Piracy in Somalia

Does tourism stand a chance?

Somalia in Focus

• Located in • Capital • Population: • Life expectancy is • Around 1960, seen as a

great example by the west of

• Tourist hot spot

Somalia• Political instability and war

plague the country• 1969-1991 brutal authoritarian

rule• 1991 coup = violence and unrest• 1991 northern Somalis est.

Somaliland

In the words of K’naan

• Listen to the song and describe the overall mood or atmosphere that it creates

• What’s Hardcore• How do you envision

Somalia based on his lyrics?

Piracy in Somalia

Piracy:

• Exists for one main reason –

How did this happen?• With the fall of the Somali government, the

waters were left undefended and foreign fishers began illegally fishing in Somali waters

• Local fishermen banded together to protect their resource (the first act ~1991)

• After a few successful acts, pirates saw this as a profitable alternative – A pirates income is estimated at $238 million in

2010– The average ransom rose to $5.4 million in 2010

Some stats…• 25 military vessels - from the EU and NATO countries, the US, China,

Russia, India and Japan - patrol approximately 8.3m sq km (3.2m sq miles) of ocean, an area about the size of western Europe

• 151 attacks on ships in 2011, compared to 127 in 2010 - but only 25 successful hijacks compared to 47 in 2010

• In 2011, pirates earned $146m (£93m), an average of $4.87m (£3m) per ship

• 10 vessels and 159 hostages are being held

• An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 pirates operate; 1,000 have been captured and are going through legal processes in 21 countries

Who are they?

• Most are between 20-35 from Puntland (in northeastern Somalia)

• There are three main types:

Piracy and Armed Robbery Incidents 2011

Experience it!

Pirate CoastPirates in Paradise – Impacts on Seyshells

Tourism Stat(s)

• Minister of Tourism is Mohamed Hussein Said• ___________________________• 1 tourist in 2010• Little to no tourism infrastructure due to civil

war• On every “No Go” tourism list • Some brave tourists starting to return• Somalia Tourism Website – Rate it

Read Aloud News Article Analysis

• Read the news article and answer the following in your notebook:

1) Why did Somalia officials not believe that Bown was a legitimate tourist?2) Does Bown’s experience make you want to visit this country? Explain.

What can be done?

• You have been hired by the Somali Government to re-establish the tourism industry in the country.

• In your group, make a list of short-term and long-term steps that you think need to be taken in order to promote tourism in the country.

Rate it!

• On a scale from 1-10 (1= no chance, 10= Definitely) rate whether or not you think Somalia has a chance of developing a tourism industry