DarkSeid
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Fishermen of Neduntivu, or Delft Island, have the option of either seeking alternative livelihoods or prepare for a 'tooth and nail' showdown with Indian fishermen to keep them out of Sri Lankan waters. This is the only solution to the dramatic collapse in their income from fishing in their own waters which has been the norm for over 25 years since Indian fishermen began violating Lankan maritime borders to plunder the rich catches of fish belonging to Lanka's fishermen. The encroaching began when nearly 30 years ago northern fishermen were banned from fishing in those waters because of the maritime threat from the LTTE 'sea tigers'. Indian fishermen began encroaching stealthily and that practice of over 25 years has now become an illegally established norm that deprives northern fishermen of their livelihood, with over 1340 families on Nandaitivu island alone being deprived of their legitimate fishing grounds and livelihoods.
Fisherman Fernando's family, like hundreds of others, are seated on the shores of Nanditivu by on a bright morning. Time was when the entire stretch of beach here was abuzz with hectic bidding going on for huge catches of fish at the beach auctions. But today, the family looks with vacant eyes at the little waves lapping over their feet, the sea as calm as the economic death on the shores. Nothing moves here now because the marauding Indian fishermen have brought death to Lanka's northern shores. The trucks which lurched away from the beach laden with fish for the markets don't call here anymore. It's a scene out of Neville Chute's "On the Beach" epic in which nuclear fallout has snatched all of life from the coastal settlements. Anxiety has its cold grip on Fernando even as he dismally pushes his boat out with the team to set out for whatever still goes a-begging in the seas, where a fatal clash with scores of invading Indian fishermen can flare out before they drop nets.
Anxiety and doubt gnaw at the guts.The four men on the little fishing vessel share pensive, unsettling thoughts: will there, or won't there be fish today. Will there be a clash? What does the day hold? On shore, the womenfolk have stopped pretending a calmness they long ceased to feel. No catch or a very small catch leaves them hungry far too often these days while unconcerned officials hold talks with Indian fishermen on what essentially directly has to do with empty stomachs of the kids and womenfolk of Neduntivu. They simply cannot understand why the Indian fishermen are dealt with in a manner that sees the legitimate rights of the folk of Neduntivu offered on a platter to those invasive hordes of Indian fishermen. Literally thousands of Indian trawlers continue sweeping away all the wealth of the sea that belongs to Sri Lanka. Life is not so desperate or hopeless even in "On The Beach" where the option was there to flee from the fallout or die in the attempt. Neduntivu's desperation lends them no hope because in this industry , ironically, Neduntivu's fisher families cannot relocate elsewhere on Lanka's coastline that's home to other fisher families. But Indian fishermen are allowed by the thousands to invade and take away massive hauls of fish which belong to them.
And the authorities talk, talk and talk.
The terrorist war is over. The army is pulling out. The Indian Peace keeping Force is long gone. Yet Neduntivu's thousands of fisher families face starvation and a depth of mental agony that no one has the right to impose on them. The yoke remains tightly knotted around their necks.
Neduntivu - the long island, just 46 square km, is the biggest island abutting Lanka's shores. It offers nothing else besides meager palmyrah toddy, a sweetmeat made of palmyrah honey and the boiled palmyrah root that's a poor food supplement. Officials at talks deciding on their fate return home or to hotels to unwind in luxurious comfort and ease. Neduntivu's children, women and desperate men scorch in the noonday heat to freeze out in the biting cold of the night winds.
History of the fishemen
Time was when they could look out at subtle colour differences in the ocean and predict their catch for the day. The Indian boats and trawlers obliterate all that today and seem intent on continuing indefinitely.
Sturdily built, Fernando at 64 is a sixth generation fishermen living here with his family. His forefathers were from Myliddy who discovered this island surrounded by fish and settled there for good. "It was during king Vedi Arasan that my forefathers came here to fish." Of 13 siblings only four remain today. But that's a taboo subject saturated with painful memories and one you cannot broach with Fernando.
