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The International Response to Somali Piracy Challenges
and Opportunities 1st Edition Bibi Van Ginkel Digital
Instant Download
Author(s): Bibi Van Ginkel; Frans-Paul van der Putten
ISBN(s): 9789004190030, 9004190031
Edition: 1
File Details: PDF, 4.89 MB
Year: 2010
Language: english
The International Response to Somali Piracy
The International Response to
Somali Piracy

Challenges and Opportunities

Edited by

Bibi van Ginkel and Frans-Paul van der Putten

Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’

LEIDEN • BOSTON
2010
Cover photograph taken by Standard Nato Maritime Group 2; © Crown Copyright/MOD.
Reproduced with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The international response to Somali piracy : challenges and opportunities / edited by

Bibi van Ginkel and Frans-Paul van der Putten.
p . cm.
I ncludes index.
ISBN 978-90-04-18305-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Maritime terrorism—Somalia. 2. Piracy—Somalia. 3. Hijacking of ships—Somalia.
4. Maritime terrorism—Somalia—Prevention. 5. Piracy—Somalia—Prevention.
6. Hijacking of ships—Somalia—Prevention. 7. World politics—21st century. I. Ginkel,
Bibi van. II. Putten, Frans-Paul van der. III. Nederlands Instituut voor Internationale
Betrekkingen “Clingendael”

HV6433.786.S58I58 2010
364.16’4—dc22
2010038299

ISBN 978 90 04 18305 6

Netherlands nstitute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’

Copyright 2010 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing,
IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher.

Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV
provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center,
222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA.
Fees are subject to change.
Contents

Foreword by Ambassador Thomas Winkler ..................................vii

About the Contributors ............................................................... xi
Map 1. Somalia...........................................................................xv
Map 2. Gulf of Aden ................................................................. xvii
Map 3. Northwestern Indian Ocean ............................................xix

1. Introduction: The International Response to Somali

Piracy............................................................................... 1
Bibi van Ginkel and Frans-Paul van der Putten
1.1 International Cooperation against Piracy ............................. 3
1.2 Approach ........................................................................... 8

2. More than Just Pirates: Closing the Space for Somali

Pirates through a Comprehensive Approach .............. 13
Roger Middleton
2.1 How it Works................................................................... 15
2.2 Does it matter? ................................................................. 19
2.3 Improving Naval Operations ............................................. 20
2.4 Winning the Public Relations Battle .................................. 23
2.5 Chasing the Money .......................................................... 25
2.6 Changing the Politics........................................................ 26
2.7 Conclusion and a Note of Caution on Interventions ........... 29

3. The Failed State and Regional Dimensions of Somali

Piracy............................................................................. 31
J. Peter Pham
3.1 The Political Context: State Collapse ................................ 32
3.2 The Emergence of Piracy .................................................. 41
3.3 Piracy Flourishes .............................................................. 46
3.4 Alternative Centres of Power: Allies in Counterpiracy? ....... 48
3.5 The Case for a ‘Bottom-Up’ Approach .............................. 53
3.6 International Policy toward the TFG and Other Somali
Polities............................................................................. 55
3.7 Conclusion....................................................................... 59
vi Contents

4. Operational Challenges to Counterpiracy Operations off

the Coast of Somalia ..................................................... 65
Kees Homan and Susanne Kamerling
4.1 Local Conditions.............................................................. 68
4.2 International Counterpiracy Operations............................. 71
4.3 Modus Operandi in Maritime Counterpiracy Operations.... 83
4.4 The Pirates’ Response ...................................................... 89
4.5 Onshore Regional Capacity Building ................................. 91
4.6 Operational Challenges..................................................... 98
4.7 Conclusions ................................................................... 100

5. Coping with Piracy: The European Union and the

Shipping Industry........................................................ 105
Per Gullestrup and May-Britt U. Stumbaum
5.1 The European Union...................................................... 107
5.2 The Shipping Industry.................................................... 114
5.3 Cooperation between the EU and the Business Sector...... 120
5.4 Conclusions and Recommendations ................................ 122

6. The Legal Challenges in Fighting Piracy.................... 127

Douglas Guilfoyle
6.1 Piracy under International Law ....................................... 127
6.2 Practicalities and Problems of National Law .................... 146
6.3 The Way Forward .......................................................... 148

7. The Interplay between Counterpiracy and Indian Ocean

Geopolitics ................................................................... 153
James R. Holmes
7.1 Beware of Going Ashore ................................................. 156
7.2 Geopolitical Setting ........................................................ 161
7.3 The Best Defence Is a Good Defence .............................. 174

8. Conclusion: Challenges and Opportunities................ 179

Bibi van Ginkel and Frans-Paul van der Putten
8.1 The International Response ............................................ 179
8.2 Challenges and Opportunities Regarding the Fight against
Piracy ............................................................................ 183
8.3 Topics for Further Exploration ....................................... 186

List of abbreviations ................................................................. 189

Index ..................................................................................... 193
Foreword

1
Ambassador Thomas Winkler

Piracy off the coast of Somalia is a very popular subject. During

the past couple of years numerous meetings and conferences
have been held all over the world on this subject. Many
politicians, diplomats, naval officers and academics have clear
views on how to deal with this menace. Many unfortunately fail
to understand that it is a subject which comprises political,
military, commercial and legal elements and that one has to
include all these elements in one’s considerations in order to
obtain a complete understanding of the threat, the challenges
and the solutions. The international community has, however,
lacked a presentation of all of these elements in one
comprehensive publication. This book answers this need.
The public perception of piracy may still be influenced by
the image provided by Hollywood in, for example, Pirates of the
Caribbean. There is, however, nothing romantic or glamorous
about modern piracy off the coast of Somalia or anywhere else.
Piracy is a serious crime which scars innocent seafarers and
threatens international commercial shipping and thereby
international trade. It is a tragedy for both the victims, the
shipping companies and for the young Somali men who often
have no choice but to resort to piracy to survive.

