Lives Worth Taking?

You've probably already heard by now of the rescue of Captain Phillips by US Navy Seals off the coast of Somalia earlier this week (Easter in fact).  One of the 4 pirates was aboard the USS Bainbridge for medical treatment.  The remaining 3 guarded the captain.  They had been without food or water for several days and had run out of fuel.  Eventually the Somali pirates arranged for food and water to be taken to the stranded vessel, and they accepted a 200' tow from the destroyer.

The long and short of it was this: The tow rope was shortened to 100', the Captain's life appeared to be in immediate danger as evening came, and three snipers took the lives of each of the three pirates still on board with a single shot.  I was saddened to read that John Reinhart, CEO of Maesrk Line Ltd. who owns the ship, had this to say.  "Everyone's worked around the clock.  It's magnificent to see the outcome."  This seems to be most everyone's reaction.  A feel good story with some old fashioned American hard work and a happy ending.

Except that 3 people lost their lives.  I'm glad that the Captain is safe, but is there no remorse that it came to this?  Are these Somalis worth anything? Maybe if we had stayed in Somalia during the Black Hawk Down incident we wouldn't have desperate people turning to piracy.  Who were these people? Were they hardened criminals, warlords?  Have they ever killed anyone before? Or were they family men, desperate to make money somehow to avoid starvation?  Commandeer a ship and get paid millions without even touching a single sailor - that seems like a pretty good deal. Was this their first time? Were they terrified when they became surrounded by American warships?  The Somali who was aboard the Bainbridge was seeking medical treatment for a gash he received during the hijacking.  This doesn't sound like somone out to harm people.  It sounds more like a cry for help.

Who where these people?  I guess we'll never know.

Now there is a deeper issue here, one far more complicated than a simple hijacking. What was left of the country's legitimate local economy is now being destroyed by piracy.  Some are getting rich.  Other fisherman can't sell their seafood because ships won't sail into port through Somalia's costal waters for fear of being attacked.  There is so much that is wrong with this situation, I do not intend to oversimplify by focusing on a sole, isolated incident.  I am saddened and relieved by what took place this past Easter, however, we need to wake up to the rest of the problem, not just care when it only affects us directly. A final thought:

"Indeed, that was an apt and true reply which was given to Alexander the Great by a pirate who had been seized.  For when that king had asked the man what he meant by keeping hostile possession of the sea, he answered with bold pride, 'What thou meanest by seizing the whole earth; but because I do it with a petty ship, I am called a robber, whilst thou who dost it with a great fleet art styled emperor.'"

Saint Augustine's The City of God