J. Ledgard - Submergence

‘All right,’ said Étienne. ‘Let’s take her up.’

1Benedicite, aquae omnes, quae caelos sunt, Domino, benedicat omnis Virtutis Domino .

2 Charcot’s boat, the original Pourquoi Pas? sank off the coast of Iceland in 1936, drowning him together with many of his crew .

I would like to remember:

The French DSGE secret agent Denis Allex, who was captured by an al-Qaeda-linked faction of the Shabab in Mogadishu on 14 July 2009. At the time of writing he is still being held hostage.

The hundreds of sailors and yachtsmen captured at sea by Somali pirates and held at gunpoint off the coast of Somalia.

Asho Duhulow, who was stoned to death in Kismayo on 27 October 2008. She was thirteen years old.

The tens of thousands of victims of the 2011 Somali famine, presaged in the book.

In the autumn of 2011, some months after the first edition of Submergence was published, missiles were fired into the mangrove swamps around Ras Kamboni. Dozens of jihadists were killed. At the time of writing Kenya has invaded south Somalia and its troops are advancing on Kismayo. Jihadists there remain defiant, telling the people: ‘Every one of you who dies here is a mujahid and will enter paradise’.

Thanks to:

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Columbia University and ETH Zurich, whose scientists patiently and brilliantly introduced me to the world of oceanography.

My friends in the mighty nation of Somalia, who welcomed me in a time of distress.

The Economist , for allowing me to follow the story.

The Tasmanian Writers Centre, for generously providing space to write.