Somali pirates: It's a living

An interview found here:

"We prefer hijacking ships to being on land because that way we can feed ourselves," pirate Abdulahi Hasan Afdhub told AFP by satellite phone from a hijacked Taiwanese ship in Somali waters.

"There's no other work than piracy for us in this time of anarchy in Somalia. The money we get is the only way we can survive."
***
Meanwhile, ordinary Somalis, suffering from 16 years of civil unrest since the ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, including some of the deadliest fighting in the capital's history in recent months, say the pirates are dealing them a further blow.

"The prices of commodities are affected by increasing insurance and protection expenses. In the end, the poor Somalis are the main victims of the pirates," said Abdinasir Roble Abdi, a food store owner in Mogadishu.