STATUS OF SEIZED VESSELS AND CREWS IN SOMALIA, THE GULF OF ADEN AND THE INDIAN OCEAN (ecoterra - 05. November 2011)
Happy Eid al-Adha to all, who are not heinous criminals holding hostages.
PROTECTING AND MONITORING LIFE, BIODIVERSITY AND THE ECOSYSTEMS OF SOMALIA AND ITS SEAS SINCE 1986 - ECOTERRA Intl.
ECOTERRA Intl. and ECOP-marine serve concerning the counter-piracy issues as advocacy groups in their capacity as human rights, marine and maritime monitors as well as in co-operation with numerous other organizations, groups and individuals as information clearing-house. In difficult cases we have successfully served as mediators, helped hostages to get medical or humanitarian relief and released, assisted in negotiations and helped the families of victims. Our focus to make piracy an issue of the past is concentrating on holistic coastal development as key to uplift communities from abhorrent poverty and to secure their marine and coastal ecosystems against any harm.
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STATUS-SUMMARY:
Today, 05. November 2011 at 23h30 UTC, at least 29 larger plus 18 smaller foreign vessels plus one stranded barge are kept in Somali hands against the will of their owners, while at least 508 hostages or captives - including a South-African yachting couple, two (or now only one) frail elderly ladies and four aid-workers - suffer to be released.
But even EU NAVFOR, who mostly only counts high-value, often British insured vessels, admitted now that many dozens of vessels were sea-jacked despite their multi-million Euro efforts to protect shipping.
Having come under pressure, EU NAVFOR's operation ATALANTA felt now compelled to publish their updated piracy facts for those vessels, which EU NAVFOR admits had not been protected from pirates and were abducted. EU NAVFOR also admitted in February 2011 for the first time that actually a larger number of vessels and crews is held hostage than those listed on their file.
Since EU NAVFOR's inception at the end of 2008 the piracy off Somalia started in earnest and it has now completely escalated. Only knowledgeable analysts recognized the link.
Please see the situation map of the PIRACY COASTS OF SOMALIA (2011) and the CPU-ARCHIVE
ECOTERRA members can also request the Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor for background info.
- see also HELD HOSTAGE BY PIRATES OFF SOMALIA
and don't forget that SOMALI PIRACY IS CUT-THROAT CAPITALISM
WHAT THE NAVIES OFF SOMALIA NEVER SEE:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/05/fighting_for_control_of_somali.html
What Foreign Soldiers in Somalia and even their Officers Never Seem to Realize:
The Scramble For Somalia
PEACE KEEPERS OR BIOLOGICAL WARFARE AGENTS ?
SG Ban Ki-Moon (UN) and President Ram Baran Yadav (Nepal) should resign and take the responsibility for 4,500 Haitians having been killed by a Cholera strain introduced by unchecked, so-called UN Peace-Keepers from Nepal into Haiti.
LATEST:
STILL OVER 500 SEAFARERS ARE HELD HOSTAGE IN SOMALIA !
ECOTERRA Intl. has been the first group to clearly and publicly state that the piracy phenomenon off the Somali coasts can only become an issue of the past again, if tangible and sustainable, appropriate and holistic development for the coastal communities kicks in. Solutions to piracy have to tackle the root causes: Abhorrent poverty, environmental degradation, injustice, outside interference. While still billions are spend for the navies, for the general militarization or for mercenaries or conferences, still no real and financially substantial help is coming forward to pacify and develop the coastal areas of Somalia as well as to help the Somali people and government to protect and police their own waters.
Updates and latest news on known cases of piracy - see the status section :
Pirates Seize Taiwanese Fishing Vessel (ecop-marine)
On 03.11. 2011 at around 08h05 UTC in position 06:08South-051:04East, which is around 260nm Southwest of the Seychelles and about 595 nautical miles (1,800km) off the southeast coast of Mogadishu, presumably Somali pirates attacked and sea-jacked the Taiwanese fishing vessel FV CHIN YI WEN underway with her 28 crew members as hostage. The hijackers are sailing the vessel towards Somali coast.
Other sources reported the incident at around 21h00 UTC , when the vessel was already in position 06:10S – 051:10E 06:10S – 051:10E.
The long-line fishing boat Chin Yi Wen with a crew of 28, including nine Chinese, eight Filipinos, six Indonesians and five Vietnamese nationals, had been out of contact since Friday and was likely seized by Somali pirates, Taiwan's foreign ministry confirmed today, 05. November 2011.
The crew is headed by Chinese captain Ren Hai.
Citing information from the owner of the Ching Yi Wen, registered in Greater Kaohsiung, the ministry said the boat was heading toward the Somalian coast at full speed when it lost contact with the fishing company.The ministry also instructed its missions in South Africa, the the United Kingdom, the United States, France, the European Union, Malaysia, and Dubai to request that those governments help rescue the ship, a statement from the Taiwanese ministry said. Help has also been sought from the U.K. Maritime Trade Organization and other groups, the ministry said.
The ministry said it has instructed its missions in South Africa, and Dubai to request those governments help rescue the ship.
The seized fishing vessel was last reported heading towards the Somali coast.
ITALO-FRENCH FISHING VESSEL ATTACKED AGAIN (ecop-marine)
An originally Italian fishing vessel, the frozen tuna purse seiner FV TORRE GIULIA, which seems to operate now under a French arrangement since it carries French governmental troops as vessel protection detail, came again under attack. This time FV TORRE GIULIA, with its 3690 kW engine power, was attacked on 01 November 2011 approximately 590 nautical miles southeast of Kismayo, Somalia.
The vessel, sporting now the external markings CC 929176 and listening to the new call sign FLSI (old IBDT) has a permission from the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC000345), but it is not known under which final arrangements it can carry French troops. It obviously now flies a French flag, but it is believed that the ownership is still Italian. Correct ownership information is in the moment apparently withheld.
The vessel had as home port BARI in Italy listed until the end of 2009 (with its registration number: ITA000023376 and external markings: 00BA00307M), where it was also constructed in 1997. Since 2010 the vessel is listed with home port Concarneau, France.
It was attacked already once before in the beginning of March 2010, when it was operating together with two other gigantic tuna hauliers, who were flying the French flag.
In 2007 the European Union subsidized the modernization of the vessel with 155,246.05 Euro
During the last seasons tuna purse seiner "Torre Giulia" operating for COBRECAF PECHE was selling its "frozen at sea" Tuna steaks under the brand "Wild Fish". Some 20 kilos fresh round Yellowfin are selected for each wholesale unit during the fishing trip. They are bled, dressed and gutted. Some are filleted and then wrapped under vacuum sealed plastic bags and blast frozen at minus 35dC. A Concarneau food service, JP Tallex, carves them into frozen steaks that are individually packed for the retail self service shops.
The 82m long, large purse seiner is specialized to catch the yellow fin tuna, which is in high demand and often uses so called Fish Aggregation Devices (FADs).
The use of purse seine fishing on fish aggregating devices (FADs) has expanded considerably during the last 15 years in tropical tuna purse seine fisheries, and FADs currently account for about 70% of their reported tuna catches.
ECOLOGICALLY DETRIMENTAL
The scientific community has expressed since long concern over the consequences of this fishing practice in terms of yield per recruit and suspected detrimental effects on FADassociated tunas.
To explore possible detrimental effects, authors Jean-Pierre Hallier and Daniel Gaertner focussed in their 2008 study "Drifting fish aggregation devices could act as an ecological trap for tropical tuna species", on skipjack tuna [Katsuwonus pelamis] and yellowfin tuna [Thunnus albacares] caught in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Significant differences in fish plumpness and individual growth rates were found, suggesting that individuals associated with drifting FADs were less healthy than those in free schools.
For each species, significant changes in migratory direction and displacement rates were observed in the presence of drifting FADs. These findings support the hypothesis that FADs act as a super‐stimulus, misleading tunas to make inappropriate habitat selection.
The management implications of an ecological trap due to the use of FADs on the status of the stock show that any modification to habitat attractiveness caused by anthropogenic effects can lead to rapid population decline for stock fully‐ or overexploited (part of an already depleted stock will be lured in areas less favourable for growth, survival and reproduction) - as it is the case already in the Indian Ocean.
New Cruising-Sailor Hostages? (ecop-marine)
Maritime observers around Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast spotted two non-African, apparently Caucasian, male sailors, which were reportedly "taken hostage from a small boat".
