Battling Piracy Around the world

Battling Piracy Around the world

Huhh? Was my first reaction after hearing the story on the nightly news about a merchant sea captain held hostage by “pirates”; I thought we left Captain Hook behind about 200+ years ago. As the story unfolded and America cheered for the safe rescuing of Captain Phillips I sat, watching the nightly news, as they announced the captured pirate will be tried in the United States. Instinctively I became perturbed by this idea, but yet filled with anticipation to see the“21st century pirate”. A young man is what I saw, who appeared oblivious to the ramifications of his actions. Could he have been romanticized by the billion dollar industry this old age problem has become? Perhaps it could have been that he just believed this was a way for survival. Which ever the story maybe one thing is certain, piracy is a global concern challenged by opposing views.

On NPR’s website I came across a few articles discussing this international issue and controversy on piracy. The article discusses how piracy has been a problem for roughly 5 centuries. During the
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104455073#commentBlock
Golden Age of Piracy (17th & 18th century) governments were forced to take on drastic measures that involved the public hanging of many pirates. Two wars were battled along the Mediterranean and Northwest African coast known as “The Barbary Wars”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Barbary_War

As we fast forward to today piracy continues to persist along Southeast Asia and Africa. However are we dealing with the same kind of pirates or piracy? Who are these people? I came across a definition for both pirate and piracy. http://www.rochedalss.eq.edu.au/pirates/pirate1.htm
“Pirates are regarded as common enemies of all people. In that nations have an equal interest in their apprehension and punishment, pirates may be lawfully captured on the high seas by the armed vessels of any state and brought within its territorial jurisdiction for trial in its tribunals. “
While “Piracy is recognized as an offense against the law of nations. It is a crime not against any particular state, but against all humanity.”

The words that struck me were “common enemy of all people” and “crime against all humanity”. Does this include the people of Somalia except for those who choose piracy as their way of life to feed their family? What about the illegal dumping of waste and the illegal fishing by foreign commercial fleets that have caused many Somalia children to starve and be poisoned to death. How does this fit into the equation for defining our new age “pirates”? Does it fit at all?

Many believe that the pirates today have gone beyond retaliating on those who have destroyed and disrupt there waters and therefore should be handled with the same violence as the 17th & 18th century. While many others believe solving the lack of governance, and economic instability many of these countries breeding pirates face will essentially solve piracy.
In class we discussed the comparisons of various governments and types of policing in various countries. What about crimes that cross borders and effect a collection of countries? How effective is the international legal system that would address this issue and others that cross borders?

Bobbi W.