The Pirates of Somalia_ Inside Their Hidden World - Jay Bahadur [121]
JANUARY 8, 2009: Former Puntland finance minister Abdirahman Farole is elected president of Puntland. A former academic, Farole becomes only the third Somali civilian leader since 1969.
APRIL 8, 2009: Members of Garaad Mohammed’s pirate organization briefly seize the MV Maersk Alabama, the first US merchant ship to be commandeered in two hundred years. Four attackers flee the ship in the Alabama’s lifeboat, taking Captain Richard Phillips with them. After a tense four-day standoff, US Navy SEALs kill three of the pirates and take the fourth into custody.
MAY 5, 2009: The MV Victoria, a German-owned container ship, is hijacked by a gang of Eyl-based pirates operating under the instructions of Abdulkhadar “Computer,” a reported psychic. The ship is released after seventy-five days, garnering a ransom of $1.8 million.
NOVEMBER 6, 2010: Pirates release the South Korean oil tanker Samho Dream for a record-setting ransom of $9.5 million.
JANUARY 21, 2011: South Korean commandos storm the hijacked chemical tanker MV Samho Jewelry, freeing the crew and killing eight pirates. The rescue marked the first military assault on a commercial vessel whose crew had not barricaded themselves within a “safe room.”
FEBRUARY 18, 2011: Pirates hijack the yacht S/V Quest four hundred kilometres off the coast of Oman. Surrounded by US warships, the pirates execute their four American hostages.
Acknowledgements
A VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO MY HOST AND PARTNER, RADIO Garowe and Garowe Online (www.garoweonline.com) founder Mohamad Abdirahman Farole, his brothers Omar and Mahad, and his cousins, Abdirizak Ahmed and the redoubtable Colonel Omar Abdullahi Farole. I would also like to extend my deepest gratitude to my invaluable consultant, Somali-American journalist Yusuf Hassan. Finally, my thanks to my trusty bodyguards, Said and Abdirashid, who got me back alive—twice—and to Boyah, who welcomed me into his world.
To my parents, Maria and Kailash, unwavering in their support as this project developed from cockeyed suicide mission to unimagined success, and to Laura, for her love, understanding, and flawless application of Marry Me doctrine.
I am extraordinarily grateful to my unofficial editors, the friends who gave countless hours of their valuable time to help me become a better writer: Lauren Amundsen (who mercilessly beat the flowery metaphor out of me), as well as Kevin Weitzman, Geoff Burt, and Ross Gray.
I wish to thank all those who helped me along the way, from Toronto to Garowe, London, Nairobi, and beyond: Teddy Florea, Katharine Houreld, Kevin Mwachiro, Jamal Abdi, Rene Dalgaard, Hussein Hersi, Abdiwahid Mahamed Hersi Joaar, Said Orey, Ion Tita-Calin, Stig Jarle Hansen, Ryan Bigge, Avril Benoit, Reva Seth, Shin Imai, Bill Burt, Daniel Sekulich, Thymaya Payne, Mohamed Dahir Hassan, and the Kenyan prison service, especially Wanini Kireri, David Macharia, and Patrick Mwenda.
I would like to express my sincerest appreciation to Daniel Crewe and Lisa Owens at Profile, Vicky Wilson at Knopf, Noelle Zitzer at HarperCollins, Sarah Wight (my superbly-talented copyeditor), and in particular to my editor Jim Gifford, who saw beyond the CV.
Finally, my inestimable thanks to my agent, Rick Broadhead, for his tireless patience and hard work as I trod my first steps along a very unfamiliar path.
To those whom I have neglected to mention: please accept the omission as one of memory, and not of gratitude.
Notes
PROLOGUE: WHERE THE WHITE MAN RUNS AWAY
1. All figures are in US dollars.
CHAPTER 1: BOYAH
1. Name has been changed.
2. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) corroborates part of Boyah’s claim: a 2005 report states that “[illegal] fishing is increasing day by day and destroying coral reefs, fish nursery areas, capturing endangered species and depleting fish stocks rapidly.” Also according to