It could so far not be clarified, if this is a new situation or if the observers misunderstood the case.
But obviously it is not the South-African sailing couple, which as earlier reported also had now been abducted into the central regions of Somalia.
©2011 - ecoterra / ecop-marine - articles above are exclusive reports and, if not specifically ©-marked , free for publication as long as cited correctly and the source is quoted.The seized fishing vessel was last reported heading towards the Somali coast.
ITALO-FRENCH FISHING VESSEL ATTACKED AGAIN (ecop-marine)
An originally Italian fishing vessel, the frozen tuna purse seiner FV TORRE GIULIA, which seems to operate now under a French arrangement since it carries French governmental troops as vessel protection detail, came again under attack. This time FV TORRE GIULIA, with its 3690 kW engine power, was attacked on 01 November 2011 approximately 590 nautical miles southeast of Kismayo, Somalia.
The vessel, sporting now the external markings CC 929176 and listening to the new call sign FLSI (old IBDT) has a permission from the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC000345), but it is not known under which final arrangements it can carry French troops. It obviously now flies a French flag, but it is believed that the ownership is still Italian. Correct ownership information is in the moment apparently withheld.
The vessel had as home port BARI in Italy listed until the end of 2009 (with its registration number: ITA000023376 and external markings: 00BA00307M), where it was also constructed in 1997. Since 2010 the vessel is listed with home port Concarneau, France.
It was attacked already once before in the beginning of March 2010, when it was operating together with two other gigantic tuna hauliers, who were flying the French flag.
In 2007 the European Union subsidized the modernization of the vessel with 155,246.05 Euro
During the last seasons tuna purse seiner "Torre Giulia" operating for COBRECAF PECHE was selling its "frozen at sea" Tuna steaks under the brand "Wild Fish". Some 20 kilos fresh round Yellowfin are selected for each wholesale unit during the fishing trip. They are bled, dressed and gutted. Some are filleted and then wrapped under vacuum sealed plastic bags and blast frozen at minus 35dC. A Concarneau food service, JP Tallex, carves them into frozen steaks that are individually packed for the retail self service shops.
The 82m long, large purse seiner is specialized to catch the yellow fin tuna, which is in high demand and often uses so called Fish Aggregation Devices (FADs).
The use of purse seine fishing on fish aggregating devices (FADs) has expanded considerably during the last 15 years in tropical tuna purse seine fisheries, and FADs currently account for about 70% of their reported tuna catches.
ECOLOGICALLY DETRIMENTAL
The scientific community has expressed since long concern over the consequences of this fishing practice in terms of yield per recruit and suspected detrimental effects on FADassociated tunas.
To explore possible detrimental effects, authors Jean-Pierre Hallier and Daniel Gaertner focussed in their 2008 study "Drifting fish aggregation devices could act as an ecological trap for tropical tuna species", on skipjack tuna [Katsuwonus pelamis] and yellowfin tuna [Thunnus albacares] caught in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Significant differences in fish plumpness and individual growth rates were found, suggesting that individuals associated with drifting FADs were less healthy than those in free schools.
For each species, significant changes in migratory direction and displacement rates were observed in the presence of drifting FADs. These findings support the hypothesis that FADs act as a super‐stimulus, misleading tunas to make inappropriate habitat selection.
The management implications of an ecological trap due to the use of FADs on the status of the stock show that any modification to habitat attractiveness caused by anthropogenic effects can lead to rapid population decline for stock fully‐ or overexploited (part of an already depleted stock will be lured in areas less favourable for growth, survival and reproduction) - as it is the case already in the Indian Ocean.
New Cruising-Sailor Hostages? (ecop-marine)
Maritime observers around Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast spotted two non-African, apparently Caucasian, male sailors, which were reportedly "taken hostage from a small boat".
It could so far not be clarified, if this is a new situation or if the observers misunderstood the case.
But obviously it is not the South-African sailing couple, which as earlier reported also had now been abducted into the central regions of Somalia.
The maritime articles below are cleared or commented. If you don't find a specific article, it most likely was not worth to be republished here, but if you feel we have overlooked an important publication, please mail it to us.
What you always wanted to know about piracy, but never dared to ask:
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EU NAVFOR warship FGS KOELN disrupts and sinks Pirate Action Group (EUNAVFOR)
On 4 November 2011, following a coordinated search and detection by a French Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance aircraft, the German warship FGS KOELN, operating as part of the EU NAVFOR, disrupted a pirate action group comprising a whaler and skiff, 50 nautical miles off the coast of Tanzania. On detection, the suspect pirates jettisoned their pirate equipment overboard and were detained without resistance. They have been transferred onboard FGS KOELN and the two pirate boats sunk, preventing their use against merchant shipping in the area.
Tokyo Court dismisses indictment against possible minor for piracy (MainichiJapan)
The Tokyo District Court on Friday dismissed an indictment against a man charged with assaulting a tanker operated by a Japanese company in the Indian Ocean off Somalia, saying that the defendant might have been a minor, under 20 years of age, at the time of the crime in March.
Presiding Judge Hiroaki Murayama handed down the decision at the first hearing of the trial for the defendant, who claims to be a Somalian.
During the day's hearing, the defendant said his birth date is Dec. 22, 1991. This means the defendant was 19 at the time of the alleged attack.
Judge Murayama said the three-judge panel cannot deny the defendant's argument that he was a minor, noting that there is no objective evidence to clarify his birth date.
Under Japanese law, a juvenile must first be sent to family court, which will decide whether corrective action should be taken or whether regular criminal procedures should be taken.
The defendant will be sent to the Tokyo Family Court, judicial sources said.
If the family court decides regular criminal procedures should be taken against the defendant, prosecutors would file criminal charges again against him, who will be tried by a panel of three professional and six citizen judges, the sources said.
In April, prosecutors slapped criminal charges against the man, saying no exact birth date is known and he claims to be 21 years old.
The defendant, conspiring with three men who also claim to be Somalians, allegedly fired guns and boarded the Bahamas-registered tanker, the Guanabara, operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., at around 10 p.m. on March 5 Japan time this year.
The defendant allegedly fired at the captain's quarters, broke into the ship's cockpit and operated the steering wheel, violating the antipiracy law.
No casualties were reported from among the tanker's 24 crew members, who were non-Japanese.
The U.S. Navy took the pirates into custody and handed them over to Japanese authorities.
The three accomplices have also been charged with violating the antipiracy law.
Under the antipiracy law, which took effect in July 2009, acts of piracy that involve the commandeering of a vessel are punishable by five years to life in prison.
Presiding Judge Hiroaki Murayama handed down the decision at the first hearing of the trial for the defendant, who claims to be a Somalian.
During the day's hearing, the defendant said his birth date is Dec. 22, 1991. This means the defendant was 19 at the time of the alleged attack.
Judge Murayama said the three-judge panel cannot deny the defendant's argument that he was a minor, noting that there is no objective evidence to clarify his birth date.
Under Japanese law, a juvenile must first be sent to family court, which will decide whether corrective action should be taken or whether regular criminal procedures should be taken.
The defendant will be sent to the Tokyo Family Court, judicial sources said.
If the family court decides regular criminal procedures should be taken against the defendant, prosecutors would file criminal charges again against him, who will be tried by a panel of three professional and six citizen judges, the sources said.
In April, prosecutors slapped criminal charges against the man, saying no exact birth date is known and he claims to be 21 years old.
The defendant, conspiring with three men who also claim to be Somalians, allegedly fired guns and boarded the Bahamas-registered tanker, the Guanabara, operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., at around 10 p.m. on March 5 Japan time this year.
The defendant allegedly fired at the captain's quarters, broke into the ship's cockpit and operated the steering wheel, violating the antipiracy law.
No casualties were reported from among the tanker's 24 crew members, who were non-Japanese.
The U.S. Navy took the pirates into custody and handed them over to Japanese authorities.
The three accomplices have also been charged with violating the antipiracy law.
Under the antipiracy law, which took effect in July 2009, acts of piracy that involve the commandeering of a vessel are punishable by five years to life in prison.
No terror-pirates link, UN tells Antony
The United Nations International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has rebutted Defence Minister AK Antony’s claim that international terror groups could be behind the Somali pirates menace. This comes days ahead of a crucial Cabinet Committee on Security meet to finalise India’s new policy to fight sea piracy off the Indian coast. “We don’t think that the menace of piracy is only on the part of these Somalian pirates. There are more powerful group and forces behind this pirates, they are siting somewhere else,” Antony said.
