The Somalia pirates may be a scourge in the Gulf of Aden but in their home town they are spending money and building the local economy.
The Somalia pirates who are seizing ships
are using the ransom money to build sprawling stone houses, buy luxury cars, marrying beautiful women and even hiring caterers to prepare Western-style food for their hostages.
In an impoverished country where every public institution has crumbled, they are the only real business in town. They have become heroes in the coastal towns from which they operate, because
"The pirates depend on us, and we benefit from them," said Sahra Sheik Dahir, a shop owner in Harardhere, the nearest village to where a hijacked Saudi Arabian supertanker carrying $100-million (U.S.) in crude was anchored yesterday.
These boomtowns stand out in stark contrast in light of Somalia's violence and poverty: radical Islamists control most of the country's south, meting out lashings and stonings for accused criminals.
There, life expectancy is just 46 years; a quarter of children die before they reach the age of 5.
However, northern coastal towns like Harardhere, Eyl and Bossaso are an exception and the pirate economy is thriving thanks to the money pouring in from pirate ransoms, which have reached $30-million this year alone.
"There are more shops, and business is booming because of the piracy," said Sugule Dahir, who runs a clothing shop in Eyl.
"Internet cafés and telephone shops have opened, and people are just happier than before."
In Harardhere residents celebrated as the looming oil ship came into focus this week off the country's lawless coast. Businessmen gathered cigarettes, food and cold bottles of orange soda as they set up kiosks for the pirates who come to shore to resupply almost daily.
Ms. Dahir has started a layaway plan for them.
"They always take things without paying and we put them into the book of debts," she said in an interview. "Later, when they get the ransom money, they pay us a lot."
"Regardless of how the money is coming in, legally or illegally, I can say it has started a life in our town," said Shamso Moalim, a 36-year-old mother of five in Harardhere.
