If you have to turn the whole world towards you, you don’t have to hit at the governments or the armies. Hit at the most powerful Multi-National Company. The whole world will look at you. This is not my theory, but that’s the reality in this capitalist world.
For the past few weeks, the news headlines were dominated by the pirates of Somalia. Stories were flooding in the Television channels, newspapers and websites about the Pirates menace. US Navy, European Navies and even the Indian Navy are fighting out the pirates in the Gulf of Aden – one of the important trade route between Asia and Europe.
India, which could not save its own fishermen from the Sri Lankan Navy in the Gulf of Manner near Tamil Nadu’s coastline, is fighting out the pirates in the Gulf of Aden thousands of miles away from its coastline. When hundreds of Tamil Nadu Fishermen perished at the hands of the encroaching SriLankan Navy, India turned a blind eye towards the problem. But it was quick to fix the problem of its elite business class.
His article clearly exposes the double standards of the Western Media and the governments when it comes to their claim as who is victim. No matter what, It’s always the west who are victims. But K’naan exposes the actual victims. It’s none other than the Somalian people. In his article K’naan exposes the exploitation of the Somali waters by the MNC companies. Western companies have dumped their wastes in Somalia’s water. The Multi-National companies exploitation of the Somalian waters and its impact on the people’s health has been explained by K’naan. The people of Somalia see the pirates as their Coast Guards who rob the vessels which dump their wastes thus preventing the exploitation of Somalian natural resources.
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Africa is a land known for its rich natural resources. From bio resources to minerals and oil – it’s a land of richness. But contrary to its richness, it is also a land of poverty. The natural resources are meant for the people. People over the ages have lived with the help of these natural resources.
But since the advent of imperialism, western multinational companies have exploited the African continent and they gave back nothing but misery to the African people. Africans were victimized by these multi national companies. For decades the African continent has become the exploitation field of the western capitalists. Given the state of African countries lawlessness due to various civil wars and corrupt governments, the western multi national companies have been able to exploit the African resources without much of the world paying any attention.
Western pharmaceutical companies are the leaders in this game. They exploited the rich natural bio resources of the African continent. Not only just exploitation, these multinational drug companies patented their drugs which were unaffordable by the African people. Drugs made using the African raw materials were beyond the purchasing power of the African people. Such is the tragedy of the exploitation.
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As the whole world is being driven by the capitalists, multi national companies have wooed other countries to sign the patent law which bared those countries from producing the generic drugs. India until few years ago was a cheap source of generic medicines. African people who could not afford the western pharmaceutical companies medicines had to depend on Indian pharmaceutical companies as a cheap source of supplies for them. Sensing their business loss, India was persuaded to bring in the patent bill. India’s patent law passed in 2005 brought India under the control of World Trade Organization (WTO), which increased the cost of the medicines.
Not just the exploitation of the resources, Africa has become the place of clinical trial for western pharmaceutical companies. Any medicine after research and development has to undergo rigorous testing. This involves testing with the actual patients. Africa has become a place for clinical trial because of its population and the existence of the variety of diseases due to the poor economic condition of the people. Often these clinical trials were executed compromising fair clinical fractice which is the advocated standard.
So, with all these background in the mind, I don’t see the Pirates of Somalia as “Pirates”. I see them as coast guards of Somalia. As one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter, one man’s pirate is another man’s coast guard
Written by Tamil SASI
Tamil SASI is a popular bilingual blogger who writes on various topics in English and Tamil. You can read his other writings at tamilsasi.com
Filed under: Africa, Business & Economy, Politics, World, Africa, African Exploitation, Capitalists, Exploitation, MNC companies, Pharmaceutical companies, Pirates, Somlia, Western Powers