The International Maritime Organisation quashed global speculations over al Qaeda affiliated, al Shahaab controlling the Somali pirates.
IMO Secretary General E Mitropoulos said, “We don’t think the Somali pirates are backed by any terror organisations, they hijack ships to get ransom money which they again use for hijacking more ships.”
This IMO reaction to CNN-IBN contradicts reports that al Qaeda backed al Shahaab which operates in large parts of Somalia is believed to control several gangs of pirates. Al Shahaab and Ras Kamboni, another local group ostensibly even corner a share of the ransom money earned by the pirates.
Earlier this year, an al Shahaab spokesperson had audaciously even announced a discount on ransom payment to clear the backlog of hijacked ships.
Somali pirates’ growing strength and strategy of shifting their area of operation closer to India has left the Indian government worried.
“Instances of pirate attacks in the Arabian Sea and more recently in the Indian Ocean, much beyond the piracy infested areas of Gulf of Aden, pose a serious threat to us by putting at risk a large number of Indian seafarers and ships,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.
While more than 30 Indian sailors are still in Somali pirates’ captivity – the oldest among them being the six MV Iceberg sailors – the Cabinet Committee on Security will be meeting next week to formulate India’s new policy to fight Somali pirates.
Weekly Summary of Maritime Crime and Piracy: Week of 27 October 2011 (source: ONI)
NIGERIA:
Petroleum tanker (HALIFAX) hijacked by pirates on 29 October at 1219 UTC while in position 03:26.5N – 006:42.3E, approximately 62 nm southwest of Bonny. Vessel was awaiting further berthing instructions from its charterers. Vessel has a crew of 24 Filipinos and one Bulgarian. (IMB)
INDIAN OCEAN:
- Petroleum tanker (DYNATANK) fired upon by pirates on 1 November at 0050 UTC while underway in position 08:10S – 046:06E, approximately 407 nm southeast of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The onboard security team returned fire, and after 30 minutes the pirates aborted their attack. (UKMTO)
- Fishing vessel (TORRE GIULIA) attacked by pirates in two skiffs on 1 November at 0936 UTC while underway in position 01:21S – 052:21E, approximately 591 nm southeast of Kismaayo, Somalia. Vessel had protection detachment onboard. A mothership was detected in the vicinity. (Operator)
- Tuna fishing vessel attacked by pirates on 31 October at 1415 UTC while underway in position 02:23S – 049:29E, approximately 444 nm southeast of Kismaayo, Somalia. The vessel had a protection detachment onboard the vessel. (Operator)
- Petroleum tanker (SCF PLYMOUTH) fired upon by four to five pirates in one skiff on 30 October at 1254 UTC while underway in position 04:20S – 043:41E, approximately 245 nm southeast of Mombasa, Kenya. Vessel was traveling at a speed of 14.7 knots. Pirates fired six rounds towards the vessel; armed security in turn fired six rounds back at the skiff. RPG and guns spotted, no ladders seen. (UKMTO)
Tanker (LIQUID VELVET) hijacked by six pirates on 31 October at 0842 UTC while underway in position 12:00N – 045:33E, approximately 55 nm southeast of Aden, Yemen. The crew (21 Filipinos and one Greek) were able to lock themselves in the citadel, but the pirates were able to breach it. (UKMTO, Operator)
MALAYSIA:
- Tanker (NAUTICA JOHOR BAHRU) hijacked 27 October while underway in the Singapore Straits. The vessel had a cargo of oil and gas worth $4.5 million USD onboard. Malaysian Navy and Indonesian vessels intercepted the hijacked vessel, and the ten pirates fled in a speedboat. The pirates took everything of value. (Open Source)
- Barge hijacked 26 October while underway in Indonesian waters while carrying a cargo of $2.6 million USD worth of palm oil. Authorities located the barge before the pirates returned from a trip to get a tug boat to move it. (Open Source)
- Government of Japan (GOJ) convoy schedule for October/November 2011. Merchant vessels that wish to apply for JMSDF escort operation should visit http://www.mlit.go.jp/en/maritime/maritime_fr2 _000000.html and follow the application procedure. For further information, please contact directly the Anti-Piracy Contact and Coordination Office, Maritime Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MILT), Japan: Tel: +81-3-5253-8932 Fax: +81-3-5253-1643 Email: INFO- PIRACY@mlit.go.jp (MSCHOA).
- Korean Navy convoy schedule for October 2011. All merchant vessels wishing to join the convoy group must submit their application forms directly to the ROK naval warship carrying out the mission. The ROK MTG can be reached directly at (INMARSAT: 870-773-110-286), (Email: chunghae8th@gmail.com) (MSCHOA).
- Royal Thai Navy convoy schedule for September/October 2011. For further information, please contact (+66-2101-6136; +66-2101-6137), (EMAIL: co.rtn.tu@gmail.com; similan_871@hotmail.com). To register for the convoy, please e-mail the ship’s information (including ship’s name, IMO number, ship’s type, GRT, master’s name, ship’s flag, country owner, last port, next port, register to MSCHOA (Yes/No), report to UKMTO (Y/N), BMP Awareness (Y/N), practice BMP (Y/N), security team onboard (Y/N) (armed/unarmed), and expected time to join convoy to e-mail address listed above (MSCHOA).
- Russian Navy convoy escort schedule for October 2011. For further information e-mail smb@msecurity.ru. (MSCHOA).
- Chinese convoy schedule for October 2011. For further information, please e-mail cnmrcc@msa.gov.cn, cnmrcc@mot.gov.cn, or call Tel: 86-10-652-92221 (MSCHOA).
A. GULF OF ADEN: Area winds and seas will remain light through next 72 hours within the majority of the GOA. Area storms in the eastern portion will degrade conditions (15 – 20 knots/4 – 6 feet) for first 24 – 48 hours before calming as well. EXTENDED FORECAST: Expect no impacts within the GOA through 9 Nov as area winds and seas remain light.
B. SOMALI COAST: Area storms are producing locally moderate winds (southeast 14 – 18 knots) with moderate sea heights (3 – 5 feet) in the waters off the Somali coast. EXTENDED FORECAST: Expect decreased winds and seas (southeast 8 – 12, 2 – 4 feet) by 6 Nov continuing through 9 Nov.
C. NORTH ARABIAN SEA: Light and variable winds will increase by 5 Nov (northeast 10 – 15 knots) with seas of 2 – 4 feet. EXTENDED FORECAST: Moderate winds and seas will persist within the Arabian Sea, slowly increasing by 7 Nov (east 20 – 25 knots, 5 – 7 feet) as a storm system transits across the region.
D. INDIAN OCEAN: Southeast winds 14 – 18 knots currently influence conditions off the coast of Kenya/Tanzania with seas of 4 – 6 feet. Conditions within these waters will remain affected for next 72 hours. Increased southerly winds 18 – 22 knots impact the waters in the Mozambique Channel with sea heights above 8 feet. These winds and seas will slowly decrease over next 24 – 48 hours and then shift in direction (northeast 14 – 18) by 05 Nov. EXTENDED FORECAST: Shifting winds (east 12 – 16 knots) and decreasing seas (2 – 4 feet) will influence the waters off of Kenya and Tanzania by 6 Nov. A transiting storm system to the south will affect the waters within the Mozambique Channel by 7 Nov, increasing winds and seas (southeast 10 – 15 knots, 5 – 7 feet).
E. SURFACE CURRENTS: Currents within the Somalia Basin, Gulf of Aden, and into the Indian Ocean remain variable, with most areas having average speeds of less than 2 knots. Expect locally increased surface current speeds around transiting storm systems. Other areas in the open waters of the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Somalia, show increased speeds up to 3.5 knots.
AND SURELY ENOUGH, THE US-AMERICAN SPINDOCTERS IN COHORTS WITH BANKSTERS BLAME VIA CNN THE "PIRATES"
Piracy 'delaying vital food aid from reaching Somalia' By Robyn Curnow, CNN and Eoghan Macguire for CNN
The human cost of piracy
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Professor Mthuli Ncube is Chief Economist at the Africa Development Bank.
- He says piracy is contributing to food shortages in the Horn of Africa.
- Ncube claims efforts must be made to address the root causes of piracy.