Like many others, he lives by the sea, on his wife's dowry land, braving all weather conditions, their lives and livelihood on the cusp of an ocean sinkhole created by the Indians and couldn't-care-less negotiating officials. "During king Vedi Arasan's rule,circa 1002, people on Neduntivu island were farmers but when my forefathers discovered that it was a fishing paradise they decided to plant their homesteads there and develop the fishing industry. It's this rich heritage that thousands of such pioneers lived and died for that is being mysteriously bartered away to the Indians, no matter how many of Neduntivu's people suffer and die in the process. "They were rich and shared their wealth with the community, and that includes me" muses Fernando with bitterness. I was rich enough to feed anyone until the Indian trawlers came to hit us below the belt, he adds.
Fernando recalls: "I remember when M. G. Ramachandran (MGR)was the Tamil Nadu chief minister in the 1960s. Those were the heydays of our lives. There was no trouble, our catches were abundant and life was worth living. I think it would have been the same for the people of South India. But trouble began brewing after his death across the Palk Straits." That would mean that the old timers see a coming together of problems beginning in the 1960's, unrelated to the ban on fishing during the war, and the incursions by the Indians after the ban.
After MGR's death, South Indian fishermen have been fishing all over the sea. "It's at that time that the trouble began and grew to its current proportions. In those days they came in small boats up to Kachchativu when it belonged to India. Then their incursions came deeper into Kaaithurai, north of Neduntivu.
He said those were the days in which a rich catch grossed over 20, 000 kgs and fishermen earned upto Rs 200, 000 on a good day. "Shark, tuna, crabs, prawns and squid..the catches were in abundance".
Fernando continues, "Even fishermen from the East came to Neduntivu in big numbers. But the Indians leave us nothing today but for some Salayas and other small species which have no market."
Fernando's son Ramesh is a management graduate but has no stable job. Working for a cooperative store for a pittance of only Rs 7000 a month, he said he would be quitting his job soon because he too cannot depend on the sea anymore.
"My father's income was around Rs. 100 000 in the 80s but with the war and political fallout we are besieged by poverty and left with no future. We struggled to live another day during the war, but the worst blow has been the loss of our livelihood today. We cannot go elsewhere to make a living. These crucial facts must be driven into the Indians. This island has only 1340 families with 12 schools and two post offices. Where can we go if we cannot work and live on our own island anymore?" Ramesh questioned.
There will only be some hope for us if and when this plunder by the Indian fishing trawlers is stopped."
Other fishermen don't share his desperate hope. "It never will unless our government or our northern provincial council stops playing politics and does something to end it" they intone in one voice.
Fernando deplores the fact that the government does not seem to realize that "Our wealth is the country's wealth." He adds that "we can easily reap huge revenue via fish exports if the government does what it must.There's no need for any dialogue with India because as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said it, if the Indians violate Sri Lanka's maritime boundaries, shoot them. It may be painful to hear such remarks but why must they come here in the first place? Why tolerate this abuse anymore?What rationale does the government have for allowing this to continue?
He also suggested that plentiful fish produce can boost tourism by serving tourists with the best of Neduntivu's seafood.
"We have no alternatives and cannot afford to do anything due to lack of financial assistance and that is sad," Fernando's son Ramesh laments.
A fisherman's life remains unchanged through centuries. They are fated to forever live by the sea and brave the weather all the time. Fernando says his latest catch produced only five crabs in his net. That was just enough for our family. The net was bedded two days ago, he pointed out
There are other areas of concern for the fishermen. They are deprived of a proper mechanism to sending their meager catches to the Jaffna main market on time due to boat travel. "We have missed the peak sale hours by the time we reach there."
Boat travel
Neduntivu has three boats running between Jaffna and Neduntivu of which two are Navy operated passenger boats which make two trips a day. The other private boat carries goods for traders but occasionally some boats break down leaving people with no alternative. Neduntivu folk usually limit their travel to the mainland by boat to once a week. Fernando prefers more cargo boats being made available to the islanders.
