'It's a pirate's life for me'

A 25-year-old Somali pirate has told the BBC's Mohamed Olad Hassan by telephone from the notorious den of Harardhere in central Somalia why he became a sea bandit. Dahir Mohamed Hayeysi says he and his big-spending accomplices are seen by many as heroes.

I used to be a fisherman with a poor family that depended only on fishing.The first day joining the pirates came into my mind was in 2006.A group of our villagers, mainly fishermen I knew, were arming themselves.

See map of how piracy is affecting the region and countries around the worldOne of them told me that they wanted to hijack ships, which he said were looting our sea resources.'National service'He told me it was a national service with a lot of money in the end. Then I took my gun and joined them...more..http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8010061.stm