CEDROS FISHERMAN KILLED

IN the wake of yet another pirate attack off the Cedros coast which saw the murder of a 21-year-old man, frustrated fishermen in the community are pleading with government to reinforce protective measures to safeguard their lives. The latest fisherman to fall prey to pirates was Shane Abraham, of Bonasse Village, who was shot dead, while his two fellow crew members were beaten and robbed as pirates ambushed them around 11.30 pm on Friday. Fishermen and other villagers who had gathered at Abraham’s home expressed their frustrations with the government’s lack of  urgency to implement stronger methods to protect them from pirates.

“The government can’t expect a poor fisherman to protect himself when we are dealing with bandits with guns and other weapons. We are feeding the country, so the government should take care of us,” Cedros fisherman Feraz Ali told Sunday Newsday. Ali is the owner of the fishing vessel in which Abraham had been employed for the last five months. Friday night’s incident follows another attack  when fisherman Rupert Bissoon, 55, drowned. He and two other fishermen were thrown into the sea by pirates who stole his fishing vessel last Saturday morning. The latest attack related by boat captain Sirju Singh, 53, and another fisherman Cassim Rahamatullah, 45, was that Abraham was asleep when four sea-bandits, mercilessly attacked them in the dead of the night.

Singh said the three men went out to sea aboard the pirogue “Jeremy” and had just dropped their drift nets some 13 miles off the Cedros coastline when the pirates, wielding cutlasses and firearms, struck. “We didn’t see anything or anybody. Shane was sleeping in the boat when we just hear like something bounce us. I see Shane jump up and then we hear like two gunshots. Shane just said “ow” and fell back into the boat, and that was it.  “As Abraham lay dying in the boat, two other sailors mercilessly plundered the fishing vessel of some $50,000 in fishing nets, fuel and the boat’s engine.  “They put each of us to crouch down in two corners of the boat and they strip out everything. Then they just leave us to drift,” Rahamatullah said. The bandits then made good their escape in their vessel.

Singh and Rahamatullah immediately rushed to the aid of their youngest crew member, but he was already dead. The two fishermen used two broken pieces of wood left in the boat and paddled for some five hours before they were sighted by another fishing vessel and were rescued. By 5 am, Singh and Rahamatullah returned to the coast, and Cedros police and Coast Guard were alerted. News of Abraham’s murder spread across the village. Abraham’s family complained yesterday of being treated harshly by police saying they were unable to see his body when brought onshore. Abraham’s grandmother, Jane, who raised him since he was ten years old, cried: “The police did not even let me touch him or give one last kiss.” Abraham, whom she described as “cheerful and loving,” would have celebrated his 22nd birthday next month.

Meanwhile, some Cedros fishermen said they would consider arming themselves to safe-guard their lives. Another fisherman added: “The Coast Guard is supposed to be on a 24-hour patrol, but they only patrol a few times during the day. But if we get guns to protect ourselves, the police will lock us up. Bandits have guns and roaming the place freely, so apparently they have more rights than us.” Cedros police are continuing investigations.