Africa's+World+Relations

=Trade= Africa has a bright future in the world's economy. Africa's economy is starting to recover as Africans learn to trade with one another and to increase trade with other nations. Presently, the countries of Africa trade the least with each other than any other region of the world. Instead of relying on imported goods, they are beginning to trade with each other; therefore, improving their individual economies. [] =Somalian Pirates=

In November 2008 Somalian pirates began hijacking ships and demanding ransoms. Most of the pirates are between the ages of 20 and 35 and come from Puntland, Somalia. A large number of them were once fishermen. The pirates state that they are doing this to protest illegal fishing in the waters along their shoreline. Their waters use to be rich in tuna but commercial fishing fleets from around the world have illegally fished in their waters depleting the tuna supply. In all there are five pirate gangs and a total of a thousand members. They say that they do this for the money and usually do not care about the ship's cargo. They use the ransoms they collect to live lavish lifestyles. Since the beginning of their piracy, they have recieved over 150 million dollars in ransoms. Currently, the pirates have five captured ships in their possesion. In all, over 343 pirate suspects have been released, 212 have been prosecuted, and 11 have been killed. Many countries including the U.S. have reacted to the hijacking by sending warships to the area. The presence of the warships have led to a dramatic decline in piracy. []

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Many countries have recognized Africa's poor economic systems and have acted by giving aid. The aid from foreign countries hasn't helped Africa at all. It has actually made Africa worse. The millions of dollars that's being handed over to African governments causes corruption and greed. Almost none of the money makes it to the civilians as its intended purpose. African countries only use the money to fuel wars and usually end up with a poorer economy and greater in debt. Seventy percent of the government's spending in Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Somalia, Mali, Chad, Mauritania and Sierra Leone has been from foreign aid. Many people believe Africa has to step up and solve its own economic and political issues instead of relying on foreign aid. []