1 Chairman of the Legal Working Group of the Contact Group on Piracy

off the Coast of Somalia, Under Secretary for Legal Affairs, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Denmark. This preface is written in the author’s
capacity as Chairman of the Legal Working Group and does not
necessarily reflect the views of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs or
the Government of Denmark.
viii Foreword

All counter-piracy experts know that the only long-term

sustainable solution to piracy off the coast of Somalia is a secure
and stable Somalia. The international community has stepped
up its efforts to ensure this in the last twelve months but it will
still take a long time and an even more intense international
effort to attain the desired result. In the meantime the
international community has a duty to counter piracy off the
coast of Somalia so as to protect seafarers and ocean-going
vessels.
Cooperation and coordination is the only way forward. In
this respect counter-piracy is no different from any other kind of
international cooperation. The chosen form of cooperation and
coordination is, however, unusual. The Contact Group on
Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS), which was
established on 14 January 2009 pursuant to a call from the UN
Security Council for improved international cooperation, is not
a UN or an IMO body. It is voluntary cooperation among states
and organizations engaged in or with an interest in countering
piracy off the coast of Somalia. The participants thus share a
clear common goal and the work of the CGPCS has therefore
been characterized with much specific and practical progress in
a very short period of time.
At its first meeting the CGPCS established four working
groups on operational matters and capacity building (WG1 –
chaired by the United Kingdom), legal issues (WG2 – chaired
by Denmark), cooperation with industry (WG3 – chaired by the
USA) and communication (WG4 – chaired by Egypt). All four
working groups have produced a range of specific results which
have strengthened the international efforts ranging from the
strengthened operational cooperation and capacity-building
matrix of WG1, the Trust Fund Terms of Reference by WG2,
which inter alia will ensure increased financing for counter-
piracy projects, the Best Management Practice of industry in
WG3 and the comprehensive strategy for communication and
outreach elaborated by WG4.
In my capacity as the Chairman of the legal working group
(WG2), I can see how we are making progress, on a step-by-step
Foreword ix

basis, in trying to find answers to some of the legal issues. WG2

is a gathering of legal experts from more than 40 states and
organizations, including the UN, IMO, INTERPOL, NATO,
the European Union and the African Union. One of the
strengths of WG2 is the participation of legal experts from
navies, ministries of defense, justice and foreign affairs as well as
prosecutors. It is furthermore of great value that representatives
of the shipping industry participate in the work of WG2.
The legal experts in WG2 generally agree that
international law already contains the necessary regulations for
piracy and that the main challenge is therefore to ensure the
national implementation of relevant international law. To
address these needs and other more specific legal challenges the
WG2 has developed a ‘legal tool box’. It has never been the
ambition to negotiate new international law or other legal texts
but to give states and organizations engaged in counter-piracy
legally sound practical advice on all aspects of counter-piracy
where legal challenges may occur. States and organizations may
find this advice in the legal tool box. The tool box contains
documents guiding states and Organizations on such issues as
the use of force against pirates, evidence gathering, shiprider
agreements and transfer arrangements.
Ensuring the prosecution of suspected pirates has been a
key focus of WG2. Today, suspected pirates are being
prosecuted in a number of states, including the Netherlands, the
USA, Germany, France, Yemen and – last but not least – in
Kenya and the Seychelles. Both the WG2 and the CGPCS have
discussed at length how to ensure the prosecution of a larger
number of suspected pirates. There is broad agreement that the
most feasible way ahead is the so-called dedicated piracy
chamber – prosecution by national courts under national law in
one or more states in the region with the support of the
international community.
Much progress has been made, including through the
focused efforts of the UNODC, but more needs to be done.
WG2 is thus expected to continue its work on a number of
models which may ensure a larger number of prosecutions.
x Foreword

discussions in WG2 have demonstrated the need to establish

legally sound and practically operational systems for the transfer
of convicted pirates to imprisonment in states other than the
prosecuting state, including in Somalia. This is going to be one
of the main challenges for WG2 in the coming months,
especially as a result of the recent interest shown by the Security
Council in this issue.
Other legal challenges remain. WG2 - and the CGPCS –
still have to establish clear guidance on how to ensure that the
human rights of suspected pirates are protected. Furthermore, it
is expected that WG2 will have to undertake further work on the
legal aspects of the financing of piracy. Finally, WG2 is expected
to continue its dialogue with the shipping industry – both
seafarers and shipowners as well as other relevant branches – to
determine how they may assist in, for example, ensuring
prosecution.
As one of many who have spent considerable time and
resources during these past two years trying to get to grips with
this challenge I can only welcome this book, which you are
about to read, and its ambition to deal with all of the elements
relevant to the understanding of modern piracy. I am convinced
that this book will be read by both those who actively undertake
to counter modern piracy and those who have an interest in the
developments off and in the Horn of Africa. This book will thus
contribute to an even more efficient international effort to
counter piracy off the coast of Somalia.
About the Contributors

Bibi van Ginkel is a senior research fellow at the Security and

Conflict Programme of the Netherlands Institute of
International Relations ‘Clingendael’. She holds a PhD in
international law, on the role of the United Nations in
combating terrorism from 1946-2008 and the questions of
legality and legitimacy, from Utrecht University. She is a
member of the Peace and Security Committee of the Advisory
Council for International Affairs. She is also the general
secretary of the Board of Governors of the Netherlands Helsinki
Committee, and an editor of the Dutch Military Legal Journal
(Militair Rechtelijk Tijdschrift).

Douglas Guilfoyle is a lecturer at the Faculty of Laws,

University College London. He teaches public international law,
law of the sea and international criminal law. His main interests
lie in high-seas law enforcement and the law of jurisdiction. He
is the author of Shipping Interdiction and the Law of the Sea
(2009) and numerous articles on legal issues surrounding piracy
in the Gulf of Aden.

Per Gullestrup is a partner in the Danish shipping company

Clipper Group. He is President and CEO of Clipper Projects,
the Group’s strategic business unit that focuses on the multi-
purpose/heavy lift market, and Chairman of two other Clipper
companies, Nordic Ferrys Services A/S and Seatruck. Per
Gullestrup was in charge of negotiations with Somali pirates,
who on 7 November 2008 hijacked the vessel CEC Future in the
Gulf of Aden. Crew and vessel were held hostage for 71 days.

James Holmes is an associate professor of strategy at the Naval

War College. He is the co-author of Indian Naval Strategy in the
xii About the Contributors

21st Century (2010) and, most recently, of Red Star over the
Pacific: China's Rise and the Challenge to U.S. Maritime Strategy
(2010).

Kees Homan (Major-General (ret), RNLMC) is adviser at the

Security and Conflict Programme of the Netherlands Institute
of International Relations ‘Clingendael’. His last position in the
Armed Forces was Director of the Netherlands Defence
College. Among his areas of interest are Afghanistan, Dutch, the
European Union's, the United States’, British, Japanese and
Chinese security and defence policies, climate change and
security, civil-military relations, security sector reform, robots
and warfare, and private military companies.

Susanne Kamerling is a training and research fellow at the

Security and Conflict Programme and at Clingendael Asia
Studies at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations
‘Clingendael’. Her research interests include maritime security,
piracy and international maritime cooperation, and the role of
China and India in regional and international security. She is
editor of the Dutch journal China Nu.

Roger Middleton is a consultant researcher for the Africa

Programme at Chatham House. His main areas of interest are
the politics of the Horn of Africa, African Peace and Security
Architecture, and EU-Africa relations.

J. Peter Pham is senior fellow and Africa Project Director at

the National Committee on American Foreign Policy in New
York City and Associate Professor of Justice Studies, Political
Science, and Africana Studies at James Madison University in
Virginia (USA). He is also Vice President of the Association for
the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) and Editor-
in-Chief of The Journal of the Middle East and Africa. Dr
Pham’s studies in international relations and strategic issues
focus on US foreign and defence policy, African politics and
security, terrorism and political violence, and religion and global
About the Contributors xiii

affairs - topics on which he often advises the US and other

governments as well as multinational corporations.

