Somali pirates – Frontline Club

Some Myths About Somali Piracy

Laura Gane — Mon, 03 Sep 2018 12:33:05 +0000

Michael Scott-Moore and Ben Rawlence discuss Moore’s 5 month ordeal kidnapped by Somali pirates aboard an abandoned fishing vessel.

In early 2012, having covered a Somali pirate trial in Hamburg for Spiegel Online and with a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, journalist and author Michael Scott Moore travelled to the Horn of Africa to research a book about piracy and ways to end it. In a cruel twist of fate, the 45-year old California native (with dual German and American citizenship) was kidnapped and taken captive by pirates. Moore comes to speak for the first time about his experience of spending five months aboard a hijacked tuna long-liner—the only Western writer to experience life aboard a ship hijacked by Somali pirates. Moore weaves his own experience–including physical injury, starvation, isolation and terror–with a larger examination of the world around him. He explores the economics and history of piracy (going all the way back to America’s own colonial history), the effects of post-colonialism (Italian and British); the politics of hostage negotiation and ransom (including Moore’s mother’s role in gaining his release); the legalities of industrial fishing and the role of Islam among the pirates.

Michael Scott-Moore is an accomplished author and journalist, a former Fulbright and Logan Nonfiction fellow, and a longtime resident of Berlin, where he moved in 2005. His comic novel about L.A., Too Much of Nothing, was published to acclaim in 2003, and Sweetness and Blood, his travel book about the spread of surfing to odd corners of the world, was named a book of the year by The Economist and Popmatters in 2010. Moore has written about politics and travel for The Atlantic, Slate, Der Spiegel, Pacific Standard, Businessweek, and the Financial Times. He now lives in Los Angeles.

Ben Rawlence is a British writer who has written two books: Radio Congo: Signals Of Hope From Africa’s Deadliest War (2012) and City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp (2016). From 2006 to 2013 he was a researcher for Human Rights Watch’s Africa division. Rawlence has also written for The New York Times, The Guardian and London Review of Books.

The week ahead at the Frontline Club: Assange and

Julie Tomlin — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:25:54 +0000

This evening’s screening and panel discussion organised by BBC Perisan will shed light on the extent of persecution suffered by The Baha’is of Iran. Tomorrow we will be joined by award winning ITV News‘ international editor Bill Neely who will be talking about his recent work in Libya, the stories he has covered since he began his career and the work and people that have inspired him.

There are still a few tickets left for this Saturday’s unique opportunity to hear WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange in conversation with renowned Slovenian philosopher Slavoj

The week ahead at the Frontline Club: Assange and Žižek, Somali pirates & kill/capture in Afghanistan

Frontline Staff — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:25:54 +0000

There are still a few tickets left for this Saturday’s unique opportunity to hear WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange in conversation with renowned Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek. The discussion, which will be moderated by Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman, will focus on the ethics and philosophy behind the work of WikiLeaks and its effect on political institutions globally.

Next week Colin Freeman will be recounting his experience of being kidnapped by Somali pirates and Peter Greste who has recently been in the country for BBC’s Panorama will be talking about the Somali people’s struggle to forge a life in a lawless land.

For July’s First Wednesday, a panel of experts will be discussing the expansion of kill/capture missions in Afghanistan, their effect on the ground and how they level with counter-insurgency hearts and minds strategy.

ALL EVENTS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC