In recent weeks and days, one could be forgiven for thinking that we have gone back in time; the antics of pirates, of all things, are dominating the news.

No, we are not on the set of Johnny Depp's latest film, this is really happening, there is a real Captain Jack Sparrow, somewhere off the coast of the Horn of Africa. Pirates are marauding their way back to prominence, harassing one the world's busiest shipping corridors. And, it seems, the world's mighty military armadas are almost powerless to stop them.

But, as is usual in cases like this, everything is not quite as it first appears.

The Somali population of Bristol has increased dramatically over the past few years. They now make up the single largest section of the Muslim communities of Bristol. It is a very young population, and as such has the enviable resource of having a dynamic energy few other communities can match. Needless to say, the Somali community is enterprising and resourceful. They have to be, as they settle into their new environment they are facing many challenges.

But, as I wandered through the many Somali cafes and shops recently set up, particularly in Easton, it is not difficult to gauge the current topic of discussion; that of the Somali pirates.

Their view of the pirates, however, is somewhat different.

In 1991, the government of Somalia collapsed. With it gone, Somalia fell into the hands of the warlords. Crucially, with no overall government, there was no viable coastguard left to patrol or defend the waters off the coast.

Unknown European ships began appearing off the coast of Somalia, and I have been told that they were seen illegally dumping barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. In an interview with journalist Johann Hari, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy to Somalia, said: "Somebody is dumping nuclear material here. There is also lead, and heavy metals, such as cadmium and mercury – you name it."

Much of it can be traced back to European hospitals and factories. When Johann Hari asked Ould-Abdallah what European governments were doing about it, he replied: "Nothing. There has been no clean-up, no compensation, and no prevention."

These facts are not lost on Bristol's Somali community. It is also widely known within the community that vast trawlers have been seen illegally sailing into Somalia's unprotected seas, stealing Somalia's greatest resource: seafood. The scale of the illegal fishing is leaving little for the local fisherman.

It is in this context that the so-called pirates have emerged. They began life as ordinary Somali fishermen who first took speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers, or at least wage a "tax" on them.

They call themselves the Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia. Since then, one thing has led to another, and as some of the Somali elders told me, criminals have become involved and begun taking hostages. People are being killed. Such people have no support here in Bristol. Everyone I spoke to was quick to condemn those actions. But, everyone clearly had sympathy for the original so-called "pirates".

It is easy to see why.