Pirates could be the best thing that happened to Somalia

These pirates could be the best thing that have ever happened to Somalia. I don't mean this in a "they're daring entrepreneurs" sense of course, current fashionable cool aside, pirates are murdering, kidnapping bastards - but in the long run they might prove to be useful if they focus the world's attention on some of the facts of life in Africa.

The Sirius Star (right) may be the biggest tanker that's ever been hijacked, but it certainly isn't alone. It's the 90th ship this year to be hijacked by Somalian pirates who currently have a whole flotilla of vessels they've half inched from the high seas.

We're even back to the good old days where you have entire pirate towns. If you've ever wondered what a pirate city looks like by the way try Google maps and search for Eyl in Somalia, and scroll up and down the river. Fascinating... but it don't look like a pleasant holiday destination I'm afraid.

Things are getting very, very serious. The Norwegians have begun avoiding the place. Even the South Koreans are sending warships to the area afraid of the impact piracy will have on international trade. Dave, who presents himself as an expert on these matters, says that "There have been widespread calls for tougher naval action, and there are already many warships in the area, ranging from NATO assets to a Russian frigate. But given the millions of square miles of sea they are expected to cover, the pirate attacks continue."

Here, I think, lies the crux. When Somalia was just a corner where people crawled to die, or at least when Somalians confined themselves to killing each other then the world simply did not care. With no functioning economy or government for twenty odd years Somalia has to be one of the worst places on Earth to be a human being.

Whilst the warlords have had zero impact on global trade the pirates are quite another matter, they're costing real money. Now the world is paying attention to a land that has been discarded, of no monetary value to the rest of us. The gaze of the most powerful governments in the world has been drawn to the East Coast of Africa and whilst this has already brought with it warships it may well bring something else too.

That's why I say that these pirates may, in the long run, be a benefit to Somalia. I'm sure they are a pestilence on the people who live under their shadow, but they have lit a fire where simple suffering never could. These acts could help focus international efforts to bring the region out of its failing state and bring a little hope.

Being a pirate is not an easy life and Somalian jails are jammed packed with them. If there were a Somalian economy with the semblance of jobs and stability and a functioning state to prevent whole areas falling to what, in previous ages, would have been called robber barons piracy would not be an itch that the world economic system can't quite scratch.

If any good can come out of this it might be that there is a recognition that this is a problem that is too difficult to solve through force alone. In the long term peace goes hand in hand with prosperity and we'll only make the shipping lanes safe if the world's poor gets at least a small slice of the action that rolls past them every hour of every day.