Make it Pop-Tarts and khat for Somali pirates
August 25th, 2009 | Pirates | Posted by Andrew Scutro
According to a Somali-born linguist, ship hijackers here are perpetually stoned and not too bright yet rich and popular in the small towns and villages. Flush with ransom money, they have their pick of women despite existing local ties.//Photo via ethiopianreview.com
ABOARD THE CRUISER ANZIO OFF SOMALIA — It’s always a good idea to know some of the local language and culture, no matter what or where. In recent years U.S. forces have had to rely on native speakers in Iraq, Afghanistan and on missions like this one off the Horn of Africa.
A Somali-born linguist (he requests anonymity for protection) has come aboard as Anzio steps up its counterpiracy mission. He shared a few relevant Somali terms:
pirate: burcad badeed (thugs of the sea)
folding stock AK-47: dabalabab
RPG: bazooka
automatic rifle: faal (German-made G3 specifically)
coalition sailors: cridank-bada (soldiers of the sea)
ransom: “There is no word. This is new to us.”
He has nothing but contempt for ship hijackers. “Some of them wouldn’t know the difference between a warship and an oiler. That’s how dumb they are,” he said. “They have money and the small towns and villages welcome them. Everybody helps them. They’ve got multiple wives. The youngest most beautiful girls, they will select them.”
The sudden influx of loaded thugs does not bode well for local suitors. “If she is waiting for a poor boy from the next village, and there’s a pirate, that love is broken.”
The ship hijackers are also boozers with an overpowering taste for the leaf-borne stimulant khat that’s popular in the region. “If they run out they’ll go back . They are under the influence always. Not just khat,” he said. “Some of them are drunk.”
As for chow? “You can’t cook on a skiff, man. But they love Pop-Tarts. They [stick them together and] eat them like a sandwich.”
Somalis point to years of rampant factory fishing off their shores as the genesis of today’s situation but the linguist isn’t the only one with contempt for ship hijackers. The Islamic militants Al-Shabaab operating around Mogadishu will cut off a poor man’s hand for stealing bread and have no tolerance for stealing ships, he said, “Al-Shabaab are bad ass.”
Comments
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War Is Boring Says:
August 26th, 2009 at 4:01 am[...] of them [the pirates] wouldn’t know the difference between a warship and an oiler. That’s how dumb they are,” explained a Somali linguist working with the U.S. [...]
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The Scoop Deck » Make it Pop-Tarts and khat for Somali pirates | deckroom Says:
August 26th, 2009 at 9:02 am[...] Link: The Scoop Deck » Make it Pop-Tarts and khat for Somali pirates [...]