Chapter Three: Privateers

Word of what Saalax and the other had done spread immediately throughout Eyl. They were treated as heroes who had done what should have been done a long time ago. The fish auction was more of a celebration than an auction. But it brought the four of them great profits, and they enjoyed their first hearty meal in a long time. It was the best day of their lives. They went to sleep joyful and full of a sense of accomplishment.


The next morning, many of the fishermen and unemployed young men wanted to talk to Saalax. They had seen how profitable his bold action had been for him, and they wanted to help Saalax when “the next ship” came in.

Saalax had thought that he was simply defending himself against the Indians. He had expected to go out fishing on his own today, like he had every other day. But the people of Eyl were treating him as an entrepreneur. Was he? He needed time to reflect. He told the men that he would meet them at the café around noon.

After considering the idea and organizing his thoughts, Saalax headed to the café. He saw about 50 men waiting for him, including Warsame and Samatar. They huddled around him, and he began to speak.

“We want to live peacefully as fishermen. But, under the current circumstances, we cannot do so. As long as the foreign ships are out there, there will be no fish for us. Without profits, we cannot invest in electricity to refrigerate our fish. We cannot invest in trucks to transport our fish to Garoowe, Gaalkacyo, or beyond Somalia. We cannot invest in ships to export our fish overseas. Therefore, in order to create a better future, we must become protectors of the Somali coast. I am willing to be your commander.”

The men cheered. Someone asked, “What will we call ourselves?”

Another man yelled out, “The Eyl Pirates!”

Saalax drowned them out before they could cheer again. “No! No! We are not pirates! We must never accept being called pirates. A pirate is a criminal who robs innocent sailors on the high seas. We are not criminals. We are not outlaws. We are privateers.”

An elderly man spoke up. “Privateers? How are they any more than pirates who have permission to rob the state's enemies?”

Saalax recognized the man. It was his oday, Cismaan Cabdi Maxamed. It was a good question. “Perhaps you would prefer the militaristic term coast guard, but I believe that privateer is more accurate. We are not merely guarding the coast; we are seeking compensation from those who have already aggressed against us. Of course, we do not recognize any state here. The state is the enemy of humanity. We do not need any state's permission to defend ourselves against criminals. We have the natural right to do so. We shall call ourselves The Noble Somali Privateers.”

Cismaan accepted Saalax's explanation. “Very well. But are you sure that you are defending yourself? Your philosophy relies on the idea that you are acting in self-defense. But if the foreigners caught the fish first, is the fish not their property?”

It was another important question. “First, the Somali coastline, as well as certain areas of land, are shared resources of the traditionally nomadic Somali people, but they are not unowned. Foreigners cannot invade and steal those resources. All Somalis—regardless of whether they are fishermen—have the natural right to defend the Somali lands and waters that contain these shared resources as if they were their own property.

“Second, what we are doing is about more than fish. All of us are continuously victimized by the political actions of governments and corporations from all over the world. The United States, in particular, has caused the ruin of Somalia. We deserve compensation from any ship that has any connection to a government that has worsened the living conditions in Somalia.”

Cismaan was pleased with the answer. “Excellent. But did I hear correctly earlier? You wish to be the sole commander of a large group of people? What will keep you from abusing such power for your own gain? How can we believe that you are anything more than a proto-politician who will ultimately seek a monopoly on violence?”

Saalax had not considered this question. “I must say that you are correct to fear anyone who wishes to centralize power. I do not wish to become what you have described. We should indeed decentralize the power by appointing additional commanders. We can still cooperate with information and logistics, but the competition will make all of us better. Naturally, the best choices for commanders would be the other experienced privateers: Warsame and Samatar.”

“And me. You would still be on that ship if not for me.” Caasha's voice surprised Saalax.

“What? You want to become a commander as well?”

“If I become a commander, the foreigners will be gone sooner.” 

Saalax knew that she was serious. Once again, the discussion was over before it started. There would be four commanders.

“Very well. In addition to decentralizing the power, we will divide the employees fairly. We will hold a draft. Each commander will hire twelve employees. The draft order in the first round will be Caasha, Samatar, Warsame, and then myself. The order will reverse, serpentine style, every round thereafter.”

“Brilliant.” Cismaan was astonished by Saalax's genius. But Cismaan had not finished questioning Saalax.

“Now, finally, I must ask, can all of you stay true to your intent? Can you truly avoid aggressing against innocent sailors? What will stop you from becoming ruthless pirates?”

