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AGAINST ALL

Storybook pirates
When most people think of pirates - if at all - they probably have a mental picture of Johnny Depp in those pirates movies. Now  NAUTICAL LOG would be amongst the first to admit he is funny and plays things well for the laughs.  However the reality of piracy today is some semi or uneducated thugs armed with AK-47's in a small boat with a fast engine.  The Horn of Africa has become a continual one-sided battle ground of pirates against seafarers with some 800 seafarers held captive off the coast of Somalia at present. 


It is hard to believe that conditions ashore in Somalia could get any worse than they were.   They have! the latest famine is in full swing and the Somalian thugs ashore with the AK-47's are robbing and raping their own people as they try to take refuge in Kenya or wherever  These are all the same thugs that the Maritime Shipping Companies and Maritime Insurance Companies are paying large sums of money too.  Added to this there are appeals each evening - right at dinner time of course - for yet more monies to be raised and paid to these same thugs!! 


 Food supplies definitely YES, monies definitely NO. 


Besides as the London and spreading U.K. riots have shown there is a lot of social unrest and possible injustice in our own countries.  Put your own house in order first before starting to organize the living conditions of Nations who could care less about their own people.  Nations who are also telling these same people that those who are coming to help them are colonial imperialists who are going to enslave them and turn them into drug addicts.  Remember the Viet Minh propaganda when we first went out to Viet Nam after Dien Bien Phuh and continued by the Vietcong cadres. 


Now to add to the seafarers problems the Coast of West Africa is repeating its piracy of the 1980's with attacks at Ports all along the Bight of Biafra and Gulf of Guinea.  Like the Horn of Africa on the Coast of East Africa seafarers can expect no assistance from the local Governments who do not even patrol their own Ports.



Coast of West Africa

Real pirate thugs
NAUTICAL LOG had hoped that by now many of the nautical Blogs would have joined in placing a reminder after each Post but so far we seem to be alone.  If we do not take a continual interest in our fellow seafarers ourselves it is rather a waste of time to expect others to do it for us.  Y'all will not be doing it to boost the NAUTICAL LOG ego but for the 800 families suffering at home for their missing seafarer family member.


Good Watch

SOS: Please remember the 800 of our fellow seafarers held captive off Somalia without help in sight so far.

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