The fishermen also have a huge cooler room that is more or less abandoned these days because of poor catches. Ramesh adds that the cooler is never switched on now due to lack of funds to maintain it.
The island has three Justices of Peace (JP) who are fishermen too who are well respected by the people. The JPs also often double as policemen when occasion demands it.
JP Prasgasm Mariampillai is deeply disturbed by the Indian trawlers coming in thousands every week. "It's pathetic that India does not stop the trawlers while Sri Lanka has banned us from using it.
"In Gurunagar, Jaffna, there are more than 400 big fishing trawlers anchored because of the ban. There will come a time when we will also havwe to stop listen to what anyone says and simply exercise our right to fish in our won waters" he warned.
He predicted that there could be worse clashes which will mar Indo-Lanka ties unless the authorities stopped playing games with this crisis and got down to an immediate and sustainable solution to it.
Mariampillai says it's the Indian fishermen who need talking to because the Lankan fishermen are the aggrieved party.
"President Maithripala should bring us some relief immediately and restore our former livelihoods to us. This is why we voted for him. According to him the EPDP has been concerned but the people obviously have wanted a change," he opined.
He sees a compromise solution in which the Indian trawlers are either entirely prohibited from entering Lankan waters or are compelled to not impede Lankan fishermen fishing in their own waters. Sri Lankans have not violated any law of the sea or of nature because we honour the wealth of the sea and that we should not destroy it, he explained.
Their trawlers which come as close as a few kilometers to the Neduntivu shores drop large trawling nets which destroy our smaller nets and it's not easy keep buying fishing nets every other day.
Mariampillai added that having faced life and death situations during the war, they are still not free from trauma."You can brave the war but not hunger and poverty," he said.
Navy officials have on occasion helped us chase away the intruders."On several occasions, we have even assaulted Indian fishermen who have got caught to us. Navy officials have chased them away but that has also been turned into a political issue. But whether they chase them or not these officials are being unduly accused of doing so"
Due to South Indian fishermen encroachment these islanders lose approximately Rs 120, 000 daily.
Bernard, the English educated school teacher chipped into the conversation saying that the 80s and 90s were the golden years of the fishing industry.
Having seen his sons serve in the army, Bernard is now a translator and helps people who need anything to be written in English.
Bernard's only worry is that his people continue suffering and are deprived of their livelihood.
"There were times when we used to bring 1000 to 2000 kg of fish to the shore. Now a fishing boat brings in a mere 30 kg catch and that too not on a daily basis. "We're lucky if we can get an aggregate catch of 2000 kilograms from 50 boats these days" he explained.
Neduntivu fishermen are doomed to idling on the shore while over 1000 or more Indian trawlers spend the whole day within sight using the large prohibited nets to farm all the fish and crustaceans that they can, leaving us nothing after they have left. "No other government will tolerate this wantonly destructive trespass into its maritime precincts."
Fernando added, saying that Sri Lanka could truly benefit through the excellent prawn harvests now reaped by the Indians. The People of Neduntivu are mostly Tamil Christians. The warm friendly people are blessed with two of nature's best offerings : the white sandy beaches and abundant coral gardens immediately offshore abutting the island.
Efforts have been made by all players in the fishing industry to work together with their Indian counterparts to solve the issue facing the fishermen of both sides. "Any dialogue should conclude in our favour because we don't have to share our seas with anyone.
Fernando said the Indian fishermen were never a problem before and if they were not in the picture as before, the Neduntivu fishermen would have made an adequate income that would have enabled them to build houses for themselves.
Ceylon Today | It's a shameless pillage by plundering Indians - Neduntivu is perishing
By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan
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TN Fishermen May get 83-day Access -The New Indian Express
Sorry, we aren't willing to share our seas with anyone.