Frans-Paul van der Putten is research fellow at the Security

and Conflict Programme and at Clingendael Asia Studies at the
Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’.
He holds a PhD in history from Leiden University. He is the
editor-in-chief of Itinerario: Journal on the History of European
Expansion and Global Interaction. He is also co-editor, with Chu
Shulong, of China, Europe, and International Security (2010).

May-Britt U. Stumbaum serves as senior research fellow and

head of the EU - China Project at the Stockholm International
Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Previous engagements
included the Weatherhead Center for International Relations
(Harvard), the German Council on Germany (DGAP) and
fellowships at renowned institutes in European countries and
China. A graduate from the FU Berlin and the London School
of Economics, May-Britt Stumbaum has published widely on
EU-China security relations. She is a co-founder and former
president of Women in International Security Deutschland
(WIIS.de).

Thomas Winkler is Chairman of the Legal Working Group of

the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, and
Under Secretary for Legal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Denmark.
 xv

Map 1. Somalia

Map by United Nations Cartographic Section (Somalia, no. 3690

Rev. 7 January 2007).
 xvii

Map 2. Gulf of Aden

Based on a map by Norman Einstein. Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gulf_of_Aden_map.png. Reproduced under licence
of Creative Commons.

Internationally Recommended
Transit Corridor
 xix

Map 3. Northwestern Indian Ocean

Map by Norman Einstein. Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Arabian_Sea_map.png. Reproduced under licence
of Creative Commons.
1. Introduction: The International Response
to Somali Piracy

Bibi van Ginkel and Frans-Paul van der Putten

Piracy attacks on international shipping off the coast of Somalia

attracted worldwide media attention from 2008 onwards. While
piracy is far from being a recent phenomenon, the response to
this particular instance of piracy is unprecedented in terms of
the diversity of the actors involved. What is especially striking is
the many different nationalities of the actors engaged in
countering Somali piracy. The international aspect of the
response to Somali piracy is the main theme of this book. The
idea to publish a book on the response to Somali piracy was the
outcome of an expert meeting on the same topic that was
organised by the Netherlands Institute for International
1
Relations ‘Clingendael’ in July 2009. The chapters in this book,
apart from the introductory and concluding chapters, were
initially presented as papers at the expert meeting. This book
aims to provide policy makers, military personnel, academics,
and students with an overview of the international response to
Somali piracy. In doing so, it also intends to indicate which
challenges Somali piracy poses to maritime security and where
possible opportunities may be found to increase maritime
cooperation.

1 ‘Pioneering for Solutions against Piracy: Geopolitical analysis, counter-

piracy initiatives, and policy solutions’, international expert meeting,
Clingendael Institute, 8 July 2009, organised by Jort Hemmer, Susanne
Kamerling, Bibi van Ginkel and Frans-Paul van der Putten:
http://www.clingendael.nl/cscp/events/20090708/.
2 Bibi van Ginkel and Frans-Paul van der Putten

The term ‘Somali piracy’ refers to the activities of

Somalia-based groups who aim to generate income by attacking
ships at sea. In practice the intended victims are mostly foreign
merchant vessels sailing in the Gulf of Aden or in the Western
Indian Ocean. The attackers are not – or at least not formally –
linked to government authorities in Somalia, but can rather be
characterized as gangs of private marauders. In addition to the
internationally recognized but largely ineffective Transitional
Federal Government of the Republic of Somalia (TFG), there
are three other major governing entities in Somalia. These are
the Islamist insurgency group al Shabaab in South and Central
Somalia, and the de facto autonomous regional governments of
2
Somaliland and Puntland in the north. The preferred method
used by Somali pirates is to board ships, take the crews hostage,
and to extract a ransom from the shipowner in return for the
release of both the crew and the ship.
The international response to Somali piracy ranges from
media coverage throughout the world to donor conferences to
generate financial sources to invest in state-building initiatives in
Somalia, as well as the international naval presence and
adjustments to the insurance rates for maritime shipping. The
challenges are numerous, and some will be dealt with in this
book. This book is concerned mainly with actions taken at the
international level to remove the threat of piracy and to
minimize the damage it is causing. The main emphasis in this
volume is on initiatives by foreign (non-Somali) and
international governmental actors – primarily initiatives at sea
but also those on land and in the legal sphere that are closely
related or complementary to what is taking place at sea. Of
course Somali actors and foreign non-state actors – especially
the international shipping industry – are important players as
well, but we will approach these primarily in relation to actions
taken by foreign governmental actors.

2 Somaliland strives to be recognized internationally as an independent

state, whereas Puntland aims to maintain an autonomous status within
Somalia.
Introduction: The International Response to Somali Piracy 3

Major foreign state actors include governments from

countries that engage in naval counterpiracy missions off
Somalia. The most prominent of these are the United States
(US), China, Japan, Russia, India, South Korea, and many of
the European member states of the European Union (EU) and
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). However, in
the past few years various other countries have also sent
warships to the region in response to Somali piracy. At the
international level, apart from the EU and NATO, the United
Nations (UN) are involved in various ways, for instance through
the Security Council and the International Maritime
Organization. National and international governmental bodies
dealing with international law, or with criminal or financial
issues also play an important role.

1.1 International Cooperation against Piracy

Piracy has long been referred to as an enemy of mankind

(‘hostis humani generis’), and yet when it comes to
counterpiracy activities at sea, mankind has never responded
collectively. The current operations in the Gulf of Aden
probably constitute the first time in history when all of the
world’s major naval powers bring together significant naval
assets in a specific region for a – to some extent - combined
response to piracy. In the past, success against piracy was
primarily achieved by hegemonic powers or a combined effort
by global and regional powers. From the first century BC, the
Roman Empire achieved some degree of success in fighting
piracy in the Mediterranean.3 Britain, during its ascendance as
the world’s dominant naval force and the leading colonial
power, suppressed piracy of European origin in the Atlantic and
4
Indian Oceans. However, state power has only rarely been so