Professor Mthuli Ncube, who fulfills a dual role as the bank's chief economist and vice president, says that piracy has both prevented and delayed vital food aid from being delivered to Somalia.
This has worsened the humanitarian situation inside the country which -- alongside neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia -- is experiencing one of the most severe droughts and subsequent food shortages in living memory, he explains.
Some 12.4 million people in the Horn of Africa currently require humanitarian assistance as a result of food shortages, the U.N. estimates.
"[Piracy] affects the transit of food quickly, where it's needed by refugees," Ncube says.
[Piracy] affects the transit of food quickly, where it's needed by refugees
Professor Mthuli Ncube, Africa Development Bank
Professor Mthuli Ncube, Africa Development Bank
"But more urgently it is about delivery of food that is being affected."
Ncube cites the lack of a respected or powerful central authority in Somalia as a key factor in the rise of pirate activity in and around its waters recent years.
The country has been without a government since 1991, meaning there is a lack of security and infrastructure that would allow the safe passage of aid to areas worst affected by the droughts.
Individual charities and agencies are even being forced to negotiate with armed groups or offer monetary incentives to get help into the country -- at considerable risk to their own staff -- Ncube says.
"Unfortunately the government is at the core of this [issue] and without a government you can't police. There's no military, organized military to provide security," he says.
"This is impacting on the ability of anyone to help the people in Somalia, so at the end of the day we just have to deal with the governance. That is the core of everything," he adds.
Ncube also highlights the lack of protection offered to Somali fisherman from international bodies such as NATO in preventing illegal fishing in Somali waters as another major contributory factor towards piracy.
Unfortunately the government is at the core of this [issue] and without a government you can't police.
Professor Mthuli Ncube
Professor Mthuli Ncube
This has depleted fish stocks and forced many Somali fisherman, with no government to petition or act on their behalf, to take up piracy as an alternative source of income, he adds.
"Certainly there's a sense that this was initially a reaction to foreign ships coming in to fish illegally, depleting the stock of fish," says Ncube.
"These fishermen then took the law into their own hands and said look we'll start hijacking ships as a way of getting back. Then it became an easy business, a way of life, they got hooked onto it."
"That issue has not been addressed, at least not from the Somali's point of view," he adds.
Ncube explains that a lack of urgency from international and regional bodies to address these developments as they occurred has led to the situation snowballing into the key regional issue it is today.
In recent years piracy has caused millions of dollars worth of damage to local tourism, fishing and shipping industries, as well as impacting on food security, he says.
But with Africa relying the high seas to transport roughly 80% of its goods -- largely due poor roads and a lack of travel infrastructure on the continent -- Ncube says it is vital for governments and international bodies to come together to address the root causes of piracy.
He cites giving support to Somalia to address its governance issue and introducing fair legislation that protects Somali fishing waters as key first steps in what will likely be a long and drawn out process.
By doing so however, Ncube believes that the region will become a much safer place. Addressing the issue of food security meanwhile, will become much simpler, he adds.
Call to stop dumping in Africa's waters
The illicit dumping of toxic and hazardous waste off the coast of Somalia, which has largely destroyed the fishing grounds there, has been cited as one of the root causes of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the east coast of Africa, according to a report of the Institue of Security Studies.
The report says that armed fishermen had been trying to ward off ships that had been identified as polluting the coastlines but this had not stopped the practice and resulted in these armed fishermen attacking the ships and then hijacking them instead. Delegates at the Maritime & Coastal Security Africa conference held in Cape Town recently were told that there is a lamentable dearth of knowledge with regard to dumping of hazardous waste in the oceans surrounding Africa and that there is a lack of environmental protection legislation in Africa despite the fact that a significant proportion of people on the continent are reliant on fish for their daily sustenance.
Stop Dumping Hazardous Waste on Africa’s Shores By Timothy Walker (ISS)
All too often awareness of the problems posed by toxic and hazardous waste is only noted when it literally leaks out and causes death, disease and environmental degradation. Lamentably such incidents are likely to remain marginalised unless they catch the attention of the media, governments, businesses and researchers in the aftermath of a preventable tragedy.
One memorably infamous incident, the Trafigura scandal in 2006, stands out in this regard, in which the Dutch company sought out a country or company prepared to dispose of waste in the tanks and hold of a chartered ship - the Probo Koala. After being turned away from Amsterdam it ended up off the shore of Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
Despite local opposition a willing company was found to take the waste, which was subsequently dumped at various sites throughout Abidjan, leading to the deaths of at least 15 people whilst thousands suffered a range of illnesses. However, this incident refers to dumping in places where people are directly afflicted. What is of equal consternation is the dumping of toxic waste that goes unnoticed.
An especially notorious incident, particularly in the contemporary security context in which piracy off the Horn of Africa is of global concern, occurred in the aftermath of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami which washed ashore a number dumped waste containers along the Somali shore. A United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report noted cases of deaths, disorders, diseases and malformed babies in Somalia. The UNEP report also listed substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium and nuclear waste as responsible for the pollution.
Illicit dumping of toxic and hazardous waste off the Somalia coast, which has destroyed many of the fishing grounds of the local population, has been cited as one of the root causes of piracy, as armed fisherman, gangs and groups tried to ward off ships that they identified as polluters of their coastlines and seas. This occurred prior to their resorting to the lucrative seizure of ships, their crews and goods.
This also occurred in an area renowned for the quantity and appeal of its fish. The lack of a functioning state to implement protective environmental legislation as well as the delicate environmental balance further compounded the problem. A significant proportion of the population, in East Africa as well as around the continent, are reliant on fish for daily sustenance as well as livelihoods for millions. Fish are especially susceptible to the effects of pollution – particularly through the bioaccumulation of harmful substances in their flesh, which are then spread throughout food chains – which mostly end at the point of human consumption. The sites at which dumping occurred are likely to have been harmed, perhaps irrevocably, for decades to come. It is a problem that needs to be attended to sooner rather than later, but who is actually responsible and what is being dumped or exported to Africa?
Toxic and hazardous wastes are inevitable by-products of processes involved in resource extraction and manufacturing, in addition to hospital waste and waste produced in the generation of electricity such as nuclear waste. Of growing concern is the harm posed to human and environmental security by the disposal of increasing amounts of e-waste (electronic waste) – mostly discarded or defunct televisions, DVD and video players, radios, computers and phones.
The disposal of e-waste in Africa is often carried out through burning, which releases carcinogens contained within the plastic casings as wells as toxins such as dioxin into the surrounding environment – often large urban areas such as Abidjan or Lagos. If it is not burned the waste is usually buried to rot. In one instance the Basel Action Network (BAN), an NGO established to monitor offences and compel greater safety, noted incidents where discarded e-waste was being used to fill in swampland. Women and children are often employed and most at risk in the hunt for recoverable waste. Once stripped of usable metals through dangerous procedures, there is significant evidence of the leaching of metals such as lead and cadmium into soil and groundwater.
Whilst the threats posed to the environment are relatively clear, the same cannot be said for the legal transfer and disposal of waste around the world. The prevalence of legal waste disposal sites in Africa reveals the fact that it has become an increasingly profitable enterprise. A global political economy of waste management and disposal has been established and Africa has become an important part of these emergent networks. This industry is set to become one of the prominent global economic processes into the future as resources diminish whilst environmental consciousness grows.
Any trade or movement of hazardous waste should be regulated by a regime of laws and conventions, both international and domestic that govern the networks of waste disposal and prohibit harmful practices. The relevant conventions in this regard are the London Convention, which prohibits the dumping at sea of hazardous waste and the Basel Convention, which places restrictions on the trade and trans-boundary movement of toxic and hazardous waste. The Basel Convention disappointed many African legislators who subsequently drafted the Bamako Convention, which bans all exports and movements of toxic waste to the continent. In addition the European Union (EU) places significant constraints upon the disposal of waste, but all too frequently containers of e-waste are offloaded legally but subsequently are shown to be full of illegal waste that becomes toxic during disposal.
A key word used in relation to waste is management, suggesting that it is possible for toxic and hazardous waste to continue to be produced in vast quantities and for it to be safely disposed of in a profitable and developmental fashion. Unfortunately at present the continuation of harmful disposal practices and the increase in the trade of e-waste show it is a far from manageable problem
Furthermore the problem of e-waste in Africa also exposes a worrying feedback loop in which the extraction of minerals in Africa contributes to conflict and insecurity. These minerals, which are integral to electronic products, are quickly dumped or exported back to Africa once the product becomes obsolete or defunct and their disposal contributes to further environmental degradation and human insecurity.
