Puntland Is for Pirates: Why are convicted high-seas bandits being sent to the Somali region that profits from their crimes?

Excerpt:

The prisons in Somaliland and Puntland, in other words, are part of a security solution to a problem that is, at its heart, economic and political—a worrying mismatch. Ending piracy once and for all will require more than military might on the high seas and the threat of incarceration. According to the World Bank, it will require incentivizing—through both law enforcement and development initiatives—the local leaders enabling piracy to change their tune. Then there is the matter of jobs. “Ultimately, we need to get these Somali men, often youth, quality employment,” says Michael Shank, an adjunct professor and Somalia expert at George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. The U.N. Development Program has pegged the unemployment rate for Somali youth between the ages of l4 and 29 at 67 percent—one of the world’s highest.

Pirate prisons alone certainly cannot address this problem. Although inmates can complete training programs in trades like construction, metalworking, and plumbing in the Hargeisa and Bosaso facilities, it’s unlikely they will be able to use their newfound skills upon release. Even fishing jobs are largely out of reach. Shank explains that, in addition to “ransom pirates,” there are “resource pirates.” The latter, however, aren’t Somalis. They are foreign fleets that threaten East Africa’s waters with overfishing and toxic-waste dumping, making it impossible for many Somali men to make money the way their fathers and grandfathers did. “To put the problem of piracy in perspective, ransom pirates made $60 million in their most lucrative year, while commercial-resource pirates illegally harvest up to $450 million in fish annually,” says Shank. “Any sustainable solution for this problem, then, must address this exploitation.”