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Saturday, April 9, 2011

A Somali pirate in a German court

Courtesy The Browser, an English-language version of a great article in Der Spiegel about a Somali pirate's experiences in a German court, where he is on trial for piracy against a German-flagged vessel. He's utterly bewildered by the norms of a society under the rule of law.

Caveat: you have to believe the young man in question is telling the truth. I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

I wasn't inclined to feel sorry for a Somali pirate, but this one's youth and background made me question whether the world's energies would not be more productively directed toward fixing Somalia (for some definition of "fixing") rather than pursuing and prosecuting desperate young men like this one. The effort seems akin to treating a gunshot victim by mopping blood off the floor rather than taking her to a hospital.

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