Activists fear that a temporary ban on Indians working on fishing vessels in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will risk the livelihoods of thousands of immigrants.

An Indian government advisory that restricts its nationals from taking up fishing jobs in all three countries was issued amidst a number of cases of Indian fishermen arrested because they trespassed Iranian waters.

The advisory states that all Indian nationals should not “take up work on fishing vessels and trawlers” that are likely to move into Iranian waters from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE as it could lead to their “possible detention, arrest or even endanger their lives”.

It added that Indians caught in Iran’s territorial waters could also face possible legal action leading to fines or serving jail terms.

The ban has angered campaigners in Bahrain who have described it as unfair to the fishermen and the entire sector.

“It is not for a government to decide as to which job an individual should take up,” said Migrant Workers Protection Society chairwoman Mariatta Dias.

“Not all fishermen are getting arrested and this is not a daily situation.

“The men who are getting arrested are aware that they will face this consequence if they trespass and still they do it, sometimes by mistake or by ignorance.

“The government should educate emigrants on the risks involved and then it is an individual’s choice.

“The same risk is there in any job – we see domestic workers being abused, why are we not banning them?”

Social worker Pada Lingam, who provides support to Bahrain’s fishing community, also criticised the wording of the advisory for claiming that dhows travel from Bahrain to Iran.

“Fishermen do not go to Iranian waters from Bahrain, they enter Iranian waters by mistake,” said the Indian national.

“So I am not sure about the advisory – hope the government will address this matter.

“There are thousands of Indian fishermen in Bahrain and we can’t afford to stop them from working, as directed by the government.

“They have families back home to support and this will also cause huge losses to their employers.

“A ban is not the right solution, we need to educate the men on the consequences.”

The advisory has also directed all registered recruiting agencies not to process documents of Indian nationals in the fishing sector.

However, Fishermen Union chief executive and Bahraini dhow owner Mohamed Al Faraj said it was unfair to punish an entire country for the mistake of a few fishermen.

“We are already facing issues with Bangladeshi fishermen as there is a lot of delay in getting visas for them,” he said.

“This move from the Indian government will make it more difficult.

“There are thousands of Indian fishermen working in Bahrain and nobody goes to Iran; they unintentionally stray into Iranian waters.

“We have men who despite having all the equipment and maps still enter Iranian waters and they get arrested, but punishing the entire lot for such a few is unfair.

Detained

“I don’t know about other countries, but Bahrain is serious about preventing fishermen from being detained in other countries.

“The Coastguard also has transmitters that track the vessels and no boats are allowed to go to Iran.”

In June last year, the GDN reported on 25 fishermen from Bahrain who were released after three months of detention in Kish Island, off the southern coast of Iran.

The men worked for four different Bahraini employers and were reportedly near the UAE-Iran border when they were arrested.

On October 22, 15 fishermen from Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts in Tamil Nadu, India who were employed in a Dubai trawler, were taken into custody by Iranian coastguards.

raji@gdn.com.bh

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