Africa’s Pirates
Pirating off of the coast of Somalia is a major obstacle to the delivery of goods to locations around the world.
What is not well known is the impact that these unlawful actions are having on the suffering and starving people in Africa.
The hijacking of ships has spread from the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa to much of Africa’s East Coast and is impacting relief operations throughout the continent.
Even for inland transportation to Burundi, Ethiopia and Malawi we have to ship to seaports on the eastern coast of Africa.
World Emergency Relief and Rescue Task Force combined donors ship over $100 million dollars worth of relief supplies globally each year. A significant percentage of that relief goes to Africa.
The logistics are relatively simple and very cost effective as manufacturers donate the relief supplies and our donors pay the ocean freight shipping. Hundreds of thousands of hurting hearts and lives being touched, helped, and started on paths to recovery and better lives.
However, we have been notified that ocean shipping rates to Eastern Africa will soon see substantial cost increases. In response to the pirating Lloyds of London will be assessing a “transit insurance policy surcharge” on each ocean freight container into, or passing through, that region.
Death by starvation is slow, and horrid. To most of us, diarrhea is an inconvenience. Unchecked, though, to many it is a death sentence –death from dehydration. Our donors give sacrificially to help people in great need with food and medicine and this scourge of piracy must not dilute their efforts or contributions.
On behalf of the thousands of children and families that we help throughout Africa’s hideous conflicts and drought we call upon the world’s leaders to move swiftly and decisively to clear the sea channels of pirates and resolve the piracy that is making a bad a situation even worse.
