Karon: support for the pirates in Somalia

Had a brief exchange with Tony Karon today about his piece on WNYC. He mentioned that one thing he left out of his interview was the fact that the Somali rapper K'naan, who has been featured on Morning Edition previously, recently told a Canadian newspaper that the pirates had been "provoked" by toxic dumping, fishing etc, and that they "had no choice" -- he also said that while no one had been killed by the pirates, some 300 Somalis had died from the effects of toxic waste.

His point is that whether or not these figures are right, it reflects that there is a basis for the widespread wellspring of sympathy for the pirates among Somalis.

Perception is reality.

pirates