Current Events Assignments #2

Title of Current Event: Taken by Pirates

Source of Current Event: www.nytimes.com

There was an article in the October 30, 2011 edition of the Sunday New York Times discussing
the kidnapping of a British couple by Somali Pirates. The incident that happened was this: Rachel
and Paul Chandler were seized on their yacht on October 23, 2009 by Somalian Pirates. They
were held for more than a year (388 days to be exact). Before being released the final ransom was paid.
 The event itself, the kidnapping of Mr. and Mrs. Chandler, is not the significant event. Piracy is the significant event. Piracy occurs globally but most often in the  Pacific Ocean and around the area known as the " Horn of Africa".  Piracy is a global problem and its impact is environmental, economic, and political. Piracy cost money. According to the NY Times, shipping companies hire armed guards to protect the vessels, buy special weapons and equipment to fight the pirates, and pay higher insurance premiums. They also change their routes
and this causes delays in delivery of goods. These things are expensive and the costs are passed on to
consumers. There's also an environmental impact. The navies form more than 24 nations patrol Somalia's coast. They burn about 1 million dollars of fuel per day. The burning of oil affects the sea life in the area, adds on to green house gases, and uses up a larger portion of the world's oil supply. The reaction to Piracy is still developing. New weapons and counter measures are being used by shipping companies. The navy of many different countries are now actively searching for Pirates along the Somalian coast. One of the Enlightenment thinkers, Voltaire, would have tried to resolve the conflict between Somalia and the rest of the world by using logical thinking. He probably would have written a satire to describe and explain the situation. He was
a philosopher. A different Enlightenment figure was Catherine the great. She would have used the Russian navy to eliminate the pirates.