A group of eight African fishermen is facing apparent starvation in the Colombo Port after their handlers ceased food supplies from Monday, officials said.
They said the group - six from Kenya and two from Mozambique, have remained in the Colombo Port since February 2 this year, after they were released by Somali pirates.
The group is demanding full compensation that includes back wages, but the local agent Shiran Fernando said it was not possible since the parent company based in Taiwan had gone bankrupt and closed down.
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File pix of one of the African
fisherman Albert Maliango, describing their Somalian ordeal after they arrived in Colombo Port in February. |
“It is now the responsibility of the State or the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) to look into the wellbeing of the Africans. As far as we are concerned we have decided to stop the food supply with immediate effect,” Mr. Fernando of Yu Fa Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. said.
He complained that the group had also turned abusive on more than one occasion. “In the most recent incident, the men had threatened and attempted to assault an official from the agency, when he had boarded the vessel with fresh supplies,” Mr. Fernando said.
“The parent company based in Taiwan informed us that it had ceased to operate and advised that the vessel be auctioned and the crew be compensated with the proceeds of the sale. “Beyond that there is very little we can do. The agency supplied food and other essential items such as medicines, etc., to the crew since February 2, but now our funds have dried up,” he explained.
He added that, shortly after their arrival at the Colombo Port, a crew member was taken seriously ill and had to be treated at a private nursing home in the capital, costing the agency Rs. 180,000 in medical bills.
He also said that the crew had begun vandalizing the vessel with fishing equipment and other mechanical gadgetry being removed and sold in the open market. “They are also trading in alcohol, since they are eligible for a permit to purchase duty-free foreign liquor,” he said
He added that on more than two occasions the police had to be called in after the group got involved in drunken brawls inside the vessel which is anchored alongside the jetty at the Colombo Port.
Merchant Shipping Director General A.W.H.S.S.R. Weerakoon told the Sunday Times that the corporation did not have sufficient funds to look after the wellbeing of the African fishermen.
He said, it was the responsibility of the local agent to look into the welfare of the group until the matter was sorted out. “However, the problems of the local agent must also be considered, since he had provided the fullest assistance to the group for nearly five months,” Mr. Weerakoon added.
ITF Inspector Ranjan Perera said that the parent body headquartered in London had expressed caution in dealing with the plight of the Africans.
“We could undertake to feed them for a month or even two. But what happens if the matter becomes a stalemate, since the issue is now before the courts?” he asked. “The ITF is prepared to come up with the air tickets and other logistical support, but the Africans are not prepared to leave until they receive their back wages,” he said.
They were initially hired on a monthly wage of US$ 250. They were held captive for nine months by the Somali pirates, and they are entitled to their due wages for that period. But now they are demanding another US$ 1,000 as a risk allowance, in addition to the monthly wage,” Mr. Perera said.
“Since these people are now on Sri Lankan soil, it is the responsibility of the State to get involved and provide the basic facilities to the group, until the matter is resolved,” he said. “Initially, we gave them pocket money and medical assistance. Only the other day, we provided a vehicle to remove one of them to the National Hospital in Colombo, since he had contracted the dengue virus,” said the head of the National Union of Seafarers Sri Lanka (NUSS), Palitha Athukorale.
“As a trade union, we have limited resources, both financially and otherwise, and taking on the responsibility of the eight men is a difficult task. The relevant authorities should look into the matter at the earliest,” he added.
Mr. Athukorale said that the matter was even worse, since there was no Kenyan diplomatic representation in Colombo. Kenya’s interests in Sri Lanka are overlooked by the Nairobi Mission in New Delhi.
The Tai Yuan 227, with 23 crew members limped into Colombo Port during the early hours of February this year, following their release on January 24 by Somali pirates who took them captive on May 7, 2010.
Apart from the Africans, the crew also comprised of Chinese, Filipinos and Burmese. The non-African crew members have since left for their native countries.
New Delhi’s Nairobi mission shows interest
The Kenyan High Commission in New Delhi is to seek urgent assistance from the authorities in Colombo to look into the interests of the stranded crew at the Colombo Port.
Kaloki Pecel, the Second Secretary at the High Commission told the Sunday Times via telephone that the embassy was aware of the stranded fishermen, and that the matter will be taken up at the earliest with the authorities in Colombo. “We have so far not been informed on this latest developments,” Mr. Pecel said. |
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