missingfeet
Feb 20, 2009
missingfeet
Feb 20, 2009
missingfeet
Feb 20, 2009
Undergraduate / Georgetown - Somalian Pirates [8]
The topic is:
Briefly discuss a current global issue, indicating why you consider it
important and what you suggest should be done to deal with it.
Thanks in advance!
-----------
Pirates have used the oceans to exert control over peoples for over twelve-hundred years, but it seems that our culture has come to a point where the public considers piracy a relic of the past, irrelevant since the Barbary pirates of the turn of the nineteenth century. However, the recent terrorist attacks inflicted upon unwary ships off the East African coast by Somali pirates have shocked both the public and the international community. These acts constitute a global crisis resulting not only from the economic and political struggles of Somalia, but also from the failures of the international community to take coordinated action to confront the decades-old problems of the region.
With over a hundred ships attacked last year, the pirates are becoming increasingly more effective. On January 9, they received a $3 million dollar ransom for a ship containing over $100 million in oil cargo, and more than a dozen ships with about 300 crew members are still being held. The truth is that this situation is not only life-threatening for those on-board the hijacked vessels, but a serious security threat to the coastal nations bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. For example, the pirates' capture in September of a Ukrainian ship loaded with weapons could lead to the sale of the cargo to dubious organizations in Sudan, Iran, and Afghanistan.
Undoubtedly, the Somali pirates are criminals who should be punished for their actions. However, even the swift capture and prosecution of every offending ship would not be sufficient to solve the problem. An international council composed of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Ethiopia, India, and other adjacent and endangered areas, must be formed in order to both better patrol at risk areas on water and improve the situation on the ground in Somalia. Economically, improving the Somali quality of life consists of producing more favorable trade conditions and increasing labor opportunities in the region. Politically, these nations must come together to formulate a set of recommendations to the Somali government, which Transparency International lists at the bottom of its annual Corruption Perceptions Index. For the future stability of Somalia, it is critical that these countries continue to support the Transitional Federal Government in its struggle against the comparatively more militant Islamic Courts Union government that has taken the Somali capital. These and other steps will ensure further progress on the ground, allowing Somalia to eventually take action on its own to circumvent the terrorist activities originating at its shores.
Furthermore, a coordinated effort from the nations of this region would act as a first step towards tackling the instability of states such as Pakistan and India. Solving the Somalian crisis could be the cornerstone upon which these nations could build their twenty-first century relations. This league of Arabian Sea-bordering states would hopefully continue to work together to solve difficult political and economic issues like religion and trade that continue to plague the region.
The topic is:
Briefly discuss a current global issue, indicating why you consider it
important and what you suggest should be done to deal with it.
Thanks in advance!
-----------
Pirates have used the oceans to exert control over peoples for over twelve-hundred years, but it seems that our culture has come to a point where the public considers piracy a relic of the past, irrelevant since the Barbary pirates of the turn of the nineteenth century. However, the recent terrorist attacks inflicted upon unwary ships off the East African coast by Somali pirates have shocked both the public and the international community. These acts constitute a global crisis resulting not only from the economic and political struggles of Somalia, but also from the failures of the international community to take coordinated action to confront the decades-old problems of the region.
With over a hundred ships attacked last year, the pirates are becoming increasingly more effective. On January 9, they received a $3 million dollar ransom for a ship containing over $100 million in oil cargo, and more than a dozen ships with about 300 crew members are still being held. The truth is that this situation is not only life-threatening for those on-board the hijacked vessels, but a serious security threat to the coastal nations bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. For example, the pirates' capture in September of a Ukrainian ship loaded with weapons could lead to the sale of the cargo to dubious organizations in Sudan, Iran, and Afghanistan.
Undoubtedly, the Somali pirates are criminals who should be punished for their actions. However, even the swift capture and prosecution of every offending ship would not be sufficient to solve the problem. An international council composed of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Ethiopia, India, and other adjacent and endangered areas, must be formed in order to both better patrol at risk areas on water and improve the situation on the ground in Somalia. Economically, improving the Somali quality of life consists of producing more favorable trade conditions and increasing labor opportunities in the region. Politically, these nations must come together to formulate a set of recommendations to the Somali government, which Transparency International lists at the bottom of its annual Corruption Perceptions Index. For the future stability of Somalia, it is critical that these countries continue to support the Transitional Federal Government in its struggle against the comparatively more militant Islamic Courts Union government that has taken the Somali capital. These and other steps will ensure further progress on the ground, allowing Somalia to eventually take action on its own to circumvent the terrorist activities originating at its shores.
Furthermore, a coordinated effort from the nations of this region would act as a first step towards tackling the instability of states such as Pakistan and India. Solving the Somalian crisis could be the cornerstone upon which these nations could build their twenty-first century relations. This league of Arabian Sea-bordering states would hopefully continue to work together to solve difficult political and economic issues like religion and trade that continue to plague the region.