3 Angus Konstam, Piracy: The complete history. Oxford: Osprey Publishing,

2008, p.19.
4 Ibid., p. 272.
4 Bibi van Ginkel and Frans-Paul van der Putten

strong as to be able to subdue piracy at the international level

more or less single-handedly. At the height of its power, Spain
was unable to suppress pirate attacks on the shipping routes
between Spain itself and its overseas possessions in the Americas
5
and Asia. It is also noteworthy that today’s leading maritime
power, the United States, has so far been unable to end the
threat of Somali piracy – in spite of the permanent presence of
significant American naval forces in the Persian Gulf and the
Indian Ocean.
During past centuries, up to the early twentieth century,
there were various instances of joint international approaches to
combating piracy, often involving the British navy or other
Western maritime powers. The scope of such cooperative
ventures was limited in terms of the number of participating
countries. In the 1660s and for some time thereafter, the Dutch
East India Company cooperated with Chinese imperial forces to
attack the ships and positions of the Taiwan-based maritime
6
warlord Zheng Jing on the South China coast. In the late
nineteenth and early twentieth century, the British navy fought
piracy off the Chinese coast and on China’s inland waterways,
formally in cooperation with the Chinese authorities. In the
second half of the nineteenth century, the British, Spanish, and
Dutch colonial governments in Southeast Asia worked together
7
to eliminate piracy in the region. As an example of this joint
approach, in 1861 an Anglo-Dutch naval force fought against
8
pirates off the coast of Borneo. Joint initiatives also occurred in
other regions. From the mid-seventeenth century the British and
the Dutch took maritime actions against North African pirates

5 Kris E. Lane, Pillaging the Empire: Piracy in the Americas, 1500-1750.

Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, 1998.
6 John E. Wills, Jr, ‘Ch’ing Relations with the Dutch, 1662-1690’, in: John
K. Fairbank ed., The Chinese World Order. Cambridge MA: Harvard
University Press, 1968.
7 Adam J. Young, Contemporary Maritime Piracy in Southeast Asia: History,
causes and remedies. Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2007, p.45.
8 Angus Konstam, Piracy: The complete history. Oxford: Osprey Publishing,
2008, p.287.
Introduction: The International Response to Somali Piracy 5

(the so-called Barbary pirates), again sometimes in a

coordinated way. In 1816 an Anglo-Dutch flotilla bombarded
Algiers, which was then regarded as the capital of a pirate state.
Also in the early nineteenth century, the combined – and
apparently coordinated - efforts of the British and US navies
and corresponding on-land policies by countries in the region
led to the end of piracy in the Caribbean. The sea-based
activities in this approach included the patrolling of major
shipping lanes, the hunting down of pirate ships and attacks on
9
pirate bases.
During the Cold War, piracy did not play a prominent role
in maritime security, at least not at the international level.
Piracy once again became regarded as a serious threat to
international shipping in the 1990s, when the number of piracy
attacks in the Strait of Malacca grew rapidly. International
cooperation played an important role in the response to
Southeast Asian – mostly Indonesian – piracy in the Strait of
Malacca. Major maritime powers such as the United States and
Japan, which have significant strategic interests in the Strait of
Malacca, were eager to be involved in addressing Southeast
Asian piracy. However, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore,
being concerned that their sovereign rights in the Strait could
suffer as a result of the internationalization of the counterpiracy
approach, were reluctant to assign a major role to external
10
actors. According to Adam J. Young, the most effective
approach for countries outside the region involves technical
assistance and funding, rather than military or security
cooperation, which allows the regional states to retain the lead
11
in combating piracy.
The regional states themselves initiated, in 2004, joint
maritime patrols – the so-called MALSINDO patrols by
Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. In 2006 the three countries

9 Ibid., p. 274-275.
10 Adam J. Young, Contemporary Maritime Piracy in Southeast Asia: History,
causes and remedies. Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2007, p. 115.
11 Ibid., p. 117.
6 Bibi van Ginkel and Frans-Paul van der Putten

signed an agreement to create a single framework for the

12
MALSINDO naval patrols and for air surveillance. It seems
likely that this regional cooperative initiative was partly
motivated by the aim to avert interventions by external powers.
A broader cooperative initiative related to piracy in Southeast
Asia is the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating
Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP),
that came into force in 2006 and that involves sixteen
governments, mostly of Southeast Asian countries. An
important outcome of this is the ReCAAP Information Sharing
Centre in Singapore which aims at facilitating the sharing of
13
piracy-related information.
Since the 1990s, the threat of piracy attacks against
international shipping has increased in various parts of the
world, including the South China Sea, the Bay of Bengal, West
14
Africa, and off the Brazilian coast. However, the most
spectacular increase in recent years was off the Somali coast.
Due to the weakness of the Somali state, the efforts by external
actors rather than those of local authorities have so far played
the most visible role in the response to piracy off the coast of

12 Rajeev Sawhney, ‘Redefining the Limits of the Straits: A composite

Malacca Straits security system’, IDSS Commentaries, Singapore: RSIS,
2006: http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/Perspective/IDSS0372006.pdf
13 http://www.recaap.org/index_home.html
14 On the threat of contemporary piracy see John S. Burnett, Dangerous
Waters: Modern piracy and terror on the high seas. New York: Plume, 2003.
Much recent literature on piracy has approached the phenomenon in
combination with maritime terrorism: Peter Chalk, The Maritime
Dimension of International Security: Terrorism, piracy, and challenges for the
United States. Santa Monica: RAND, 2008; Anthony M. Davis, Terrorism
and the maritime transportation system: Are we on a collision course?
Livermore: Wingspan Press, 2008; Jim Gray, Mark Monday, and Gary
Stubblefield, Maritime Terror: Protecting yourself, your vessel, and your crew
against piracy. Boulder: Sycamore Island Books, 1999; Michael
Richardson, A Time Bomb for Global Trade: Maritime-related terrorism
in an age of weapons of mass destruction. Singapore: ISEAS Publications,
2004. Indeed, the approach by the US navy against Somali piracy is
derived from its anti-terrorism activities in the same region. Still, the
relationship between Somali piracy and terrorism so far seems to be
limited or non-existent.
Introduction: The International Response to Somali Piracy 7

Somalia. Another important difference with regard to the 1990s

situation in the Malacca Strait is that the number of extra-
regional countries that are involved is far greater. As will be
explored throughout this book, the international dimension in
the response to Somali piracy is diverse and complex. This
raises the question of how the many actors interact with each
other, and to which extent a common approach has been found.
In spite of the historical significance of the international
response to Somali piracy, not many research data are yet
available on this topic. The fact that there is an international
15
dimension to the response has been widely noted, and also that
16
a military response is in itself insufficient to end piracy.
Moreover, it has been noted that the United Nations is as yet
17
incapable of effectively dealing with piracy. However, there has
been little analysis with regard to the way in which the many
international actors interact, both at sea and at other levels, and
18
which factors influence cooperation between them. This book
will therefore make a first attempt at clarifying the different
aspects that play a role in finding a solution to Somali piracy at
the international level.

