counting machines - the same technology seen at foreign exchange bureau worldwide - to ensure the cash is real. All payments are done in cash because Somalia, a failed state, has no functioning banking system.

"Getting this equipment is easy for us, we have business connections with people in Dubai, Nairobi, Djibouti and other areas," Yusuf said. "So we send them money and they send us what we want."