The export and trade of e-waste has had positive spinoffs such as the Ikeja Computer Village in Lagos which supplies huge amounts of repaired equipment to local markets, generating significant levels of wealth and employment. It would, however, be a serious mistake to remain indifferent to the waste trade - legal and illegal - and the dumping of waste or to presume that the benefits will ultimately outweigh the costs.
(*) Written by Timothy Walker, Consultant, Peace Missions Programme, INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES (ISS) Pretoria Office. The Institute for Security Studies is a regional human security policy think tank with an exclusive focus on Africa. As a leading African human security research institution, the institute is guided by a broad approach to security reflective of the changing nature and origin of threats to human development.
[N.B.: While the above article is an excellent reminder on the true facts of toxic and hazardous waste dumping at African shores, especially Somalia, one wonders what the ISS - usually in bondage of the USA - has in their hidden agenda and mind to foster: The creation of the US-American "US NAVY AFRICA" following the example of the already established US-American "US ARMY AFRICA" ???]
PRINCIPIIS OBSTA: NO TO GLOBAL UN GOVERNANCE ON OCEANS OR ELSEWHERE
UN Agencies Unveil Ten Proposals to Safeguard the Oceans (UN)
The Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability sounds the alarm about the health of the ocean, and explains how it influences our everyday life by regulating the climate, providing highly-nutritious food and by sustaining livelihoods and economies. It recalls that although the ocean accounts for 70 percent of the surface of our planet, only one percent of it is protected. Presented at UNESCO Headquarters during the 36th session of the General Conference, the Blueprint was prepared for consideration by the UN conference on sustainable development (Rio+20, June 2012). It proposes a series of concrete measures to:
• Create a global blue carbon market as a means of creating direct economic gain through habitat protection;
• Fill governance gaps in the high seas, by reinforcing the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
• Support the development of green economies in small island developing states
• Promote research on ocean acidification -how to adapt to it and mitigate it
• Increase institutional capacity for scientific monitoring of oceans and coastal areas
• Reform and reinforce regional ocean management organisations
• Promote responsible fisheries and aquaculture in a green economy
• Strengthen legal frameworks to address aquatic invasive species
• "Green" the nutrient economy to reduce ocean hypoxia and promote food security
• Enhance coordination, coherence and effectiveness of the UN system on ocean issues
The Blueprint was prepared by UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). It emphasizes that 60 percent of the world's major marine ecosystems have been degraded or are being used unsustainably, resulting in huge economic and social losses. Mangrove forests have lost 30 to 50 percent of their original cover in the last 50 years while coral reefs have lost 20 percent, increasing the vulnerability of many highly populated coastal areas. The ocean absorbs close to 26 percent of atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions which is provoking acidification that is already threatening some varieties of plankton and poses a threat to the entire marine food chain and dependent socio-economic activities. Some of these phenomena are not new but are aggravated by cumulative pressures such as climate change, intensified human activity and technological advances. Furthermore, ecosystems situated in the deep ocean, where biodiversity and habitats often have major value, but are generally not well understood, have virtually no protection at all. The international community pledged to tackle these challenges at the Summits of Rio (1992) and Johannesburg (2002).
However the commitments made remain largely ineffectual and their objectives have not been met.
Such has been the case for the pledge to restore fish stocks to sustainable levels by 2015, and the promise to create networks of protected marine areas by 2012. Few countries have adopted legislation to reduce land-based marine pollution, leading to an increase in the number of dead ocean areas. More than 400 marine areas have been listed as "biologically dead" to date. "The full implementation of many of these goals and targets will require further efforts by States, intergovernmental organizations and the international community," state the authors of the report. They claim the present situation is the result of insufficient political will and resources, inadequate institutional capacities, insufficient scientific data and market imbalances. "Greening the Blue Economy will be science and technology driven," they conclude. "But success will depend on sound policy processes and effective institutional arrangements and will therefore require commitment and funding from the international community as well as nations and industry."
From the SMCM (Somali Marine and Coastal Monitor): (and with a view on news of events with an impact on Somalia)
The articles below - except where stated otherwise - are reproduced in accordance with Section 107 of title 17 of the Copyright Law of the United States relating to fair-use and are for the purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions held by ECOTERRA Intl.
Articles below were vetted and basically found to report correctly - or otherwise are commented.
Somalis say:
NO TO UN-TRUSTEESHIP OVER SOMALIA AND NO TO AU AND IGAD MILITARIZATION
NO foreign or local military governance on land or foreign naval governance on the Somali seas.
NO to any threat infringing on the sovereignty of Somalia, especially concerning the 200nm territorial waters, given since 1972, and the 200nm EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone / UNCLOS) already in place since 1989 as well as the 350nm continental shelf zone.
NO to any Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in relief food or Genetically Engineered (GE) seed supplies.
Somali Disaster Agency Warns Kenya Over Air Assault in Famine Hit Regions (ShabelleMedia)
Somalia's national disaster management agency on Thursday warned Kenya and demanded not to launch any air assault in southern Somalia where the United Nations declared a state of famine.
Abdullahi Mohamed Shirwa, the chairman of national disaster management agency said the people displaced by famine had started returning back to their home regions after the rains started.
Mr. Shirwa spelled out that Kenya's immanent air strikes in the southern regions may further escalate the humanitarian crisis in the horn of African nation.
He called for the government and international community to stop Kenya from launching any air raid in Somalia.
THE REAL REASON BEHIND KENYA'S ILLEGAL ATTEMPT TO GRAB A PIECE OF THE SOMALI OFFSHORE AREAS
Kenya to delineate more exploration blocks deep offshore (Reuters)
Kenya plans to delineate more exploration blocks deep offshore, an oil conference heard on Thursday.
These plans were part of a presentation given by Francis Njuguna, the senior geologist at the National Oil Corporation of Kenya, to the Africa Oil week in Cape Town.
Njuguna did not say when the new blocks would be delineated or how many the country planned to map out.
He said the east African country currently had 26 leased blocks, onshore and offshore, and there were 11 vacant blocks at the moment.
He also said Kenya was confident it had oil because of the "positive indications" in several wells.
A major oil find in Uganda and gas discoveries off its Indian Ocean coast have made east Africa the focus of a new scramble for hydrocarbon resources on the world's poorest continent.
Unprecedented Decline in Dollar Value, Food Prices Soar (Shabelle Media Network)
Mogadishu main markets have seen unprecedented sharp decline in dollar value against Somali shilling.
Since the fall of Somalia's former military regime led by major general Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, the economic infrastructures of the country had been destroyed and 1,000 Somali Shilling became the biggest and smallest of Somalia currency.
After the commencement of conflict and government's collapse, businessmen who work in the currency exchange have emerged.
With no government regulating the value of currencies exchange, the businessmen change the rate of exchange in main markets of Somalia who are only running after their interests and not looking into the poor Somali society.
In the last few days, 100 USD used to exchange for 2.2 million of Somali shilling but now the same currency is 1.18 million of Somali Shilling, according to one of currency exchange businessmen.
This sharp fall of dollar value in Mogadishu markets have bad impacts on Somali society.
Another businessman told Shabelle Media Network that the prices of essential foodstuffs escalated and on the other hand the dollar value is declining day after day.
He said that if the business community have one unified stance, they can stride over this mess.
One of Mogadishu residents said in brief interview with Shabelle that he receives 100 USD every month from abroad and that used to cover all his domestic needs. But, he is expecting this month he will be in dept because of the sharp fall of US dollar.
[N.B.: Somalia still stands as key-example for the fact that the currency of a country can remain stable for years (1991 - 1995) without a central bank, if there is no criminal outside interference. The value of the Somali Shilling was only affected and sent for the first time into turmoil, when Western institutions collaborated with criminal warlords to print new money, which had the WorldBank smiling nearby. Like in Libya, where the global banksters didn't want to allow for the plan to fix and pay for the oil-exports to gold instead of the US Dollar to come through and subsequently financed the total destruction of Libya, Somalia's economy is persistently in the cross-hairs of oil-hungry conglomerates and their bankster friends - to get the Somalis onto their knees, out or killed in order to start robbing. The recent moves of Sweden's AFRICA OIL and France's TOTAL targeting core Somalia, as well as the Chinese and Malaysians operating in Kenya and the Ogaden are only a few examples that blood-oil is one major source of evil around the Horn of Africa, the others being greed for natural resources like fish and the general land-grabbing by western agro-industries.]