15 For instance, Rubick Biegon, ‘Somali Piracy and the International

Response’, Foreign Policy in Focus, 29 Jan 2009, http://www.fpif.
org/articles/somali_piracy_and_the_international_response.
16 Stockbruegger, ‘Somali Piracy and the International Response: Trends in
2009 and prospects for 2010’, Piracy Studies, 6 March 2010, http://piracy-
studies.org/?p=111.
17 Christopher Jasparro, ‘Somalia’s Piracy Offers Lessons in Global
Governance’, YaleGlobal, 6 April 2009,
http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/somalia%E2%80%99s-piracy-offers-
lessons-global-governance.
18 On the relationship between two of the actors, the EU and China, in the
context of naval counterpiracy missions in the Gulf of Aden: Susanne
Kamerling and Frans-Paul van der Putten, ‘Europe Sails East, China Sails
West: Somali piracy and shifting geopolitical relations in the Indian
Ocean’ in: Frans-Paul van der Putten and Chu Shulong eds, China,
Europe and International Security: Interests, roles and prospects. London:
Routledge, forthcoming in September 2010.
8 Bibi van Ginkel and Frans-Paul van der Putten

1.2 Approach

This book addresses two primary questions. First, how do the

many nationalities involved interact with one another? And
second, what are the prospects for increased coordination at the
international level in dealing with maritime piracy? The various
contributions to this book will approach the response to Somali
piracy from various perspectives. Together, the following six
chapters provide an overview of the main actors and initiatives
in countering Somali piracy since late 2008. Each contributor
has done his or her best to provide the most recent and accurate
data available at the time of writing. However, in some cases
there are discrepancies between the various chapters regarding
certain data. This is illustrative of the fact that the topic of this
book is a new phenomenon on which not much verifiable data
are yet available, and for which multiple standards of
measurement exist.
In chapter I, Roger Middleton provides an overview of the
characteristics of Somali piracy. He points out that when put
into perspective, one might wonder whether the immense
financial costs of operating navy forces in the area are worth
incurring when compared to the small possibility that
commercial shipping is targeted. The real damage, he argues,
takes place in Somalia. Nevertheless, international cooperation
mainly focuses on naval presence, even though it is a well-
known fact that the naval presence by itself will never be able to
eradicate the problem. One of the major challenges to be faced
is to chase the money and to change the politics of the
international community in their approach towards the
authorities in Somalia. The latter, as long as it does not contain
an intervention, might in the long run contribute to changing
the politics within Somalia.
In chapter II, J. Peter Pham describes the history and the
cultural clan system of Somalia, and its influence on the political
situation in Somalia. Pham explains how the failed state status,
as well as the regional situation, are of influence on the
emergence of piracy. A good understanding of these
Introduction: The International Response to Somali Piracy 9

backgrounds, Pham argues, is vital for finding a solution to

Somali piracy. Like Middleton, Pham points to the importance
of a bottom-up approach in engaging decentralized authorities
in state-building kinds of activities to contribute to counter-
piracy initiatives.
In chapter III, Kees Homan and Susanne Kamerling
provide a detailed overview of the variety of international naval
actors, as well as the different mechanisms and instruments in
place both at sea as well as on shore. They also discuss the
much-debated possibility for the shipping industry to hire
private security companies to provide the needed protection.
Homan and Kamerling argue that the employment of the
different instruments and mechanisms as well as the large naval
presence have their impact on piracy activities in the region. The
number of attacks in the Gulf of Aden itself has dropped, but
the pirates have also changed their modus operandi, shifting
their activities further into the Indian Ocean and possibly also to
other criminal spheres. Homan and Kamerling point out that, in
this sense, the methods used by pirates show similarities with
the practice of asymmetric tactics in warfare. This poses a
challenge to the operational thinking of the international naval
actors in the region. Furthermore, the authors lay out the
operational challenges in the area of communication and
coordination.
In chapter IV, Per Gullestrup and May-Britt U.
Stumbaum join forces by bringing together the perspectives of
the European Union and the shipping industry on fighting
Somali piracy. Both actors are major players, and should serve
the same purpose, namely to safeguard the maritime routes of
the world’s biggest trading bloc and to guarantee non-
interferece with trade and transportation while keeping the costs
for shipping at a competitive level and to ensure a continued
high flow of exports. However, as is natural, the interests of both
actors are not completely identical. The authors point out that
cooperation between the two actors has improved over time.
Nevertheless, they highlight some areas with major challenges,
such as communication and evidence gathering and the
10 Bibi van Ginkel and Frans-Paul van der Putten

prosecution of pirates. Several recommendations are made at

the end of the chapter to improve the cooperation between the
EU and the shipping industry.
In chapter V, Douglas Guilfoyle outlines the legal
challenges of fighting piracy. He argues that the main problem
for the international community in prosecuting piracy is not a
matter of power, but rather a matter of duty. Guilfoyle is
nevertheless not a supporter of the idea of developing an
international tribunal to deal with piracy crimes, but rather
advocates the strengthening of regional tribunals. In this
context, he also points to the human rights challenges that
particularly play a role with regard to the detention facilities,
principles of fair trial and extradition requests. He also lays out
the main rules concerning the use of force at sea. Guilfoyle
emphasizes that the counter-piracy missions are police missions,
and that the situation in which the naval actors operate do not
qualify as situations of armed conflict. This is not only relevant
for the rules of engagement of the naval actors, but is also of
importance when considering the possibility of the use of
violence by private security companies.
In chapter VI, James R. Holmes asks why naval powers
would provide international public goods to deal with a problem
that, when looking at the numbers and when making a
cost/benefit analysis, does not seem to legitimize the broad
scope of the current response. He argues that especially the
geopolitical interests of the main players are at stake in this
context. It is also the fear of a diplomatic backlash if the
counterpiracy efforts are mishandled, which would especially
erode America’s strategic position in the Indian Ocean, where a
strategic triangle is taking form among India, China, and the
United States. Taking these arguments into account, Holmes
then argues that for the United States, as the world’s leading
maritime power, the best strategic choice would be to stay on
the defensive side of the problem to match the magnitude and
duration of the counterpiracy effort to its political ends.
Contrary to Guilfoyle, he advocates a more prominent role for
Introduction: The International Response to Somali Piracy 11

armed private security companies in addition to the activities of

the naval actors.
Finally, in the concluding chapter the editors will use the
insights provided by the various contributors to address the two
main questions that are central to this volume and highlight the
challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the fight against
Somali piracy.
2. More than Just Pirates: Closing the Space
for Somali Pirates through a
Comprehensive Approach

Roger Middleton

Piracy in Somalia is a symptom of state collapse in Somalia and

a comprehensive solution needs to focus on roots causes. This
will require significant political will within Somalia and a careful
approach from without. Somalia currently provides a conducive
environment for violent crime such as like piracy. Piracy clearly
affects ship-owners who pay millions of dollars in ransom costs,
while seafarers can be held captive for months awaiting ransom
payment. It is also of international strategic importance because
of the importance of the sea lanes off the Somali coast (roughly
30% of European energy needs, and manufactured goods from
China and Asia pass through the Gulf of Aden).
But there is a deeper and more pernicious impact from the
crime on Somalia itself, piracy undermines government in
Somalia and makes resolving the chronic humanitarian and
security problems of the country harder. Over 3 million people
in Somalia are reliant on food aid, most of which is delivered by
sea. At times piracy has forced deliveries to stop, putting those
lives at risk, and the foreign navies see their primary mission as
1
ensuring that food aid can reach Somalia. So the effect on
individual Somali citizens is even more malevolent and long
term than that on the international community, the knock on
consequences of a relatively small enterprise (in terms of people

1 See ‘EU Naval Operation against Piracy aims and mandate’,

http://www.eunavfor.eu/about-us/mission/
14 Roger Middleton

directly involved) can threaten the lives of many more people.

