Pirate Ransom Create Big-Money Lifestyle in Somalia

A sort of follow up to the now Somali Pirates setup stock exchange awesomeness. The new rich lifestyle is causing problems with ordinary people and religious leaders.

A parcel of land here that sold for $12,000 two years ago now costs more than $20,000. The price of a nice pair of men's shoes has gone up from $20 to $50. The reason: pirates. The influx of millions of dollars in ransoms has changed life in this coastal Muslim community, driving prices up and creating a schism between the pirate haves and have-nots. As piracy ramps up again with the end of the monsoon season, the lifestyle of the pirates — big houses, fast cars and easy drugs — is decried by both religious leaders and ordinary villagers. "The use of drugs such as cannabis and the drinking of alcohol, sex and other obnoxious misconduct are now becoming common within the pirates, causing social problems," said Sheikh Ahmed, a mosque leader in the town of Galkayo. "That is what is worrying us, a lot more than the risk they pose to the foreign ships and crew." Clerics and village elders say they don't approve of the pirate lifestyle. Teenagers threaten their parents that they will join the pirates if they don't get their way, said a prominent Bossaso elder, Suldan Mohamud Aw-nor. Marriage has also been affected by pirates with pockets full of cash. Hundreds of cars escort the bride and groom to the reception, where the house is crammed with expensive furniture, and the bride wears expensive gold jewelry, said Shamso Ahmed, the owner of a beauty salon. Thousands of dollars are paid to brides' families as a dowry. "Pirates do not waste time to woo women, but instead pay them a lot," said Sahro Mohamed. "They did this to several girls I know."