IS SOMALIA BEING FORCED NOW TO BE RAPED BY EVERYBODY?
Somalia: Sierra Leone to Send Troops By Josh Kron (NewYorkTimes)
Sierra Leone will send 850 soldiers to an African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, a military official said Thursday. The official, Lt. Col. Ronnie Harleston, Sierra Leone’s military attaché to the United Nations, said the troops would deploy in the middle of next year. They will join approximately 9,000 peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi, who are currently trying to secure the Somali capital, Mogadishu, from Islamist rebels. Djibouti plans to contribute 850 troops to the force this month. The force has a mandate for 12,000 peacekeepers, but African Union officials say they would need 20,000 to try to pacify the entire country, which has been in a state of civil unrest for roughly 20 years.
Six soldiers killed in south Somalia (PressTV)
A landmine explosion has killed at least six Somali government soldiers in Gedo region of southern Somalia, Press TV reports. The explosion, triggered by remote controlled landmines occurred in El-wak district on Saturday, according to government officials.
“The blast targeted the government officers on a security mission in the area, killing six soldiers on the spot,” Col. Ahmed Mohamud, Somali forces commander in El-wak, told Press TV.
However, an al-Shabab spokesman claimed that his fighters carried out the attack.
“Our fighters carried out the attack against our enemy in El-wak. We have killed more than eight soldiers,” Sheikh Yunis Abu-zeyd said.
Tension has been growing between Somali government backed by Kenyan troops and al-Shabab fighters since they engaged in fierce battle over control of towns in south Somalia.
Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
Strategically located in the Horn of Africa, the authority of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government is generally limited to the area around the capital city, Mogadishu.
Kenya strikes displace 100s in Somalia (PressTV)
Hundreds of families have been fleeing towns in southern Somalia in the wake of Kenyan military's aerial strikes on al-Shabab militants' strongholds. Residents in Kismayo, a strategically-important port city located some 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of the Somali capital Mogadishu, as well as in Buale, Jilib, and Afmadow towns have been leaving their homes over the past week for fear of their lives, Xinhua reported on Saturday.
Last month, Kenya dispatched soldiers over its border into Somalia to pursue al-Shabaab militants, which it accuses of being behind the kidnapping of several foreigners on its territory. Al-Shabaab has denied involvement.
Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has said his UN-backed transitional government was opposed to the military incursion, which is reportedly being contributed to by the US and France.
- FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD (with an influence on Somalia and the water wars) :
"We're fighting terrorists, pirates, and militias. What happened to the days when we fought uniformed armies?"
SEE ALL THE ARTICLES BELOW LIKE A PICTURE, A COLLAGE AND LET THE MAIN COLOUR SINK IN. THEN LISTEN TO THE FINE TUNES AND DETAILS AND COME TO YOUR OWN CONCLUSION. WE TRY TO BALANCE THE FALSE PICTURE IMPLANTED INTO YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS BY THE MAINSTREAM'S RULERS - THE POWERS THAT BE. .- / .- / .- .- .=
Why did Kenya invade Somalia? By Richard Downie (CSIS)
Kenya is in the third week of a major military offensive inside neighboring Somalia. Called “Operation Protect the Nation,” it is Kenya’s largest military operation since independence in 1963. Around 1,600 troops are sweeping through areas of Southern Somalia controlled by the extremist Islamist group, al Shabaab. The Kenyan air force has also been in action, launching bombing raids on insurgent bases. Kenya’s military spokesman has even used his twitter account to warn residents living near al Shabaab camps in 10 towns to take shelter against imminent attacks.
Q: Why did Kenya invade?
Richard Downie: Kenyans have gotten increasingly alarmed about Somalia’s chronic instability, which has spilled over its borders. One manifestation of this instability is Dadaab refugee camp in northeastern Kenya, which receives Somalis fleeing the humanitarian crisis in their own country. Numbers at this camp have swelled to almost 450,000 because of the famine conditions in parts of Southern Somalia.
The Kenyan authorities were dismayed in October when two Spanish aid workers were kidnapped from the camp and taken into Somalia, prompting relief operations to be scaled back. But probably the final straw was the series of raids on coastal resorts by Somali criminals that preceded the attack in Dadaab. First, a British man was shot dead and his wife snatched from a beach resort close to the Somali border. Second, a disabled pensioner from France was seized near Lamu and taken to Somalia, where she subsequently died. Her kidnappers have demanded a ransom for her body.
Read: Restart of U.S.-DPRK negotiations.
Tourism is critical to Kenya’s economy, and the country is entering peak holiday season. We don’t actually know if al Shabaab was responsible for these kidnappings. Indeed, the Kenyans claim they were planning a military incursion long before they happened. But it’s clear that they helped focus Kenyan minds on the seriousness of the Somali problem and underlined the need to take action.
What is the military objective?
In essence, Kenya wants to keep al Shabaab at arms’ length from its border. It has already experimented with the idea of carving out a buffer zone inside Somalia. Earlier this year, it backed the formation of an autonomous region called Jubaland, or Azania, providing money and supplies to a hastily cobbled-together local governing authority under the leadership of a former Somali defense minister. This initiative never really got off the ground so this time round Kenya is taking the lead role rather than relying so heavily on local partners.
What is the extent of U.S. involvement in this operation?
Kenya’s status as a long-standing security partner of the United States has given rise to speculation that the United States is participating in this operation. Certainly, both countries have a shared interest in defeating al Shabaab, which is a designated terrorist group in the United States. But U.S. officials are adamant that the decision to take military action was Kenya’s and Kenya’s alone. They say they were not even briefed beforehand about Nairobi’s intention to take action. They have, however, expressed strong support for the operation. Kenya has been coy about naming the international partners who are assisting with its military offensive. It is unlikely to be coincidental that a U.S. air base in Ethiopia recently became operational. The base is used as a launch pad for unmanned drones that conduct counterterrorism surveillance across the Horn of Africa. The Pentagon says the Reaper drones are unarmed, but they are capable of being deployed for offensive operations. Missiles from U.S. drones have previously been used to kill suspected al Qaeda leaders in Somalia.
What are the military risks for Kenya?
Kenya has swept into Somalia on a wave of public support, and all the talk so far is of big military gains. But Kenya should not be fooled: this is a risky operation, and the risks will get bigger the longer the operation lasts. Kenya has not clearly defined its military objectives; instead, it has issued vague pronouncements to rid Somalia of extremists, which raise fears of a long and messy engagement. The history of outside military intervention in Somalia should also give the Kenyans pause for thought. Somalis do not tend to agree on much, but one thing that is guaranteed to unite them is opposition to external interference. We saw this in 2006, when Ethiopia invaded Somalia to oust the Islamic Courts Union, a governing authority that achieved considerable success in bringing a semblance of order to Mogadishu but whose anti-Ethiopian rhetoric caused alarm in Addis Ababa.
Editor’s Note: Critical Questions is produced by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Richard Downie is a fellow and deputy director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. The views expressed in this piece are solely those of Richard Downie.
Pain of being a Kenyan Somali By Abnasir Amin (AfricaReview)
The loyalty of Kenyan Somalis is questioned by many, and it does not help that such terms as ‘the enemy within’ are used with abandon. Reptilian analogies — with long anaconda-like tails buried hundreds of miles away in Somalia and heads in Eastleigh — are particularly unnerving .
Ethnic stereotypes are not necessarily a bad thing — it is one thing to be stereotyped as liking the good life, dressing well, wearing the latest Armani suit and scent, driving the latest BMW, having a penchant for speaking the Queen’s English, or indulging in kuku porno.
This is the stuff of bar-room banter, oiling the wheels of social discourse. I have no quarrel with that. I can see the coy smile on my friend Oti’s lips.
I doubt Shtan would take offence at the ingokho joke as well (I will stop it, I swear). The message is usually “come on, don’t take yourself too seriously. Lighten up”.
But it is different to be stereotyped as being guilty of all manner of ills, from spitting on the side walk, being “Osama’s buddy”, speaking in a harsh incomprehensible language (a silly hand-me-down from that colonialist Richard Burton), sitting around all day eating miraa with a kikoi tied around your torso, and having huge amounts of “unexplained” money.
