Battered by years of piracy, Meadowbank Wharf fishermen yesterday picketed the Office of the President and were moments later summoned to a meeting with President Donald Ramotar who they said listened to their pleas for coast guard patrolling and the overall security of Guyana’s fishing zone.
Their dramatic action followed a piracy blitz on Friday off the Essequibo coast in which as many as 15 boats were attacked and their crews beaten and robbed. At one point a large number of fishermen were locked into the hold of one of the vessels. Around 19 fishermen had to be rescued from the sea on Friday and Saturday after being left by the pirates to drift. There was further tragedy when a boat going to the aid of the battered fishermen capsized off of Suddie. Two men died and several others are missing. There was one survivor.
As was told to Stabroek News at Wednesday evening ‘s Môn Repos protest, and a subsequent one at the dock around 5 am yesterday, the fishermen formed a group, of about 50, and took to the picket line, saying that for too long they had been left to the mercy of pirates. Given the recent spate of attacks on fishermen across Guyana the men demanded that measures be implemented because they were in fear of their lives and that another attack would be too much. They stated that they would not settle for a meeting with anyone but the President since they have met with many officials already and nothing of worth came of these encounters.
“We want meet with Donald he self we nah trust nobody else cause dem a lie. We nah want minister, pandit, priest or no office body we want de president fuh he hear wid he own two ears how all awe feel “ said one of the men.
Another, Ramkishore, added “Seem de only way people a hear you is when u go protest. Long abe ask fuh something do bout this pirate. Nah today is years pun years …We want we own weapon dem we want licence and we want dem fuh check pun awe with them million boat dem gat park up by de coast guard deh.”
The views of the men on security measures were mixed. Some said they preferred licensed firearms rather than depending on the police and Coast Guard and others stated that they wanted distress flares on board and frequent patrolling of the fishing territory by the maritime guards. They also want, which they said they would be willing to pay for under a documented system, state-of-the-art marine tracking and communication devices on their boats.
In addition, the group stated that rehabilitation of the Meadowbank Wharf and a new Manager of it was also an issue of concern. They stated that they preferred someone with a fishing background to manage or assist in having fishermen’s concerns heard and to also manage their docking facility which is now in a shoddy state.
A short while into the protest the men were informed that the president would meet with them. A group of 30 went into the Office of the President as representatives, along with Minister of Works, Robeson Benn and Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture, Alli Baksh.
On leaving the Office of the President the men stated that the President and Benn listened and promised to have their issues of concern addressed very soon though a definitive timeline was not given.
“We went, spoke to the President and Minister Benn. They listened and the president promised us that he would look into it and that he would pay a visit to the wharf also. We are satisfied and we believe that we will get a positive outcome” said Chris Singh.
Subsequently , the Government Information Agency (GINA) in a press release said that the President was committed to putting in place measures immediately in order to “stamp out” piracy. “We are putting a response in place, a response to what is taking place and I hope that this will be implemented immediately because this thing (piracy) we have to stamp it out immediately” the release quoted Ramotar as saying.
Meanwhile, at the protest, one of the fishermen who endured the brutal onslaught of the pirates, recounted the event as he showed his badly lacerated back. The man, who asked not to be named, said that he was with a crew of four aboard a fishing boat when the pirates pulled up along them masked, armed with guns and “sharp nickel” cutlasses and instructed them not to move. He added that as they came aboard his boat they began firing lashes with the cutlasses indiscriminately as others stood guard with their guns. He feels that the thrashing dealt out by the pirates on their initial encounter with fishermen was so that they would not attempt any form of resistance.
The badly bruised man said that after beating them until their backs were covered in blood and they were too weak to scream any longer they were placed in the hold of the boat. As the pirates went on their rampage they gathered other men and packed them “like sardines” into the same hold. When it reached capacity and they were stacked on top of each other the men nailed the hold shut, took all their valuables and outboard engines and exited the vessel, leaving it to sail with the tide.
Luckily for the group one of the fishermen hid his cell phone and placed a call to his relatives seeking help. It was that help that the now two dead, two missing and another who is hospitalised were going to render when their vessel capsized off the Suddie coast.
