The people of the African nation of Somalia could do with some financial freedom, in the forms of payday loans or anything else. These people clearly need money, and some of them are willing to do just about anything to get it. The country is situated on the Indian Ocean coast of Africa, at the Horn of Africa near Saudi Arabia. Somalia has been in a state of turmoil for almost 20 years, and there are little signs of slowing down. Did you ever see the movie Black Hawk Down? That was about the beginning of their troubles, and things have just gotten worse from there. Somalis who live in and around the capital of Mogadishu live in one of the most hotly contested areas of dispute.
What’s so civil about war anyway?
Somalia has been in a state of near constant civil war since 1991, when the government at the time was overthrown. The situation degenerated quickly after that as hostilities grew along tribal lines that began to escalate out of control. The UN decided to act to quell the violence, but even with a mostly US led coalition of peacekeeping troops, there was little that could be done to stem the fighting between tribes and rival warlords. By 1996, the UN had withdrawn completely from the area to avoid further casualties without success. The country has been experiencing fluctuating levels of hostility ever since, and there has been little stability to be found anywhere, except out of various regions which are, even then, rarely stable by most other country’s standards. Attempts at central governments have been ineffectual at best, existing more or less in name only. Some industry exists in the form of agriculture and agricultural exports, but not much development has been forecast for the near future. Tensions and battles between both paramilitary and Islamic Law factions have been ongoing for over a decade, and show no signs of slowing.
In the absence of law and order, some Somalis have decided that a form of cottage industry was the way to go – piracy, in absence of other financial options like payday loans. Since Somalia is located on the coast, the opportunity to partake in one of the worlds’ oldest professions was a juicy one – the Gulf of Aden leads to the Suez Canal, making it one of the highest areas of maritime traffic. Just recently, a Saudi supertanker, the Sirius Star was taken, and her cargo and crew held hostage. The norm is for Somali Pirates to hold a crew and cargo hostage for ransom, and once paid, release the cargo and crew unharmed and absconding with the cash. The catch is that it seems to be working. In the absence of any social mobility, people are turning to crime – and doing well at it. They are able to purchase homes, keep a good supply of food, get more guns, bigger and faster boats, and also comfortably host their hostages. (Captives report nothing but hospitality – plenty to eat and drink, entertainment, access to communicating with their families, and courtesy from their captors, which is probably better 
_treatment than some of them get from their employers.) This is turning out to be the easiest form of upward mobility that Somalis have access to.
It may not last too long
In the wake of recent incidents of piracy, many countries are pledging the use of their Navy in order to guarantee the safety and stability of international trade and shipping by patrolling for pirates, and some pirate ships have already been sunk. If you are in a crunch and need money, don’t turn to piracy – call for payday loans instead.
The sad thing is that these people have no one or nowhere to turn to for help and guidance. Like you said, they have been in an economic turmoil for almost 20 years. 20 years! You can only take something like that for so long until you decide to do something about it, whether it’s the right way or not. I’m not saying what they’re doing is the right thing; all I’m saying is that they need help – and have been for many years.