Danes, the descendants of the feared Vikings, comprise approximately 10% of the force in the Gulf of Aden combating PIRACY!! Most of my life I had thought that in today’s world Pirates only exist in children’s stories which involve someone walking a plank, treasure chests, and brightly colored parrots.
Yet during the last few years one has heard of Pirates from Somalia... and it is these pirates that we learned about this past weekend with our War Crimes and Human Rights class. Now I associate Pirates with Grenade launchers, skiffs with ladders, and ransoms.
It was truly a one of a kind experience. Only in Denmark would they allow a group of American students to go to the Navy Military Police facilities, as well as the headquarters of the Admiral Danish Fleet to learn about piracy.
We could only take pictures in certain areas, due to security concerns. Not that the Navy’s Operations center had anything to worry about since this was one of the pathways to the WWII bunkers it is situated in.
Though not used as a bunker, being in one definitely has its security advantages... like this door.
Here is one of the communication areas of the Navy Operations center.
It was great to learn about modern piracy from different angles such as human rights law, world security, politics and ultimately justice.
Now I will never view Pirates the same way again, unless I am actually reading a book about pirates, parrots, and treasure chests of old.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please let me know what your thoughts are about my adventures!! :)