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The issue of Piracy in the Somali coast have been discussed countless of times in the National and International Media, where the most recent incident which has attracted the international media around the world is the case of Mr Musa who is the only surviving pirate of four accused of hijacking the U.S container Ship known as, Maersk Alabama last month. Unfortunately, Abdiwali will go on trial at U.S. District Court in Manhattan NY this week, and according to sources will face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted. However, coming back to my topic; I am not that much concerned about the controversy theory surrounding the age of this poor young brother, by the simple fact that everyone agrees he is still to celebrate his 18th birthday, if there is any good reason to do that.
Under 18s in Somalia,
Sadly, it is too naive and one must be puzzled to compare today’s teenagers in Somalia to those in the West or brought up in developed or even underdeveloped countries, provided that the law and order is enforced in that Country. Being one of the lucky Men from Somalia who had witnessed the old good days when all of us enjoyed peace, law and order, I sense that it is too hard for me to hold back my verdict in this case. However, In my western shoes, and of course in the common-sense; it is quite shocking and I will be surprised to see such an inhumane, cruel acts taking place in the Somalia’s inshore and offshore, to name few but not limited to taking Hostages, asking for ransom to the humanitarian cargos aimed at the needy Somalis, among others. I have to admit as well, this has no place in our Religious, ethical, and cultural values. In addition to that, the worst case scenario being confronting with US fleet/snipers in the middle of nowhere was also somewhat like a suicide to say the least. This shows you the degree of ignorance and miscalculation to the extent that these folks believed in their AK-47; thinking they are the winners if the whole world comes to their defence.
Authentically and in my Somali shoes, it is no surprise to notice or reveal things like mentioned above and worse after 20 Years of Civil-strife. Take a moment and picture yourself growing up in this situation of anarchism, where you have witnessed and being told all those depressing negative stories of only death and destruction; where Schools turn out to be internal displaced Camps, where basic human rights are constantly violated and ignored into a large degree, where more than Ten Million small arms are in the hands of civilians between the ages of 15 and 40 year olds, and still continues to increase by the follow of unlimited army shipped from neighbouring Countries who are there only to ignite the fire ; where, the cold-war consequences is still in the making and taking its tall to-date, where, Warlords, Religious warlords and criminals off all kinds are rewarded and recognised as leaders by the rest of the World, where no one cares the whole episode, except running to the neglected silent and beautiful Somali waters, to the sole purpose of dumping toxic wastes, illegal fishing; exploiting resources, by distributing free relief food for 20 years by the name of AID; which is basically profiteering and meant to encourage and create a vacuum of 21st century enslavement and dependency syndrome, where, you name it.........
Having said that, my argument is not based on whether the young boy will have a fair or unfair trail in this matter, although ignorance of law is not a defence and not an excuse. Taking into account, the complexity of the case and the fact that, Musa is in the hands of the accuser, all I can say is to feel sorry for the family and pray for him. However, if I had a say in this regard, my suggestion would have been, to punish and replace him with the war criminals that have taken Musa and his mates hostages in their entire life, and led him to the wrong path.
Hostage of Hostages
According to Musa’s Lawyers,” the possibility that Muse himself had been kidnapped by his fellow pirates is in question” but, In general, the deprived, voiceless hostages are the entire Somalis wherever they are in the Globe, and in particular the most vulnerable victimised group who suffer most and will go through this chronic painful scenario are the Teenagers. As I have mentioned earlier, they are way too far to understand the realities of life. It is not the desire of anybody, and I believe that these Teenagers did not choose to be pirates, or militias who serve the warlords; the truth is that they are simply hostages of the situation in the country, and unless the root causes are addresses and tackled with the dilemma, which is never too late, There will never be a solution. I wouldn’t say “never” but chances are, we may have to wait for another two decades to get out of this mess and free our people from these greedy shameless individuals who took all of us hostages, and representing us in any form.
A. Abdi
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