Pirates still exist and cause fear even in tourism ships

From the turn of the twentieth century to the twentieth century, there has been a significant increase in the number of cases of maritime piracy, especially in African and Asian continents. According to data from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), at its height, 544 attacks were recorded in 2011 alone.

Pointed by scholars as being, probably, one of the oldest professions in the world, piracy is considered as the first international crime subject to universal jurisdiction. This means that any country can judge it, regardless of the nationality of those involved or the scene of the crime.

But, after all, who are these pirates? How do they operate and what are their goals?

Popular imaginary anchored in old tales

When talking about piracy, the practice itself can be found in ancient reports, dating from the periods of the great European empires. In this sense, many still evoke fantasy images of movies, games and books, based on old stories and children’s tales: men with eye-slap, swords and parrots on their shoulder, sea criminals who looted ships and seeking treasures buried on distant islands.

As we question whether practice has evolved to this day, many conclude that pirates are a thing of the past based on this imagination. After all, we don’t see big sailing ships with cannons stamping the headlines around the world. This misleading impression makes it difficult to understand the complex forms of contemporary piracy. That is, piracy, and the pirates themselves have been able to resist technological changes and different ways of being fought. But, after all, how does this view impact the current perception of piracy?

Piracy Somali, “Captain Phillips” and the struggle for survival

In an attempt to challenge this imaginary, we can remember one of the most emblematic cases of recent piracy, which took place on the Somalia coast in mid -2010. The attacks in the region gained great world visibility with the hijacking of the freighter ship Maersk Alabama, to the point of being portrayed in the movie Captain Phillips (2013), starring Tom Hanks.

The film makes a dramatization of the attack, showing violent and strongly armed Somalis pirates with AK -47 rifles, which invade the freighter ship on the high sea, from small – but powerful – wooden boats.

The case reported by the film was on one of the main focuses of the attacks at the time: the Gulf of Adem. This is due to its strategic geographical position, which connects Europe to Asia without having to circumvent the African continent. Because it is the only sea route that connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, almost 20% of all world maritime trade transits it by it, representing about 16,000 ships a year. This traffic concentration transforms the region into a highly attractive target for pirates.

Within the scenario proposed by the film, we can observe some characteristics present in 21st century sea piracy. The story presented shows that pirates are not only isolated criminals, but members of broader networks, led by local organized crime chiefs. Moreover, it is also revealed that many of these individuals are unemployed and are led to risk their lives at sea due to lack of alternatives amid extreme poverty.

This vision diverges fundamentally from pirate romanticized stories in search of wealth and adventure, as shown in the Disney movie series, the Caribbean pirates. Although it is not impossible for current pirates to have similar goals, many of them resort to the activity as a desperate means of survival.

Operation Atalanta and International Combat

Within the international political spectrum, this imaginary design on the subject shows that piracy has always been built as a threat not only to the global economy but also to humanity. Since the Roman Empire, pirates are identified as transgressors of the civilized order. This view contributed to empires and states to build their own identity from the opposition to these “absolute enemies”, which act as dangerous outsiders, outside the law and the jurisdiction of all sovereign countries.

This narrative was inherited by the modern states, which delegitizes any action, motivation or perspective of these people. This strengthens the idea that the only possible solution is its elimination of the world, reinforcing repression without space to understand the problem in depth.

This view can be found in anti -pipeline international actions, such as Operation Atalanta, promoted by the European Union in November 2008 in the Gulf of Adem. The operation consists of a naval force patrolling the region, legitimized for trying to ensure peace, stability and maritime safety for a key point of maritime international trade.

What makes this relevant when comparing the practice of piracy over the centuries is that: since the Roman Empire, the same argument was already used to justify military interventions and territorial occupations in the region.

Other justifications of Operation Atalanta were the need to protect the population against hazardous criminals, as well as the concern by European countries to ensure that humanitarian aid sent by the UN arrived at Somalia, which at the time was undergoing a violent civil war. However, this humanitarian justification can be challenged, as historically European actions in Africa can be constantly linked to other commercial and political interests, which increases suspicions about neocolonial attitudes.

Other perspectives

Thus, the pending question on the subject is controversially formulated. To what extent would pirates have legitimacy in their actions? Even suffering from countless social inequalities, pirates continue to be built as an “international exception”, thus justifying the exceptional response of international maritime order and security.

However, even though this relevance is still possible to question another point: could we say that operations work, even without being able to eradicate piracy as a whole?

These are issues that make us ask us about the very logic of solving international problems. After all, if for centuries the fight against practice has remained similar, something in this strategy does not seem to work.

Perhaps an alternative and more critical way to rethink the problem is to question how global inequalities and systemic, geopolitical and socioeconomic (re) systemic forces form contemporary imperial relations. Are they some of the factors that make piracy continue to exist?

In the end, perhaps the most important question is not “how to end the pirates?”, But “what makes people continue to practicing piracy?” Facing this historical issue critically can be the first step towards fairer perspectives and more effective actions.

Thiago Thierry, PhD in International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) and Roberto Vilchez Yamato, professor at the Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio)

This article was originally published in The Conversation. Read the original here ..