Xan Rice of The Guardian interviews Asad ‘Booyah’ Abdulahi, a 42 year-old Somali pirate.
Excerpts:
I am 42 years old and have nine children. I am a boss with boats operating in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
… We give priority to ships from Europe because we get bigger ransoms. To get their attention we shoot near the ship. If it does not stop we use a rope ladder to get on board. We count the crew and find out their nationalities. After checking the cargo we ask the captain to phone the owner and say that have seized the ship and will keep it until the ransom is paid.
… Our community thinks we are pirates getting illegal money. But we consider ourselves heroes running away from poverty. We don’t see the hijacking as a criminal act but as a road tax because we have no central government to control our sea. With foreign warships now on patrol we have difficulties.
But we are getting new boats and weapons. We will not stop until we have a central government that can control our sea.
The full story is here
Hat-tip to Africa Works