“We must establish a privateer code. There will be three major laws. The first and most important law of the privateers is that we will not harm anyone on a ship. Anyone who is caught robbing or assaulting another person will lose all of their compensation and be expelled from The Noble Somali Privateers. Anyone who kills will receive the maximum punishment.

“The second law of the privateers is that we will not go into dangerous situations. If it becomes obvious that the people on board have weapons, we should avoid those ships. We do not want anyone to get hurt. What we are doing is strictly about compensation for crimes committed against us.

“The third law of the privateers is that we will never demand compensation from the same ship twice. We must keep track of the criminals that we apprehend. The FV Malhotra has compensated its victims already. If they commit no further aggression, then demanding compensation again would be no better than taxing them. Taxation is forbidden. The political means of wealth is what we are fighting against.

“In addition, the compensation will be distributed fairly. The commander deserves the most for organizing the successful operation. The first privateer who boards the ship deserves the next highest amount, because that job is the most dangerous and requires the most bravery. The translator will earn the next highest amount. One's role determines one's payment. There will be no fighting among ourselves. We are all on the same side. Anyone who cannot remember and follow the privateer code should leave immediately.”

Everyone remained. Eventually, Cismaan spoke again. “You have sincerely considered the ethics of your proposed actions. I am convinced that you are acting in proper self-defense. But I doubt that the rest of the world will have as much wisdom.”

Saalax agreed. “People make judgments almost entirely on the basis of comparison. They will compare us to pirates. But we will prove them wrong. Eventually, the truth will come out, and only fools will continue to call us pirates.”

Cismaan wished them all well and departed. The ideology of the privateers had been established. It was time for the draft.

The four commanders had to plan their strategies thoughtfully. There were many qualities of the prospects to consider. Ultimately, each commander approached the draft with a unique strategy.

Caasha had no interest in the unemployed youth. She wanted intelligent fishermen with good attitudes. She wanted efficiency above all else. Her goal was to get the job done professionally. She wanted both the compensation and the end of foreign aggression as soon as possible. She named her group The Windmills.

Samatar, however, loved the youth. Samatar wanted the bravest and most desperate men. The youth were hungry—both figuratively and literally. They would be more willing to take risks and less willing to give up on a ship. Samatar figured that since they'd follow the privateer laws like everyone else, their potential was irresistible. He named his group The Supernovas.

Warsame wanted the men with the best skills and equipment. He wanted men who were prepared for whatever might happen. Warsame knew that the four commanders would never have captured the Malhotra without Warsame's superior skills and equipment. He figured that the others would never capture a single ship. He named his group The Shadows.

Saalax's strategy was very unorthodox. He did not particularly care about how his employees would contribute except in one way: their connections. He wanted men who knew members of the Somali diaspora in Toronto, Minneapolis, Columbus, London, Dubai, or anywhere else. He did not reveal why. He named his group The Crack-Up Boom.

With the draft complete, the four groups assembled in separate areas of the café. As soon as Saalax's group had assembled, one of Saalax's men asked, “Saalax, what is a crack-up boom, and why is it our name?”

Saalax explained, “I have a wise friend in London who is rather displeased with the way the governments of the world are interfering with their economies. I learned the phrase from him. The crack-up boom occurs when hyperinflation causes the currency to collapse. Everyone desperately tries to give away their currency in exchange for real goods.

“Why is it our name? Call it an inside joke. The price of traveling along the Somali coast is about to increase so much, it'll seem like hyperinflation is already underway. They'll desperately give away their dollars in exchange for the return of their ships.”

The privateer chuckled. “But why do we want American dollars if they're on the verge of becoming worthless?”

“Because it's difficult to buy things with fish. We'll quickly exchange the dollars for things that are actually valuable.”

“Clever. I thought that Warsame was the expert on economics around here.”

“We share what we learn with each other. He's a natural businessman, but I'll be the greatest investor Somalia has ever seen.”

Saalax's comment intrigued another member of The Crack-Up Boom—Xaaji. “Investor? In what are you planning to invest?”

“I will tell you later. I don't want our competitors to overhear our ideas. For now, I need to know how to get in contact with everyone's friends and family outside of Somalia.”

Only a few minutes after the group meetings started, Samatar and his group—The Supernovas—stood up and headed toward the exit.

Warsame called out to Samatar, “You're done already? Where are you going?”

Samatar replied, “To capture a ship!”