Pirates at bay..

I'm sure that you've heard the recent news about Indian Navy's INS Tabar that took down the pirate ship holding an Indian cargo ship for ransom. Some thoughts that kept ticking away in that pea-sized brain of mine-

What?
An Indian merchant ship was attacked by Somali pirates on the 11 Nov.2008. The ship called for help from the navy. The INS Tabar, which was about 25 nautical miles away at the time of the distress call, rushed a Chetak helicopter carrying a team of MARCOS (Indian Navy Marine Commandos) personnel to the location of the ship. The team successfully thwarted the hijack attempt. The same day,they also thwarted another attempt on a Saudi based cargo ship. Kudos to the Indian Navy!

Why?
There are a number of reasons for this. Poverty is rampant in Somalia and it has been without an effective central government since 1991. Also, it lies close to the strategically important Gulf of Aden, which is used to ship a significant percentage of the world's oil reserves and,not to forget,many of India's main trade routes.

As you can see from the pic here,most of them are 20 somethings. Tormented by the poverty in their homeland,inability to provide for their families have forced them to take drastic measures. Millions of Somalis depend on food aid and in 2008, according to the World Bank, as much as 73% of the population lived on a daily income below $2.Precise data on the economical situation in Somalia is scarce but with an estimated per capita GDP of $600/year(!), it remains one of the world's poorest countries. With conditions like this,if lucrative offers of piracy lead them on,it is no surprise that they are going about it as if they were campus placements.

Effects?
There has been some change back home for these pirates who have been able to provide for their families and enable them to build houses,get good clothes,food and even spend a little on luxuries. Shops have now installed generators enabling 24 hour power supply,previously a dream in these regions. People are spending more and somehow there is growth in the economy. If nothing else,at least they have enough for subsistence.

Is it right?
People like us,who have nestled into our comfortable,complacent livelihoods cannot judge their actions as right or wrong. When none of the countries try to improve countries like Somalia in their weak economic conditions,communal forces will take over. Islamic forces have been providing for the initial funding for the weapons and ammo. And I'm of the opinion that a chunk of also goes to fund terrorist activities elsewhere as well.

Taking out ships with force and forming alliances for such purposes does not seem to be the ideal solution. Yes,they can be suppressed for some time,but eventually they will surface again with something else. Why are "Big daddy" countries like US not interfering here? Because there are no oil reserves or other attractive sources here?
Hypocrites!

Solutions??
Establishing order has to be tantamount. That can happen when we take power out of the communal,instigative forces and help establish a stable government there. This can happen in about 5-10 years. Meanwhile,economic and food aid has to be provided. This is their bargaining power,Hunger--what has driven youngsters to this. Take it away from the forces and people will have someone to trust. The aid has to be abundant and periodic, and not sporadic efforts as they are being done now.

Unless countries of the world join hands in undoing this mess now,many other forces will rise in other small economies as well. Communal forces will play with their lives using hunger and money as pawns. And if,and when this happens, no sea battles will suffice to restore order again.

As W.B.Yeats once said

Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity!

P.S: A new update on this has been that the vessel that INS Tabar sank was actually a Thai trawler,which was kidnapped by the Somali pirates. 14 members of the crew of this trawler are still missing,1 dead,1 still fighting for life. There is a Maritime Force that monitors activities in these seas. They say since India is not a part of the force,they should have at least sought info before making any attacks.
Since our external affairs minister does not have any "solid" info yet,he hasn't said anything. Let's wait and watch...

A recipe for disaster....

"Here’s a recipe for global economic meltdown. Just add greed, political instability, stir in incompetence, corporate malfeasance, sociopathic tendencies, add more greed and then wait several years for a crust of deception to rise."
I wish those were my lines,but they're not... Picked 'em up from a "friend's" blog...

I'm not an economic expert not have I done any course even remotely related to understanding the effects of the global economic situation on our little worlds. But when they start hiking the prices of eatables,vegetables and everything that 'money can buy',it pisses me off!

Some things that strike me as amazing about our current global situation are--

• We don't have sufficient funds anywhere,there's a shortage of dollar,dinar,pound and rupee,yet the U.S just spent $5.3 billion for their presidential elections. That includes the $2.4 billion spent just for the Presidential race.


• We have the world's best business 'experts',trade analysts,not to forget,an incredibly large number of billionaires and co. Yet one crisis like this could not be predicted and corrected on time. I'm engulfed by a large feeling of futility in pursuing any higher studies,considering the effect it will have (or rather not have) on making the world better.


• While a financial crunch is gripping our b**ls,we're sending a bloody expensive Chandrayaan mission to the moon to do God-know-what. Our consolation being that compared to the moon missions of other countries,our mission was most economical. It's like a bachelor purchasing a set of nighties because they were at a 50% discount! Being economical does not justify the purpose of the mission itself. What is the use of this mission anyway? and many other such global missions(exclude satellites) to find intelligent life in the Universe when there's a clear absence of it on our own planet..

• Forget the niceties of the global whatever. We've got 'smart' traders messing with the stock market all the time! Akin to poking at a beehive and then doing it again when it didn't give you a painful answer. :) Starting at 9.55 in the morning,when houses go buzz with the opening bell of the market, to the end of the day's trade, this tampering keeps going on. The genuine traders are trying to balance the Bull-Bear tussle,while the illegitimate ones are making moolah out of the tampering. Foreign investors are pumping in cash only to be raked in by bad decisions by the people at the helm.



• Vegetable rates have started soaring to astronomical figures(figuratively!). While the middle-class and the upper strata can afford to still fill their bellies, the poor may find it difficult to even afford 2 meals a day. We talk of progress and 10,20 year plans which are mere hog-wash considering that food has become a luxury.
• and the privileged ones are callous about being the privileged lot! It has become a taken-for-granted situation where we let out a few sighs on reading about inflation and then flip the page nonchalantly.

• Jobs have become so insecure that senior employees are knocking knees at the prospect of losing their jobs,not to forget,the under grads who're itching to know if their jobs will be there by the time they're done with gruelling years in completing their degrees.

• Crude oil rates per barrel have gone down considerably,but there is no proportionate decrease in the rates of petrol/diesel for consumers. Of course,no measures can be taken without active involvement of the government. IOCL, an erstwhile profitable company has recorded losses of Rs.7047 crore this quarter,its first loss in 9 quarters. It has been attributed to inventory valuation losses and increase in interest expenditure due to high interest rates. Why is the global reduction in prices not affecting us positively, when the global economic crisis has been devastating? Who's to blame for not letting the good oil trickle down to ease up the economic machinery of our country?


It may seem futile at our age to give such things undue importance,but it's good to know what instability we're stepping into. These changes have not been abrupt ones,it has taken years of piling up of the deck to finally cause this unstable house of cards that personifies the debacle our economy resembles. I don't know what my parting words will be,knowing that they may not make much of an impact anyway. But what I know for sure is that it is going to take an immense amount of talent and discipline to get us back on track.

Let's just hope that this time,we can find the right balance of ingredients-

A healthy mix of astuteness and precocity combined with morality. The addition of quality corporate ethics,patriots with an ounce of greed less than the next guy and visionary leaders into a country-first political bowl. Add a little yeast of youth. And humbly watch the dough of global stability rise.