(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Three Gulf-based Indian fishermen have died while on expeditions in the Gulf waters in a little over a year, says an official from an India-based fishermen's welfare organisation.
They were killed by pirates, says P Justin Antony, Founder-President, Tamil Nadu Fisherman Development Trust (TN-FIDET), a UN-recognised voluntary body.
Thomas Cletus was killed in May 2014 while fishing in Bahrain, and this May Mathivalan was put to death when he was fishing in Saudi Arabia.
And this month Antony Arul Anish was shot dead while he was on an expedition in Gulf waters.
In the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu is Kanya Kumari at the southern-most tip of the Indian peninsula, which sends the largest number of fishermen to the Gulf.
According to Antony who is based in Kanya Kumari, there are an estimated 50,000 fishermen from the region engaged in fishing in the Gulf. Of them, some 1,000 to 3,000 are believed to be based in Qatar.
Antony told this newspaper on phone yesterday that TN-FIDET has urged the United Nations to help stop pirate attacks on fishermen by setting up a maritime force in the Gulf waters.
"We have submitted a memorandum to the UN, urging it to set up a special force that would patrol international waters and catch and punish sea pirates.
Asked who these pirates were, he said he hears from fishermen that they are jobless young men who may be wandering in the sea to commit crimes for money.
Some others argue that being unemployed youth from different countries, they might be used as mercenaries by smugglers to ferry contraband.
Antony, however, said that based on complaints his organisation has been getting from Indian fishermen in the Gulf, pirates carry weapons and loot fish caches from boats. Sometimes they force a fishing boat at gun point to sail to a shore and demand cash as ransom. "However, when pirates see that a boat has more men and they can't possibly overpower it, they shoot at random."
Antony is a former Qatar resident and worked as human resource and administration manager at new Doha international airport project which, after completion, has become Hamad International Airport.
Antony said the other major problem is that fishermen with residency permit of one Gulf country sometimes cross into the territorial waters of another.
The latter country then arrests and tries them. Fishermen mainly sail into the waters of another Gulf country due to the strong sea currents and wind. "So they should not be punished."
However, an effective solution to the problem, according to Antony, is that the Gulf states must sign a goodwill treaty and international identity cards should be issued to fishermen so that when they are caught by another country, they could be immediately released.
Antony said fishermen in Qatar, for instance, should be covered under the labour law and should enjoy all privileges available to other workers, including insurance. TN-FIDET is creating awareness among Indian fishermen about safe and secure fishing and the need for them to provide good and higher education to their children, said Antony.
Citing media reports in Bahrain, he said Bahrain Fishermen Union Chief Executive Mohamed Al Faraj has supported his organisation's call to the UN to set up a special maritime force in Gulf waters to ensure fishermen's safety against pirates.
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