
The impoverished fishermen of Jaffna
The near total ban on fishing imposed by the Sri Lanka military in Jaffna has severely impoverished the 17,000 fishing families living there.
Most of these fishing families had faced horrendous loss due to the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami and these same families are now impoverished again due to the fishing ban and also the non-provision of adequate relief for them to compensate for the loss of livelihood. The fishermen unions are crying out for attention warning that their member families are facing starvation. The maximum relief of LKR 1260.00 per month for a family of five is currently given by a combined program of many INGOs. This amount is a pittance that will hardly feed a family of five for more than a few days. The fishermen unions have expressed bitterness that the due to the negligence of the officers in the Jaffna District Secretariat, other INGOs that have come forward to assist the fishing families have given up their plan.
28 April 2008
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