I would rather be guilty of eating too much ingokho any time. The gurgling noises Marete makes as he imitates my Somali speech, then asking me “what did I say in Somali? and my witty rejoinder “my aunt is a cow” — that also I can take. It is good fun, we all laugh and that is it.
However, there is nothing to lighten up about being “Osama’s buddy”. At the height of the hunt for Osama bin Laden, a lecturer in an oral examination had the cheek to ask me if I knew the Al-Qaeda leader.
Traumatic
For those who have been through the University of Nairobi’s medical school, oral examinations are traumatic.
There are usually three categories of students; those whose performance is outstanding and the examiners are trying to make up their minds whether to give them a distinction or not; those who are in the middle and the oral examination is just a confirmation that you are indeed C material — a middling; the third, and most-dreaded category and every med-schooler’s nightmare is those who are borderline and are a whisker away from failure.
Kenya: where all Somalis are suspects? By Tristan McConnell (GlobalPost)As Kenyans worry about terrorist threats, ethnic Somalis fear discrimination. Residents of Eastleigh, a Nairobi neighborhood known for its Somali immigrant population, live in fear.
These days everyone in Nairobi is afraid of something. Armed guards search vehicles and bags outside offices, hotels and shops. Armed police patrol the streets. Advertised events in busy shopping malls and bars are canceled or poorly attended amid fears of attack by members of Somalia’s Al Shabaab extremists.
Over in Eastleigh, a Somali enclave in the city, residents are fearful for yet a different reason. They worry that they are being judged and condemned on the basis of their ethnicity.
They have cause for concern, since many Kenyans view Somali immigrants as potential Al Shabaab terrorists.
“[Al Shabaab] is like a big animal with the tail in Somalia, and the head of the animal is hidden here in Eastleigh,” said assistant security minister Orwa Ojode to Parliament last month.
“They believe that all Somalis are the same and their fear of us is escalating.”~Guled Bille Mohamed, 28, born in northern Kenya
Such comments worry Kenya’s ethnic Somali population which numbers 2.4 million, roughly 8 percent of Kenya's 40 million population, according to the country’s 2009 census.
Hussein Mohamed Haji, a 70-year-old hotelier and deputy chairman of the Eastleigh Business Community, angrily dismissed Ojodeh’s suggestion that Eastleigh is full of Al Shabaab supporters. “He was talking rubbish,” he told GlobalPost.
But was he?
The discovery of “extensive Kenyan networks linked to Al Shabaab, which not only recruit and raise funds for the organization, but also conduct orientation and training events inside Kenya,” was among the findings in a United Nations report published in June that covered infringements of the arms embargo on Somalia.
The UN investigators singled out the Muslim Youth Center, accusing its leaders of fundraising for Al Shabaab and training aspiring jihadis. The youth center is based in Majengo, a slum next door to Eastleigh.
But another significant observation in the report was that Al Shabaab influence and support was not limited to Somalis. “Non-Somali Kenyan nationals … today constitute the largest and most structurally organized non-Somali group within Al Shabaab,” said the UN report.
Apparent proof of this came last week: A 28-year-old Kenyan man convicted of this month’s grenade attacks in Nairobi was a non-Somali, a Muslim convert from western Kenya.
Nevertheless it is Kenya’s ethnic Somalis who are feeling the heat of suspicion, and not for the first time. Kenya’s security forces regularly haul dragnets through Eastleigh arresting hundreds at a time often with little basis except the ethnicity.
Haji is an ethnic Somali, born in Kenya, and living in Eastleigh alongside what he calls “Somali-Somalis,” many of whom have fled 20 years of fighting in their homeland.
He resents the “shakedowns” by Kenyan police but believes their techniques are a little more advanced — and more sensitive — these days.
“So far the Kenyan security has not taken the action they have in the past. This time they have arrested several people in Eastleigh suspected of being Al Shabaab but they didn’t make a major sweep, they identified elements they want,” he said.
Somalis in Kenya are living in fear, according to Rashid Abdi, an analyst at the International Crisis Group. “In Eastleigh today there is a community that is extremely worried, very anxious,” he said.
“There has been a growing xenophobia against Somalis whipped up by the establishment over the last two years — ‘They are taking over the economy, taking over real estate, destroying our security, flooding the country with guns’ — everything is blamed on Somalis and Somalis will pay the price for this,” Abdi said.
“So far there hasn’t been a major crackdown but there have been promises from the establishment and some terrible official rhetoric that fuels paranoia,” he said referring to Ojode’s speech in Parliament.
Eastleigh has developed as a world of its own like the Chinatowns and Little Italys of other capital cities. This one is nicknamed Little Mogadishu and is home to around 350,000 people, the vast majority of whom are Somalis.
The Kenyan-Somali and Somali-Somali distinction means little outside of the Somali community.
A young Kenyan-Somali journalist described to GlobalPost how he was singled out on his way to work one recent morning. Police called him out of the minibus taxi he was traveling in and, not believing he was a Kenyan, subjected him to a humiliating search and identity check.
Other Somalis have suffered far worse treatment at the hands of the authorities as documented extensively by Human Rights Watch in a report published last year showing the range of abuses suffered by Somalis as they try to cross into Kenya as refugees.
In Eastleigh the concern is palpable.
“There is a general sense of suspicion and fear of any Somali, whether from Somalia or Kenya,” said Guled Bille Mohamed, a 28-year-old university student born in Wajir, northern Kenya.
“They believe that all Somalis are the same and their fear of us is escalating. If it is not stopped we are going to see Somali-phobia here in Kenya,” he said.
Part of the problem is revealed in the way that Kenyan Somalis refer to other Kenyans as "they" and certainly there is no love lost between the communities.
The rift between the two communities has a long history. Kenya’s independence from colonial rule in 1963 was followed by a four-year conflict called the Shifta War which broke out as Kenyan Somalis fought for separation from Kenya and unification with the rest of Somalia.
That seeming betrayal has not been forgotten and Kenya’s Somalis have been regarded with suspicion and neglect ever since.
“At independence we were afraid of discrimination because we did not look like the rest of them,” recalled Haji. “And that dream became true.”
“I am 70. I was born in Kenya. I speak six Kenyan languages. But when other Kenyans see me they just make the assumption that I’m a Somali,” he said.
“I never went to Somalia, I don’t know where Somalia is, but that phobia is still there. There is discrimination. They see Somalis and think we are Al Shabaab.”
ANYBODY LIKEWISE MOURNING THE FALLEN SOMALIS IN THIS STUPID WAR?
Kenya: Fallen officer’s family suffers double tragedy By Kitavi Mutua (Standard)
The tragedy was doubled for an Army pilot’s family after his father collapsed and died upon receiving the shocking news of his son’s death while on duty to defend the country.
Major Samuel Keli Kavindu died on October 16, alongside four other military men after the helicopter he was flying crashed shortly after takeoff from Liboi military base.
The five were the first casualties of the military incursion in Somalia to destroy the Al-Shabaab terror network. They died on the first day of war, which enters its fourth week today (Sunday).
Highly ambitious
Maj Kavindu, described by friends and relatives as a humble, responsible and highly ambitious pilot, had spent his last moments in Kenya with his now deceased father in Nairobi.
He ensured his father had a medical check-up at the Aga Khan hospital in Nairobi and gave instructions to his wife and brothers to keep him posted on any developments.
Maj Kavindu was buried on Saturday alongside his father Mzee Kavindu Munga at their home in Kivani village, Kitui West district, beginning a sad chapter for the family.
When the Sunday Nation visited their home on Friday, friends and neighbours were putting the final touches on the two graves, just three metres apart, where they were to be interred.
According to the pilot’s elder brother, Mr Mutinda Kavindu, before he flew out as part of Operation Linda Nchi, the family bade him farewell and wished him well.
“We’ve lost a very responsible brother, a loving and caring husband and father to his immediate family and more so a dependable community member,” said Mutinda.
He added that Maj Kavindu had visited the village a few weeks before when off duty, and he presided over a funds drive in aid of Muthale Mission Hospital run by the local Catholic diocese.
“We spoke to him on that Sunday afternoon, and he informed us that they had landed safely at Liboi border and were preparing to enter Somali territory. But, soon after, phone calls to his line were going unanswered until we got the sad news the following morning,” he said.