Piracy may well have become one of the largest foreign currency
2
generators for Somalia; earning up to $100 million in 2009 and
this gives pirates bosses huge influence on the politics of north
east and north central Somalia. Local community leaders in
Somalia have voiced their fears about the corrupting moral
3
influence of piracy and pirate money. Meanwhile some Somali
politicians seem to have decided that blaming all their ills on
piracy will encourage the international community to hand over
large sums of money to fight the problem, and some politicians
have been accused by the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia of
4
running election campaigns with pirate money.
Piracy should not be seen in isolation. It is a problem
arising from Somalia’s internal crisis. Far more lives are ruined
5
and lost by the weapons trade across the Gulf of Aden and
people smuggling between Somalia and Yemen than by piracy.
These deserve far more attention than they currently receive. At
times it seems Somalia is either completely ignored by the rest
of the world or made to bear the burden of ill-considered
intervention.
Somalia’s problems are usually ignored by the
international community. The Failed interventions by the
United Nations and United States in the 1990’s and
international acceptance of the hugely unpopular Ethiopian
intervention in 2008 are unusual. This has led many Somalis to
take a sceptical view of the motivations of the rest of the
international community and any attempts from outside to
address piracy, or any other problems, in Somalia need to be

2 Author’s own estimation.

3 See for example ‘Postcard from Somali pirate capital’
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8103585.stm
4 ‘The report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia’, March 2010, available
at http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N10/246/89/PDF /
N1024689.pdf?OpenElement
5 UN Sanctions monitors on Somalia have been raising the issue of gun
smuggling for many years see
http://www.un.org/sc/committees/751/mongroup.shtml
More than Just Pirates 15

considered in this context. Piracy is irrefutably a negative

phenomenon but it can perhaps be turned to some good if it is
used to galvanise a more considered and nuanced international
approach to Somalia.
This chapter aims to offer some ideas in areas where
action can be taken to close the space available for pirates. It
recognises that ending piracy for good is likely to only be
achievable with significant political changes in Somalia. But
while such changes are awaited there are still measures that can
be taken to make piracy a more difficult and a less attractive
activity. The chapter begins with some brief observations on
how piracy works in Somalia. It then seeks to come to a
conclusion on the relative importance of piracy in the context of
the multiple challenges facing Somalia; concluding that while
this is an issue worthy of analysis and treatment it must also be
seen in a broader context. The chapter then sets out ideas for
reducing the space for piratical activity through naval, financial
and political means and public relations. It concludes by
offering some lessons learnt from the history of external
interventions.

6
2.1 How it Works

In order to consider sensible responses to the problem of piracy

in Somalia it is necessary to understand how pirates from
Somalia operate and what about them differs from other forms
of modern piracy. Somali piracy is based on hostage taking for
ransom. This method of financial extraction is not limited to the
maritime sphere in Somalia there is a much wider problem of
hostage taking for ransom in the country that also affects aid
workers, journalist and businesspeople. But pirates have taken
the same principles of extortion and applied them to the ocean
where it is possible to capture tens of hostages at a time and

6 For a more detailed explanation of the mechanics of Somali piracy see R.

Middleton ‘Piracy in Somalia’, Chatham House Briefing Paper, Oct 2008.
16 Roger Middleton

where returns are consequently much higher. Although ransoms

are paid in the belief that hostages are at risk, this method is
actually a safer option for the captured. This is because the
pirates seem to be fully aware that harming their captives would
undermine the chances of ransoms being paid and increase the
likelihood of special forces being sent in. Although they
encourage piracy, ransom payments are the most likely way of
securing hostage release without loss of life.
Somali pirates are not in the practice of executing people.
This mode of operation is significantly different from piracy as it
occurs in other parts of the world. It is not the brutal system
that has been witnessed in South Asia or West Africa, where
crews can be set adrift, stranded on islands or even murdered.
In those cases the objective is theft - the crew’s possessions, the
cargo of the ship or sometimes the ship itself. In Somalia the
real prize is the crew.
Somali piracy is essentially a low tech and opportunistic
crime and pirates have been able to adapt to changing
circumstances and take opportunities as they present
themselves. Yet there is now a fairly well established model for
piracy attacks. And while the pirates have shifted their area of
operation and are operating at increasingly long distances from
the coast of Somalia the basic pattern has remained the same.
In the past, pirate crews had to stay close to the Somali
coast, up to approximately 50 miles. Their range was limited by
the amount of fuel they had and a lack of navigation equipment.
By using ‘mother ships’, however, they have now been able to
expand their range to over a 1000 miles7 from the shore. A
mother ship is a fishing vessel or trading dhow that tows the
pirates’ skiffs and is well stocked with petrol, water and food.
These allow the pirates to spend much longer at sea and Global
Positioning Systems mean the pirates can always find their way
home. So rather than prowling the coastal areas pirates create

7 AFP, 20 April 2010, ‘Somali pirates seize Thai fishing vessels, 77 crew:
EU force’, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gyuAy
OEOMOal2VAGd4-h3qG-SrVQ
More than Just Pirates 17

movable areas of danger in the ocean basing themselves from a

moving platform. When a target is identified they launch small
plastic skiffs that are powered by outboard engines, a crew of
four or five men armed with automatic weapons, sometimes
rocket launchers, will use grappling hooks (or ladders adapted to
hook over the side of a ship) to speed alongside a target and
attempt to board.
Mother ships do increase pirate’s range and time at sea but
the choice of targets and the mechanics of capturing a vessel
remain the same. The most vulnerable ships remain those that
are slower, with lower freeboard and least well prepared. Yet
however high their sides and fast their engines, all ships are
potential targets. The Sirius Star, for instance is one of the
largest ships afloat yet was captured by pirates. Clearly, so long
as there exists the opportunity, there has so far been very little
that has deterred Somali pirates.
Once the pirates have managed to capture a vessel, which
in most case means the moment they have managed to get an
8
armed man on board, they will generally demand that the crew
take the ship to one of the favoured pirate ports - Eyl, Hobyo or
Xarardheere - in north east Somalia where they are able to wait
for considerable periods of time while negotiations take place
over the price of releasing the vessel and crew. Contact is then
made with the owners or managers of the vessel using either
their own satellite phones or the ships communications
equipment. An initial demand for ransom payment is made and
there follows an often protracted period of bartering until a
mutually agreed price is reached.
Ransom payments have been rising over the last decade.
In 2009, they reached an average of between $1,000,000 and
$2,000,000. The first indications for 2010 point to an even

8 The increasing use of safe rooms, or citadels, where crew can hide while
still controlling the ship has slightly changed this fact – but if crew
members are confronted with an armed pirate then the ship is likely to be
under the pirate’s control.
 18 Roger Middleton

9
higher average payment . Mapping ransom payments and total
number of attacks seems to point to a strong correlation
between rising payments and increased attacks.
Some shipping companies have concluded that it is
cheaper to pay a larger amount in ransom up front than to suffer
the associated costs of a long negotiation period. For shipping
companies ransoms are only a proportion of the total cost of a
hijacking. Legal fees, negotiator fees, fees for delivery of ransom
money, missed deadlines, crew pay and other costs can easily
treble the upfront ransom cost. The financial benefits and
humanitarian benefits for crew welfare of a quick resolution of a
hijacking must be seen against the longer term problem of
increasing ransom payments making piracy an ever more
attractive activity.

