The Pirates of Somalia_ Inside Their Hidden World - Jay Bahadur [91]
Such stories were surely caricatures, but they no doubt somewhat faithfully reflected a highly dysfunctional working environment. Indeed, for all the talk I had heard about mutual affection and solidarity born of a common struggle, the pirates often seemed to mistrust each other as much as they did outsiders.2
Hersi confirmed this impression when he steered the conversation back to the forthcoming ransom, a topic that was clearly weighing heavily on his mind. “After the ransom has been divided, each pirate has to throw his phone in the ocean before he leaves the ship,” he said. This unusual divestment of their coveted mobiles ensured that no member of the gang was able to arrange an ambush for any of the others once they left the safety of the ship. Once they reached shore, it was every man for himself, with each pirate attempting alone the perilous dash from the wilderness of Eyl to the relative shelter of Garowe. “When you call members of the gang and their phones aren’t working, that is the sign that the money has arrived,” Hersi explained.
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If the Victoria gang was a military hierarchy, then Computer, the outfit’s commander-in-chief, was an armchair general—he rarely made personal appearances aboard the ship, but issued orders to his gang from his Garowe hideout. On board the Victoria, authority was exercised by his plenipotentiary, known as Loyan, the group’s interpreter. Loyan had been the logical choice for field commander—the eldest pirate after Computer (at thirty years old), he was the only one capable of communicating effectively with the crew, and was also a veteran of three campaigns, coming on board the Victoria a mere two days after his previous interpreting assignment had ended. Hersi, it appeared, could not resist taking a few shots at his more successful rival.
“Loyan is a khat addict,” he said. “He ran up a $37,000 khat bill before Computer finally cut him off.3 He told him to stay on the ship and shut up.” Hersi continued, “He doesn’t even speak very good English. He only knows how to say basic things, like ‘We want more money.’ ” His statement seemed to imply that Loyan was also responsible for negotiating with the Victoria’s shipping company—a position that would have further enhanced his status within the gang. While pirate organizations often hire outside, professional intermediaries, in less sophisticated operations the interpreter will double as negotiator, engaging in a routine “ask high, settle low” back-and-forth exchange.
Hersi paused, lighting another cigarette, and said, “Once the first ten guys caught the ship and brought it to Eyl, there was another group waiting to relieve them.” They were quickly brought on to guard the hostages. “The attackers had done their job, and had earned the right to do anything they wanted. Immediately, they went on land, bought cars, started to party.”
Each one of the “holders,” he said, would receive $20,000 from the ransom, while each attacker would receive $140,000, which they had begun to spend almost as soon as the Victoria’s anchor hit the ocean floor. Their subsequent spending binges—made possible by the almost limitless credit extended to them by anyone with anything to sell—would have made the most reckless subprime mortgage look like the model of fiscal responsibility. “As soon as the ship gets to its destination, the party is already on, the money is already flowing,” explained Hersi. “No one knows when the ransom will come. It could take one month,