JackRiddler
Sun Dec-07-08 05:16 PM
Origins of the Somali pirates: Western chemical dumping on the shore?
http://counterpunch.org/whitney12032008.html There's an interesting subtext to the pirate story which appeared in a recent copy of the Socialist Worker. According to author Simon Assaf: "Many European, US and Asian shipping firms – notably Switzerland's Achair Partners and Italy's Progresso – signed dumping deals in the early 1990s with Somalia's politicians and militia leaders. This meant they could use the coast as a toxic dumping ground. This practice became widespread as the country descended into civil war.
Nick Nuttall of the UN Environment Programme said, "European companies found it was very cheap to get rid of the waste." When the Asian tsunami of Christmas 2005 washed ashore on the east coast of Africa, it uncovered a great scandal. Tons of radioactive waste and toxic chemicals drifted onto the beaches after the giant wave dislodged them from the sea bed off Somalia. Tens of thousands of Somalis fell ill after coming into contact with this cocktail. They complained to the United Nations (UN), which began an investigation. "There are reports from villagers of a wide range of medical problems such as mouth bleeds, abdominal hemorrhages, unusual skin disorders and breathing difficulties," the UN noted.
Some 300 people are believed to have died from the poisonous chemicals.
In 2006 Somali fishermen complained to the UN that foreign fishing fleets were using the breakdown of the state to plunder their fish stocks. These foreign fleets often recruited Somali militias to intimidate local fishermen. Despite repeated requests, the UN refused to act. Meanwhile the warships of global powers that patrol the strategically important Gulf of Aden did not sink or seize any vessels dumping toxic chemicals off the coast. So angry Somalis, whose waters were being poisoned and whose livelihoods were threatened, took matters into their own hands. Fishermen began to arm themselves and attempted to act as unofficial coastguards." (Socialist Worker)
The origins of piracy in Somalia is considerably different than the narrative in the media which perpetuates the stereotype of scary black men pillaging on the high seas. In fact, it is the pirates who are the victims of attacks on their territorial waters by corporate polluters. Because there is no functioning central government, there's no one to defend the health and safety of the Somali people from foreign intruders who choose to use their country as a dumping ground.
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MORE at link, including on the failure of US-backed Ethiopian invasion of Somalia.
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JackRiddler (1000+ posts)
Sun Dec-07-08 07:18 PM
8. When does CNN-CIA mention the other side of the story?
I mean, seriously, and in generally voiceless Africa even more so, when is it even implied that there is another side to the story than what the Western intel, states and corporations claim? When have you ever seen CNN talk about the significant role of non-African nations in creating the African problems, except for the occasional attack on China? The only thing Western actors are ever accused of is a lack of intervention, their actual interventions are never reported on.
No more conspiracy theory. Demand criminal investigation. 911 truth
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DonEBrook (506 posts)
Sun Dec-07-08 07:21 PM
Response to Reply #6
10. Makes sense. "Somebody dumped crap on our beach so let's become pirates."
Sounds like Grover Norquist reasoning.
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JackRiddler (1000+ posts)
Sun Dec-07-08 07:36 PM
Response to Reply #10
11. It's not about right or wrong.
I'm sure we both agree piracy is wrong.
But what happens shouldn't surprise you, when the country is invaded by a US-backed foreign power (Ethiopia) and used by the West as a dumping ground for toxic waste -- in itself a greater crime than the piracy, so why isn't it getting equal attention? It shouldn't surprise you, I say, that the people so treated develop a big fuck-you attitude to the world, and might seek to grab back whatever they can, including by crime.
If you're going to have an opinion, understanding the history of the issue should matter.
Did it make sense, when the US was hit by a small group of religious-extremist gangsters (according to official story of Sept. 11th), that the government responded by declaring a global war and invading at least one country that was in no way related to 9/11? And yet I bet you could, without condoning any of the US decisions, still understand the mentality and atmosphere that caused a majority of Americans (at first) to support these decisions. Now imagine that you were a Somali, possibly one who had lost relatives to US-armed invaders, or who was dying of toxic poisoning thanks to Swiss corporations... would you really think piracy was so horrible, compared to what had been done to you? Of course, this piracy might target someone innocent of wronging you, but maybe you're not too clear anymore on who's innocent, who's a legit target and who's not. Sort of like the Swiss and the Americans who fucked you.
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DonEBrook (506 posts)
Sun Dec-07-08 08:14 PM
Response to Reply #11
16. There is absolutely no doubt that criminals can invent any number of rationalizations.
That's hardly a new development. Whether someone chooses to accept them as legitimate depends entirely on the bias of the commentator.
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JackRiddler (1000+ posts)
Sun Dec-07-08 11:50 PM
Response to Reply #16
18. The relevant question for policy making isn't whether...
the rationalization for the pirates is right or wrong, but if there would have been pirates if Somalia were not for so many years plundered, destabilized, used as a toxic dumping ground, and most recently invaded by Ethiopia at US request. I think, clearly, not. Again, this isn't to excuse the pirates but to point out that piracy has its causes and history, and those complaining loudest now are denying their own countries' role in creating the conditions.
It's like increased poverty and street crime. There's no poverty excuse for the criminal, but the policymaker who acts in ways that will increase poverty knows the statistical relationship and bears responsibility for causing the rise.
Also, I'm wondering if you'll address this point: which is the greater crime? Dumping toxic waste on poor people in another country, or piracy? Engineering an invasion of that country, or piracy?
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