250 $2.000.000

Est. Average Ransom Payment US$

200 $1.600.000
No. of Attacks

150 $1.200.000

100 $800.000

50 $400.000

Est. successful attacks

0 $0
Est. unsuccessful attacks
2004 2006 2007 2008 2009
Average ransom payment
Year

Graph 1. Number of piracy attacks and estimated average ransom payments,

2004-2009.

9 These figures are based on the author’s discussions with insurance and
industry representatives, they are an estimate since there are no publicly
available verified figures for total ransoms paid.
More than Just Pirates 19

For a young man in Somalia the cost benefit analysis of

becoming a pirate weighs heavily in favour of piracy against
most alternative livelihoods. There are no shortage of young
men in Somalia for whom the potential danger of death or
imprisonment is far outweighed by the potential to earn many
times an average annual income from just one successful
operation. With GDP estimated to be around $600 per capita
10
and an individual pirate making up to $10,000 dollars per
11
successful operation the attraction is clear .

2.2 Does it matter?

Somali Piracy is an exciting topic for the media, but it is

legitimate to question if the deployment of warships and many
millions worth of legal and diplomatic expertise is justified.
First, conservative estimates put total traffic through the Gulf of
12
Aden at 16,000 vessels a year. In 2009 there were over 200
attacks on shipping in Somali waters (including the Indian
ocean with many thousand more transits). Even just using the
Gulf of Aden figure for traffic, that means only 1.25% of
shipping was attacked and of that less than half were
13
successfully captured. And if ships passing through the Indian
Ocean are included in the calculation the percentage would
drop considerably.
Despite this small percentage the freedom to trade and
traverse the seas is a vital element in the global economy and the

10 R. Middleton ‘Piracy in Somalia’, Chatham House Briefing Paper, Oct

2008.
11 ‘It’s a Pirates’ Life for Me’,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8010061.stm
12 The best source of statistics for piracy attacks is the International
Maritime Bureau http://www.icc-ccs.org/
13 This number a very rough estimate as it uses only a low estimate of total
shipping passing through the Gulf of Aden and ignores Indian Ocean
traffic.
20 Roger Middleton

principle that sailors can cross the ocean in safety is an

important one in and of itself. The sailors who are captured and
whose lives are put at risk have a right to expect that their
governments and the international community as a whole will
take measures to protect their well being. It is a principle that
surpasses a purely quantitative understanding of the piracy
trade.
More damaging still is the effect inside Somalia. The loss
of $100 million dollars may not be crippling in a global context,
but this money then flows unchecked into a country with
already weak institutions and high levels of corruption, further
14
undermining governance structures. Puntland has been one of
the success stories of Somalia over the last twenty years, but it
remains extremely weak institutionally and if piracy continues to
grow and becomes more profitable it could further compromise
the structures of government in the area. Likewise Puntland’s
security - already under threat from the south and at times from
the west - could suffer if it must redirect its attention to fighting
piracy. One result of a weakening of the Puntland
administration could be the spread of the endemic fighting in
South / Central Somalia to the more peaceful northern areas.
This would have devastating humanitarian consequences as well
as a potentially destabilising effect on Somaliland. The
international community should take extremely seriously
anything that has the potential to threaten the growth of stable
and functioning government structures in Somalia.

2.3 Improving Naval Operations

The most obvious way to counter piracy is to place more naval

ships in more places protecting more commercial shipping.
However according to one senior naval officer it would require
something in the region of 700 to 800 ships to secure the seas

14 UN Monitoring Group Report 2010.

Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Petunia blossoms:
Ballads and poems
 This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
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eBook.

Title: Petunia blossoms: Ballads and poems

Author: Dorothea Auguste Gunhilde Schrage

Release date: July 20, 2022 [eBook #68573]

Language: English

Original publication: United States: Gate City Press, 1921

Credits: Charlene Taylor, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed

Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file
was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PETUNIA

BLOSSOMS: BALLADS AND POEMS ***
 Contents.
Some typographical errors have
been corrected; a list follows the
text.
(etext transcriber's note)
PETUNIA BLOSSOMS
————

Ballads and Poems

BY

DOROTHEA AUGUSTE GUNHILDE

WIFE OF

WILLIAM F. SCHRAGE
 COPYRIGHT 1921
BY
MRS. WILLIAM F. SCHRAGE
KANSAS CITY, MO.

PUBLISHED BY
THE GATE CITY PRESS
KANSAS CITY, MO.
 To
My Beloved Husband,
W i l l i a m F. S c h r a g e
to whom I dedicate
this book.
 CONTENTS
Petunia Blossoms 7
A Tribute to Thirty-Second St. 9
You Greenhorn 11
Baby 13
Jack’s Christmas 14
Is Marriage a Failure 16
A Big Red Apple 19
Little Mischiefs 21
Christmas in Norway 23
Our Flag 26
Love is a Blossom 28
The Three Bears 30
Christmas Eve 32
Young Innocence 33
Good-By, Daddy 35
The Bird of Paradise 36
My Faithful Shoes 38
Not Big Like Me 41
A Fair Young Bride 43
Two Little Red Birds 44
Coming Home 46
Colorado 47
Mrs. O’Day 48
In Memoriam 49
Divorced 50
Mother 54
Ascension Day 56
Your Star 59
A Moth 60
Lonely 61
Playtime 62
My Lillian 63
Swope Park 64
A Letter to a Friend 66
Sweet Sixteen 67
A Soldier’s Son 68
An Old Clock 69
A Wedding Anniversary 71
Sing 72
Kindness 73
Roses 74
There Is a Time 75
Rural Baptizing Years Ago 77
Leaving the Old Home 80
 Petunia Blossoms.

Oh, beautiful petunias, how lovely you grow,

Some purple, some crimson and some white as snow;
Your colors are like the rainbow bending o’er,
And your scent comes into my windows and door.

Your seeds were so tiny, I scarce could conceive,

When you came up profusely, one can hardly believe
That blossoms like these, such wee little mites
Could produce in my garden such wonderful sights.

