About These Somali Pirates...

A lot has been reported over the past four to five days about Somali pirates. For a great number of Americans, news that Somali pirates, or that any form of pirates still existed was a shock. But with the recent seizure of a US Freighter late last week, and news that just this morning, two more foreign cargo ships were seized off the coast of Somalia, it's now something the world can't ignore. And hopefully that's a good thing. Because piracy off the Horn of Africa has existed for a long time, and it's rather telling that the media wants to give the situation so much attention now. It's sort of upsetting in my eyes. It seems like the true causes of piracy (or fisherman protection depending on how you look at it) are not being told. Based on the few trustworthy reports that have trickled out from the pirates point of view, there's a lot of illegal dumping going on in Somali waters by foreign tankers and no Somali government to patrol it. As a result, fish are dying, fishermen are starving, and certain Somalis have banded together to fight the problem.

It's something that popular Somali rapper K'naan discusses in the interview above. Although it was recorded 4 months ago, it's definitely relevant to the situation today and K'naan offers some perspectives on the situation that people should hear.