Culture

Recounting 977 Days Held Hostage by Somali Pirates

May 12, 2016 10:30 am

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY JEAN-MARC MOJON A pirate loads his high caliber weapon in the early morning in the semi-desertic plains near the central Somalia town of Galkayo on August18, 2010. Fighting a losing battle against the sand that has already completely covered the old Italian port, Hobyo's scattering of rundown houses and shacks looks anything but the nerve centre of an activity threatening global shipping. Hobyo pirates have collected millions of dollars in ransoms over the past two years. They even have currency checking and counting machines for the bags of air-dropped cash they receive. AFP PHOTO / ROBERTO SCHMIDT (Photo credit should read ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images)

(Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)

Michael Scott Moore, an American journalist, ventured to Somalia in 2012 to report on a gang of pirates. Two years prior, the group he was reporting on was jailed for attempting to hijack a ship—and had been at the center of the world’s first pirate-related trial in more than four centuries. Ten days after arriving in Somalia, Moore was kidnapped. He told The Guardian the story of his abduction, detention, and eventual release. Read it here.