When once you are planted when Spring comes around,

Multiplied by hundreds you’d peep through the ground;
Awaiting the heat, the Sun and the rain
In the sweet early summer to grow lovely again.

You come every year, you make my heart glad

With such beautiful blossoms, how can I be sad?
The humming bird loves you, they come every day
And drink of your nectar, so softly and gay.

Even the bee gets much of his sweetness from you

In the early morning—your petals with dew,
And hover around you; your blossoms they love,
As you hold up your faces to Heaven above.

The Autumn is coming, with its wind and cold;

Again down to earth will you enfold,
That in the Spring your strength may return;
For you, lovely petunias, my heart will still yearn.
 A Tribute to Thirty-Second Street.

Just south of the heart of this Great Midwest Town,

Is the dearest little street I ever have known;
The homes are kept up with pride and care,
And the lawns with beautiful flowers rare;
Years have been many for some of us here,
On this little street that we all hold so dear.

Our children were wee things when we came out here,

But now all is changed; some are gone, some are near;
But our children’s children have come to bless;
It’s a gift from Heaven—such love to possess;
Were our children so sweet, so glad and so merry,
With cheeks like rose buds, and lips like the cherry.

The trees were but saplings, when we came out here,

From the Sun have protected us many a year,
And have grown up so high their branches meet,
And form a cathedral nave over the street;
And the birds in the mornings, their anthems to heav’n raise,
’Til you would think their throats would burst in their praise.

This little street lies between Main and McGee,

Out on Thirty-second. Do come, and see.
If I say that I love you, believe me, it’s true,
And so do the neighbors think a great deal of you.
When I have been away and return, then I see
You’re like an old sweetheart welcoming me.
You Greenhorn.
Vacation is over, school opens today;
Pleasures are laid aside, no time for play;
But your happy children, who the language know,
It makes it much easier to school to go.

When I was a child in the first primer class,

I knew not the language—was a shy little lass;
For we had only a few months before
Arrived in this country from cold Bergen’s shore.

I remember so well, the first day my ma took me

To school; how I trembled and blushed I still see.
The sweet lady teacher took me by the hand,
And said in a short time I would understand.

She patted my cheek; oh, how happy was I

To have found a friend—I wanted to cry
For happiness, only the world seemed so cold,
Although I was less than seven years old.

A boy of my own age, across the aisle,

Ev’ry now and then would look at me and smile;
Then after school, he came to my side;
“You Greenhorn; you Greenhorn,” loudly he cried.

I ran home like a deer—for I felt such shame,

This, the first day in school, and be called a bad name.
I tip-toed quietly and whispered in mother’s ear,
For I didn’t want little sister such naughty words to hear.

But after this day, I had never a fear,

For she said little fairies are always near
To protect little children from danger they keep,
Even at night when they are asleep.
 Baby.

I’m just a little baby, I pray you let me sleep;

Please let me have my own way, for I don’t want to weep.
I love to lay and stretch, of Heav’n I love to think,
That sunny home I came from; just one more little wink.

Don’t take me in your arms, and keep on rocking me;

That I should be a good child, no reason I can see;
Don’t sing so loud, my pink ears are tender little things,
But like a little goldfinch a-flopping of its wings.

Don’t kiss me on my lips, do kiss me on my hair;

And, if you’ll turn my head around you’ll find a bald spot there;
And when folks come to call, then please don’t dress me up
In that long white dress, that’s starched from the bottom up to the top.

And use a soft cloth on my face;

It need not be of finest lace.
And don’t come near my nose or eyes,
Dat’s why little folks like me cries;
But lay me tenderly in my crib to rest,
To grow, and coo—I love that best.
 Jack’s Christmas.

Santa is coming, now Jack, go to bed;

It’s freezing outdoors, so cover your head.
The wind is howling, the ground is all white,
’Twill be a real Christmas, it may snow all night.
Poor Santa will come, with a bound and a hop,
For he has great stores in his big Christmas shop.
He has rocking horses, balls and tops galore;
The better the boy, so much the more
Will he get, for Santa loves good boys—none that are bad.

Dear mamma, I fink I’ve been a good boy,

Yes, precious, you are your mother’s great joy;
So now go to sleep, my darling, my Jack,
I just heard a noise; oh, Santa, go back,
And come in the morning, for sleep he needs more
Than all the fine toys in Santa’s great store;
And she tells of the Christ Child, so humble, so sweet,
That was born in a manger, Hail Thee, we greet.

In the morning, Jack woke up and rubbed his blue eyes;

I fink this is surely a great big surprise,
I never ’spected a tree, with lights red and blue,
A sled and some mittens, nuts, and candy, too;
I dest love old Santa; but I dreamed I had found
A dear little playmate, wif cheeks red and round,
All bundled up in your old blue shawl,
Without any hair, dest like a big doll;
Wish I could see Santa; oh, please, call him back,
And say he forgot a playmate for Jack.
 Is Marriage a Failure?

Marriage is a problem, at least, so I have heard,

I hope you’ll kindly listen, for I, too, have a word;
But it was God’s own making; He ne’er can do a wrong;
He deals with us so gently, we know not He is among
Us when we are merely thinking; His Hand is not far away
To guide us to His wishes; though all seems bright as day.

Before you take the leap, think carefully and well;

Don’t be in any hurry, it may mean quite a spell.
Then, if you think a partner would to your blessings add,
A home and little children to love and to make glad;
Then make your resolutions, to stand while life shall last,
’Tis but human to err, forgive all that is past.

Though times be turbulent at first, forget it with a smile,

And say softly to yourself, ’twill be better after while;
Should either of you argue about a pretty face
At home, all sanctified with love, is wholly out of place.
What care I if the Sun is gray or blue or red,
All desires for argument, for love of you has fled.

If you are not blest with worldly goods, you may be blest with health,
For this I deem far greater than all your pompous wealth.
Your home should be your palace, if it be great or small,
And have sweet flowers blooming in the spring and in the fall;
A little trelliced nook, with creeping vines around,
Where the heart is ever glad to come, and where true love is found.

A man loves his home, a smile his path to cheer,

A few sweet spoken words, how easy and how clear;
And little arms a-twining around his great big heart,
To kiss and caress him—this is your happy part.
To love and to be loved, what greater happiness is there,
And all these will be yours if you’ll see it right and square
And all these will be yours, if you ll see it right and square.

The days of bleak December, with its hoary white and gray,
A blessed little grandchild, do come with me and play;
To you the name of mother is given from above,
With little arms a-twining, sweet innocents of love.
No, marriage is not a failure. I’m simply here to prove
A home so full of sweetness is sanctified by love.

But it was God’s own making, He ne’er has done a wrong,

He deals with us so gently, we know not He is among
Us when we’re merely thinking, His hand is not far away
To guide us to His wishes though all is bright as day.
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