Over at Wired's Danger Room, Adam Rawnsley blogs a helpful series of tips on how to increase the odds you will survive if you are ever taken hostage by seafaring pirates off the Horn of Africa.
The short version, "Don't get high, don't piss anyone off, and try to smile every once in a while." More:
Hijackings by Somali pirates are on the upswing this year, deadly shootouts with mercs and hijack attempts against warships continue and pirates are holding hostages for as long as 13 months. EU Navfor, the European Union's naval forces countering piracy off the coast of Somalia, has responded to this crisis with a handy pamphlet, "Surviving Piracy Off the Coast of Somalia," containing all the wisdom you need to make the most of your captivity.
One tip from elementary school is particularly helpful: Just say no to drugs. Khat is a leaf with amphetamine-like effects common in Somalia, particularly among pirates, and may be available to you while detained on board your captured ship. Though borrowing from your captors' stash may provide you with some "temporary relief" from the drudgery of captivity, it can bad for your health in the form on an acute pirate beatdown. The "negative effects of withdrawal symptoms and increased tension due to cravings," the pamphlet warns, can irritate your pirate hosts and result in "unnecessary violence." In other words, nobody likes a cranky junky, particularly not pirates, so be smart and politely decline if offered drugs.
Rule #1 for Pirate Hostages: Don't Get Stoned (wired.com)
