We all see the videos on the news of the unfortunate people begging for their lives as several men surround them with guns. We've seen these kinds of videos from terrorist groups around the world and we feel bad for the people in them, as we secretly say to ourselves, gosh I'm happy that's not me, that must suck, but then we move on and forget that these people are going through hell as prisoners. Wouldn't you want someone to care about whether you lived or died if you were captured like that? I would!!
Here in America when we think of a terrorist what do we automatically think of? Let's not lie, Middle Eastern. Cause to us we see the terrorists from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia (not so much anymore), Yemen, Oman, etc. as the bad guys cause terrorists from that region of the world are the ones who attacked us on 9/11 and are the ones we continue to fight today. However, the terrorists from that region of the world are only a small portion of the terrorists that are in our world. Another group of terrorists, that we hear about but not too often, are pirates off the coast of east Africa. Now, I say pirate, you say? Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Caribbean. But that is not what the pirates off the coast of Africa are like. These pirates mostly come from Somalia. Why? Because Somalia doesn't have laws against them. These terrorists are vicious and ruthless and if they feel like it will flat out kill you for no reason. Sound like Johnny Depp's character? umm...no! Everyone was on Jack Sparrow's side, we wanted him to get away. But the Somalian pirates, not so much. They need to be taken care of. They have been causing terror along the east African coast for some years now. Efforts have been made to try and stop them, but they aren't exactly easy to catch and it helps to have all the participating governments on the same page. Until Somalia decides that it might actually be a good idea to stop these pirates not much is going to succeed unfortunately.
Now, you're probably wondering how this topic came up. Well, I read a story on CNN that said a couple who was captured a little over a year ago by these pirates was recently released and allowed to go home to England. This is a rare occurrence. Soon after there capture the husband was forced to make a video pleading for his life and for the British government to pay a ransom that the pirates requested. However, like the American government the British government does not negotiate with terrorists. Smart idea? Yeah, I'd say so. It comes with a price sometimes, but I understand why governments say that.
So what's a solution to this problem so that no more people have to go through what this English couple went through? Well, first we need to get Somalia on board which may be a little difficult but definitely worth the effort.
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