Louisiana and Somalia’s Fishermen
posted by AVODAH Corps member David Eber
I have been really interested lately in the Somali pirate incident. The news media is all abuzz about the pirates, but of course they are focusing on the wrong issues again.
Most of the coverage dehumanizes the pirates, and turns them into bloodthirsty criminals. While taking hostages, stealing, killing aren’t things that I condone, the fishermen of Somalia have been reduced to nothing, and driven to desperation. This article in Time Magazine does a good job of explaining the circumstances that drove Somali men to piracy.
A shrimp boat in Bayou Lafourche, Leeville, LA (Shreveport Times). Coastal fishermen in Louisiana struggle with environmental devastation similar to conditions that have driven Somali fishermen to piracy.
I also have been thinking of Louisiana’s fishermen and women. There are some remarkable similarities between them and the Somali fishermen. They both have had their coasts pillaged. Somalia’s coasts were pillaged by illegal fishing boats, while Louisiana’s coast has been pillaged in a different sense by the oil and gas industries. This pillaging has severely affected fishermen in both countries. Somali’s were driven off by larger nations stealing their natural resources without paying a fair price. The oil and gas industry has also destroyed Louisiana’s coast, and they too aren’t paying a fair price.
Both of the pillagings have resulted in substantial job loss for the fishing industries of the respective countries.
The non-economic costs can also be felt. Destruction of the natural environments has been a huge factor in the death of fishing in both countries, (there are economic costs associated with this as well, but losing a natural environment is sad for other reasons too). In the case of Somalia, Illegal dumping of toxic nuclear waste has caused death to many of the water’s fish and health problems for its people. In Louisiana, the oil and gas industries have destroyed the coast and in turn have destroyed an ecosystem that was essential for protecting fish, and protecting the city of New Orleans, and now they don’t want to pay the cost. The cost to fix the coast and the cost to all the industries (particularly fishing) that have been destroyed as a result of their pillaging range in the billions. It is no wonder they avoid paying. In the case of the Somali fishermen, people are profiting enormously off of the fish that they catch in their waters and saving billions by illegally dumping waste as opposed to properly disposing of it. Therefore, these nations fight hard against the citizens of Somalia who have been forced towards piracy as a means to reclaim their natural resources.
I won’t get into some of the wrongs committed by the fishing industry in terms of their practices, but this is important to hold them accountable as well. However, many honest workers are put out of the job due to problems caused by those who make huge profits on our land while they simultaneously destroy it, and deny that they are doing it! As the Gulf Restoration Network says, “Shell: Hear the music, and fix the coast you broke!” Sponsoring Jazz Fest won’t make up for the wrongs you have committed against the people of Louisiana and the entire United States.
Unfortunately for Somalia they have even less chance of combating the evils that are being perpetrated against their fishermen and their country. The international focus in on fighting “terrorist pirates,” (you can smell a movie in the works) is completely ‘wrongheaded.’ The focus should be on righting the wrongs committed against the people of Somalia and finding a way to restore the fishing industry so that people aren’t reduced to piracy. Instead, we are busy condemning the people of Somalia as bloodthirsty pirates, and we all squirm with delight while we think about high seas adventure. Unfortunately, this isn’t Hollywood and the consequences for the people of Somalia are real.
How long will it be until New Orleans fishermen and women start hijacking oil tankers? I hope soon.
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