Jailed fishermen arrive home from India

Jailed fishermen arrive home from India

By Myat Nyein Aye   |   Monday, 15 July 2013

More than 120 fishermen arrested by the Indian navy for illegally plying India's waters were returned to Myanmar last week, a government official said.

A man is greeted by his mother at Yangon airport on July 10. (Aung Htay Hlaing/The Myanmar Times)

U Aung Kyaw, deputy director of the Department of Relief and Resettlement, said on July 10 that the return of the 123 fishermen was the first in two years.

"All have served their sentences of about three or four years in India that were negotiated government-to-government," he said. "We are not taking on the fishermen who have not finished their sentences. When the men have served their sentences, the Indian government informs the Myanmar embassy and at that point we can collect the men from Port Blair in India," he added.

The men were returned aboard Myanmar Airways International and Kanbawza Airline flights and arrived at Yangon International Airport on July 10, where they were greeted by relatives and friends.

U Aung Kyaw said the government always accepted prisoners returning from abroad but could do little to stop them from reoffending.

"We plan to return more fishermen who remain in detention in India, and we have been doing this since 1990," he said. "We did not return any fishermen last year because we needed to wait until enough had served their sentences."

Daw Aye Mra Tha, the marketing and public relations manager of MAI, said the latest return marks the third time that MAI and Kanbawza had flown passengers back to Myanmar. It has also recently brought two plane-loads of migrants back from Malaysia.

"The department told us that it needs to return 123 fishermen this year," she said. "We replied immediately that we would donate free flights to return the men. All were fishermen and in serious trouble in India – and we wanted to help."

Most of the fishermen – a total of 107 – hail from Ayeyarwady Region, while five are from Rakhine State, nine from Tanintharyi Region and one each from Mon State and Yangon Region, the department said.

The fishermen were to return to their homes within a day, said U Than Soe, deputy director of Ayeyarwady Region's Department of Relief and Resettlement.

"We want them back with their families as fast as possible," he said. "When they arrive back in their home towns, regional immigration officials will arrange for their return home but we have to contact their families first – and some of the villages where they live cannot easily be contacted."

Ko Nyi Lay, from Gwa township in Rakhine State, said he had been imprisoned at Port Blair for three years for illegal fishing and was released after 30 months.

A Myanmar fisherman is hugged by his mother at Yangon International Airport after returning from India on July 10. (Aung Htay Hlaing/The Myanmar Times)

"I went to catch sea slugs," he said. "I was arrested in Indian territorial waters and charged with a number of offences, including intruding [into foreign waters], entering India without a visa or passport and illegal fishing. Being imprisoned in India was very tough because we did not speak the language.

"It was difficult to ask for anything. And while we were not forced to work, if we wanted to earn money we had to.

"I will never go out to sea again but I will dream about it sometimes."

He added that there are nearly 1000 Myanmar serving time for illegal fishing at Port Blair; some are facing eight years in prison after the Indian government increased jail terms for illegal fishermen in 2011, from a minimum of two years to a minimum of seven.

Ko Nyi Nyi, from Dawei township in Tanintharyi Region, said his vessel had accidentally drifted into Indian waters.

"I was sentenced to three years and six months," he said. "I felt awful and could not sleep. I had never gone to sea before and it will be the last time I go. I don't care what job I have to do. I'll take anything as long as I'm working in my own country. But I need to take the next few months to recover because I was never able to eat enough in prison."

A fisherman from Ayeyarwady Region, who asked not to be named, said he had served two terms in Indian prisons. He was also trying to catch sea slugs before his latest imprisonment.

"I knew what I was doing but there are so many sea slugs in Indian waters," he said. "Sea slugs fetch high prices when sold in Yangon – at least K140,000 a viss [1.6 kilograms or 3.6 pounds]. I was first apprehended and charged in 2006 and again more recently," he said.

U Win Kyaing, general secretary of the Myanmar Fisheries Federation, said the federation had strongly warned fishermen against attempting to illegally fish India's waters, especially since the Indian government increased its sentences.

"Some fishermen went to Indian waters to fish as an adventure," he said. "But the Indian government has increased the length of prison terms and is no longer reducing sentences. If people want to join the fishing industry, they should join the federation and we will help them out."

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/07/15/jailed-fishermen-arrive-home-from-india-2/