It is completely understandable for one to have an emotional reaction about piracy. The thought of outlaws capturing ships and their crews and holding them hostage and then being paid millions of dollars by large companies is outrageous. Anger is rightly justified.
However if you take the case that crime is what people do when they don’t have viable alternatives, you might consider that piracy is the result of a broken system. Somalia is often described as a failed state. For all intensive purposes there has not been a functioning goverment for nearly two decades.
In the absence of government accountability, unscrupulous companies have used the Somali Coast line as a dumping ground for all manner of toxic waste, both nuclear and chemical. This situation was significantly worsened by the 2004 Christmas Tsunami. While more populous countries got the the world’s attention, people along the Somali coast languished because poor security conditions prevented United Nations aid from getting to the people who needed it. 
According to a study conducted by the United Nations, more than 650 kilometers of Somali coastline were affected by the Tsunami. 
“Further, Somalia is one of the many Least Developed Countries that reportedly received countless shipments of illegal nuclear and toxic waste dumped along the coastline. Starting from the early 1980s and continuing into the civil war, the hazardous waste dumped along Somalia’s coast comprised uranium radioactive waste, lead, cadmium, mercury, industrial, hospital, chemical, leather treatment and other toxic waste. Most of the waste was simply dumped on the beaches in containers and disposable leaking barrels which ranged from small to big tanks without regard to the health of the local population and any environmentally devastating impacts.”
Maybe being a pirate IS and emotional reaction to being poor and exploited.
Tags: 1980s, Africa, dumping ground, Government, History, Piracy, pirates, poverty, Somalia, somialia, toxic waste, United Nations, Wars and Conflicts
Environmental Examiner
Of Pirates and Toxic Waste
It is completely understandable for one to have an emotional reaction about piracy. The thought of outlaws capturing ships and their crews and holding them hostage and then being paid millions of dollars by large companies is outrageous. Anger is rightly justified.
However if you take the case that crime is what people do when they don’t have viable alternatives, you might consider that piracy is the result of a broken system. Somalia is often described as a failed state. For all intensive purposes there has not been a functioning goverment for nearly two decades.
In the absence of government accountability, unscrupulous companies have used the Somali Coast line as a dumping ground for all manner of toxic waste, both nuclear and chemical. This situation was significantly worsened by the 2004 Christmas Tsunami. While more populous countries got the the world’s attention, people along the Somali coast languished because poor security conditions prevented United Nations aid from getting to the people who needed it.
According to a study conducted by the United Nations, more than 650 kilometers of Somali coastline were affected by the Tsunami.
“Further, Somalia is one of the many Least Developed Countries that reportedly received countless shipments of illegal nuclear and toxic waste dumped along the coastline. Starting from the early 1980s and continuing into the civil war, the hazardous waste dumped along Somalia’s coast comprised uranium radioactive waste, lead, cadmium, mercury, industrial, hospital, chemical, leather treatment and other toxic waste. Most of the waste was simply dumped on the beaches in containers and disposable leaking barrels which ranged from small to big tanks without regard to the health of the local population and any environmentally devastating impacts.”
Maybe being a pirate IS and emotional reaction to being poor and exploited.
Tags: 1980s, Africa, dumping ground, Government, History, Piracy, pirates, poverty, Somalia, somialia, toxic waste, United Nations, Wars and Conflicts