My Day: Sri Lankan fisherwoman

8 March 2014

Vijay akumar Thevarani works 18-hour days, but still does not earn enough to avoid getting into debt

Vijayakumar Thevarani, 42, has been working in fishing since the age of 16 !he is a wi"ow with four chi#"ren, two of whom sti## #ive at home, an" #ives in $arainagar, an is#an" joine" by a causeway to %affna in northern !ri &anka I have always done fishing work. The men go out to sea and if there is work available I do everything from tapping fish - that is, removing them from the nets - to repairing nets. This is the work I have always known and if there s no work in this village I go to another. I wake up at !"#!!. I have to feed my goats and $ow, and tether the $ow so it $an gra%e. Then I $ook for the family, then I tether the $ow somewhere else to gra%e. &ometimes I $ook for the fishermen. 'ven if our boat hasn t gone out I might help others tap their fish. I get only 1!! &ri (anka rupees for that )"*p+ ,*$-. It s very little so my livelihood is fragile

.ne of /s Thevarani s many tasks is to 0tap0 the fish - getting them out of their nets

/s Thevarani does not join the men out at sea, but has plenty to do on land

The fish are sold at au$tion, but she says Indian trawlers are harming the lo$al trade The net has to be untangled and properly folded be$ause that evening the fishermen take it out again. 1fter a morning working on shore I go home but I return at 1"#2!. I ensure the fuel and the nets are ready and I arrange everything for the fishermen to go out to sea in the afternoon. 3e$ause of the winds they will have pulled the boat deep into the shore. &o all of us have to help push the boat out as the fishermen leave. The nets are very heavy so sometimes it takes five or si4 people to push the boat into the sea. Traw#er threat 3ut this whole routine has been severely disrupted by Indian trawlers entering our waters. The Indian bottom-trawlers have $ompletely destroyed our resour$es. They have wiped out the small fish near the shore so there are none to $at$h. They also 5inadvertently6 destroy our nets. 7e load our boats with fuel and go out but the trawlers sli$e through our nets and drag them off somewhere else. 7e $an t even look for them, be$ause we fish by night. &o we spend huge sums on fuel and nets and they get $ut. 7ho will $ompensate us8 The Indian trawlers must be stopped. .ur livelihood is being ruined. &oon the only option for us will be to go and fish on the Indian side.

It severely affe$ts our finan$es. There are fewer fish so our in$ome goes down. 1lso it s harder for my business partner to find daily wage labourers to help him fish, be$ause now he only goes to sea every other day as the Indian trawlers are there every other day too. 7ork is hard and money is very tight. 9sually we would pay a wage labourer 1,!!! rupees ):".;!+ <,.;!- as it s very hard work, up to 1" hours. In fa$t it s not enough for him to sustain his family. .nly if we make =,!!! rupees $an he get 1,!!! and my partner and I get 1,!!!. 3ut we must dedu$t $osts of fuel and repairs to the engine, boat or net. 1fter subtra$ting all that we split the remainder between the two of us. 'ebt I also have to do other work. In the evenings or mornings I sell a bottle of milk to my neighbours. I sometimes go and sweep houses in the mornings but get only 2! rupees for three-and-a-half hours work, or on a good day ;! or 1!! rupees. /ost evenings I weave $o$onut leaves until I fall asleep. I sell these as roofing or fen$ing - if you weave a lot you might earn 2!! rupees. 3ut I have to pay someone 1,*!! rupees a month to gather the leaves. I haven t paid them for 1! months. I feel I am drowning in debt. I ve borrowed nearly =!!,!!! rupees ):>=!+ <1,*=*- to keep my fishing work going. Then I need more loans to edu$ate my $hildren and run the household. 7hen the war was happening there were no Indian trawlers and we $ould lend money to others. That s impossible now. I finally sleep at about ==#!!, sometimes =2#!!. 7hen my parents were alive they brought me up ni$ely and took $are of me. 3ut now I m an adult it s been $onstant work from morning to night, and little money. /y ba$k hurts now. ?rom the age of 1; I feel I have been $onstantly working. &o life is e4tremely hard for me. Vijayakumar Thevarani was talking to the 33@ s @harles Aaviland in &ri (anka