WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a blatant act of defiance, many of the Somali pirates cruising the Gulf of Aden have taken to flying the so-called "Jolly Roger," a black flag with skull and crossbones often identified with pirate stereotypes. They have also taken to clenching scabbards in their teeth, and grown partial to beards, wearing eye patches, drinking large quantities of rum, and taunting their would be captors.
Armed only with cap guns and patrolling the waters in bilge-ridden rowboats, the Somali pirates have chagrined countries around the world who use the waters as a trade route. Their brazenness has only grown as, according to international law, they are most often simply disarmed and escorted back to the beach once thwarted.
With the cache of these pirates valued at over $120 million so far, some have questioned methods of dealing with these self-made maritime millionaires. Numerous countries deployed warships and military personnel to protect trade ships, at which the pirates chortled themselves right out of their long johns. Then trade vessels were rerouted thousands of miles South around the Cape of Good Hope, and the seafaring swashbucklers had another hearty round of "yo-ho-ho's" and drank some more rum.
With the current Gross Domestic Product of Somalia under $6 billion (fact), translating to about $12 a week per person (fact), these pirates have little motive to stop.
"Sending $120 million to Somalia for Christmas to help bolster their battered economy would probably have been at least as effective as the methods we are using to combat this piracy problem," says economist Robin Hoode. "It would have created jobs and helped repair the war-ravaged Somalian infrastructure. Instead, we're chasing around a gang of modern-day Bluebeards. Millions of dollars are being wasted every day rerouting trade ships thousands of miles and deploying costly military installations. You know who's going to eat those costs - the consumers."
Behavioral psychologist Bart Black says, "All this 'dealing with effects instead of causes' is a bit ridiculous. It's a little like sending in a swat team every time some hungry kid with no money sneaks in and steals a candy bar, then removing your inventory from the shelves and keeping it in a shed behind the store. The kid still has no money, and he still wants a candy bar. Do you think maybe he just needs a paper route?" He added, "This is a typical response. The top of the weed has been clipped away, but the root remains."
"Rrahhk!!" agreed the parrot on Jama Ali's shoulder. "They can't stop us! They can't stop us! Rrahhk!"