The news about the military helicopter crash were first broadcast on radio, but the family, who took keen interest in the war because of their son’s involvement, were not apprehensive about it because the details were initially scant.
According to the pilot’s elder brother, Mr Mutinda Kavindu, before he flew out as part of Operation Linda Nchi, the family bade him farewell and wished him well.
“We’ve lost a very responsible brother, a loving and caring husband and father to his immediate family and more so a dependable community member,” said Mutinda.
He added that Maj Kavindu had visited the village a few weeks before when off duty, and he presided over a funds drive in aid of Muthale Mission Hospital run by the local Catholic diocese.
“We spoke to him on that Sunday afternoon, and he informed us that they had landed safely at Liboi border and were preparing to enter Somali territory. But, soon after, phone calls to his line were going unanswered until we got the sad news the following morning,” he said.
The news about the military helicopter crash were first broadcast on radio, but the family, who took keen interest in the war because of their son’s involvement, were not apprehensive about it because the details were initially scant.
But then they were called from the Department of Defence headquarters on Monday morning and informed that “Maj Kavindu had been injured while on duty” and that they would be kept informed about his progress.
Condolence message
Mzee Kavindu took the message very positively and remained confident that his last-born son was alive.
But reality sank in two days later when President Kibaki sent a message of condolence to the families of the five military men after chairing a special Cabinet session on the war in Somalia.
But reality sank in two days later when President Kibaki sent a message of condolence to the families of the five military men after chairing a special Cabinet session on the war in Somalia.
The Commander-in-Chief’s message was delivered through the local district commissioner’s office.
The sad news, coupled with reports that bodies of the crash victims had been burnt beyond recognition, overwhelmed the old man. He became ill.
Mzee Kavindu was rushed to the Kitui General Hospital, but his condition deteriorated as the family went on with the burial plans.
The elderly man died as his other two sons prepared to transfer him to Agha Khan Hospital in Nairobi for specialised treatment.
Samuel Kavindu was born in 1972. He attended St Charles Lwanga High School before proceeding to Moi University where he obtained a degree in environmental science.
He taught briefly at Thatha Secondary School and later joined the military as a cadet in 1998.
Kenya grenade attack kills two, U.N. convoy hits landmine By Noor Ali and Daud Yussuf (Reuters)
* Grenade thrown, bomb found in Garissa, northern Kenya
* U.N. convoy hits landmine in Dadaab refugee camp
* Mounting risks facing aid workers near Somalia border
A grenade attack in Garissa, northern Kenya, killed two people on Saturday, hours after a U.N. aid convoy struck a landmine which failed to detonate in Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp.
Kenya has been beset by a spate of attacks since it sent troops into neighbouring Somalia last month to crush al Qaeda-linked rebels it blames for a wave kidnappings and cross-border raids.
"We heard a blast and saw a flash light up the area. I rushed to the site and saw two people lying in a pool of blood, dead. Three others were wounded and screaming for help," Garissa resident Abdirahman Yussuf told Reuters.
A short while earlier, a bomb hidden in a bag was found planted beneath a power transformer opposite a military camp, eye witnesses said. It did not detonate.
Garissa is an important military base in Kenya, from where ground forces have been deployed across the frontier.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.
Earlier on Saturday, a police-escorted U.N. convoy struck a landmine in the Dadaab refugee complex near the border with Somalia, underscoring the mounting threats facing aid groups and refugees in the camp.
The landmine did not explode, but the incident took place close to where two Spanish women working for the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) were kidnapped last month.
"The police land-cruiser was escorting the morning U.N. convoy to Hagadera camp," District Commissioner Ndambuki Muthike said, referring to one of the three camps at the refugee site.
"It ran over what was discovered to be a mine that had been partly buried in the sand and covered with a cooking pot."
Security officials said it was not known who planted the device, which was set just a few hundred metres from a police post. Banditry is common in the area but landmines are rare.
The abduction of the Spanish MSF workers, who were taken into Somalia, was the third in a rash of attacks on Westerners in Kenya.
The kidnapping helped spur Kenya into deploying forces across the border, the latest country in a string of foreign powers to try and stabilise the Horn of Africa country that has been mired in violence for two decades.
Analysts warn Kenya's incursion risks dragging it into a broader regional conflict.
Somalia's al Shabaab militants have vowed to bring the "flames of war" across the frontier in retaliation. Security experts have also voiced concerns the rebels would increasingly turn to softer targets, such as tourists and aid workers.
Dadaab, located about 100 km (60 miles) from the Somali border, was set up in 1991 to house Somalis fleeing violence in their country. The camp's population has swollen to more than 460,000 people this year because of famine in Somalia.
Separately, residents in the Kenyan border town of Hulugho said a gang of suspected Somali gunmen riding donkeys attacked the frontier post late on Friday. The raiders later crossed back into Somalia.
Kenya, east Africa's largest economy, has long looked warily at its chaotic neighbour. Somali militants frequently launch cross-border assaults on border towns and Kenyan security forces.
* Mounting risks facing aid workers near Somalia border
A grenade attack in Garissa, northern Kenya, killed two people on Saturday, hours after a U.N. aid convoy struck a landmine which failed to detonate in Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp.
Kenya has been beset by a spate of attacks since it sent troops into neighbouring Somalia last month to crush al Qaeda-linked rebels it blames for a wave kidnappings and cross-border raids.
"We heard a blast and saw a flash light up the area. I rushed to the site and saw two people lying in a pool of blood, dead. Three others were wounded and screaming for help," Garissa resident Abdirahman Yussuf told Reuters.
A short while earlier, a bomb hidden in a bag was found planted beneath a power transformer opposite a military camp, eye witnesses said. It did not detonate.
Garissa is an important military base in Kenya, from where ground forces have been deployed across the frontier.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.
Earlier on Saturday, a police-escorted U.N. convoy struck a landmine in the Dadaab refugee complex near the border with Somalia, underscoring the mounting threats facing aid groups and refugees in the camp.
The landmine did not explode, but the incident took place close to where two Spanish women working for the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) were kidnapped last month.
"The police land-cruiser was escorting the morning U.N. convoy to Hagadera camp," District Commissioner Ndambuki Muthike said, referring to one of the three camps at the refugee site.
"It ran over what was discovered to be a mine that had been partly buried in the sand and covered with a cooking pot."
Security officials said it was not known who planted the device, which was set just a few hundred metres from a police post. Banditry is common in the area but landmines are rare.
The abduction of the Spanish MSF workers, who were taken into Somalia, was the third in a rash of attacks on Westerners in Kenya.
The kidnapping helped spur Kenya into deploying forces across the border, the latest country in a string of foreign powers to try and stabilise the Horn of Africa country that has been mired in violence for two decades.
Analysts warn Kenya's incursion risks dragging it into a broader regional conflict.
Somalia's al Shabaab militants have vowed to bring the "flames of war" across the frontier in retaliation. Security experts have also voiced concerns the rebels would increasingly turn to softer targets, such as tourists and aid workers.
Dadaab, located about 100 km (60 miles) from the Somali border, was set up in 1991 to house Somalis fleeing violence in their country. The camp's population has swollen to more than 460,000 people this year because of famine in Somalia.
Separately, residents in the Kenyan border town of Hulugho said a gang of suspected Somali gunmen riding donkeys attacked the frontier post late on Friday. The raiders later crossed back into Somalia.
Kenya, east Africa's largest economy, has long looked warily at its chaotic neighbour. Somali militants frequently launch cross-border assaults on border towns and Kenyan security forces.
Kenya police car hits landmine (AFP)
"The landmine was discovered this morning when vehicles of a UN agency were being escorted by police to Hagadera. But it was discovered before the UN vehicles hit it. The police vehicle was ahead and all the others were stopped and ordered to go back," the officer said.
Hagadera is one of three camps within the Dadaab complex.
"The mine was removed and security has been intensified," said the officer, who asked not to be named.
Incidents of banditry are common in this region of northeast Kenya but landmines are rare.
The incident happened not far from where gunmen seized two Spaniards working for Doctors Without Borders, Montserrat Serra and Blanca Thiebaut, on October 13.
The two are thought to have been taken to Somalia by their captors.
The kidnapping of the Spaniards was one of the incidents that spurred Kenya to send troops into Somalia to fight the al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents that Nairobi blames for the abductions as well as for cross-border raids.
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