Jobs Can Help End Piracy

Somalia hasn’t had a functioning central government since the outbreak of civil war in 1991. Pirates and terrorist organizations have flourished in the country’s instability, however, Somalia’s prime minister believes that creating jobs for the young is a first step towards normalisation.

Somali Leader Says Jobs Can Help End Piracy

By JENNY GROSS

LONDON—The key to beating piracy in Somalia is improving the standard of living in the country’s coastal cities and creating jobs for their young people—not relying on intervention by international naval forces, Somalia’s prime minister said.

“You don’t want to cure the symptom, you have to cure the cause,” Abdiweli Mohamed Ali said in an interview after a conference last week that brought together more than 50 leaders of governments and international organizations to discuss problems in the East African country.

“In the short term, you can address the problem with a naval blockade. But what we need is to invest in the coast communities, to invest in health and sanitation, so we can create a livelihood for the youth,” Mr. Ali said.

In the coastal regions, 90% of Somalis between the ages of 18 and 30 are unemployed.

Somali pirates are responsible for more than half of global attacks on shipping and cost the shipping industry and governments between $6.6 billion and $6.9 billion in 2011, according to a report by Colorado-based initiative Oceans Beyond Piracy. Pirate attacks disrupt Africa’s movement of crude oil and flow of goods, which heavily depend on trade by sea.

Mr. Ali, 46 years old, who became prime minister in June, said that aside from developing the coastal communities, the East African nation needs a judicial system. This would allow officials to prosecute and imprison pirates using a consistent policy….[access full article]