I will fight for them: a desperate sister's promise

It has been seven years since four fishermen of the Jutt community were arrested across the Pakistani seas, and today, all that is known of their whereabouts is that they are being held in the Gujarat Jail in India.
For the past seven years since her brothers got arrested, Mai Bhaagi, the oldest member of the fishermen's families, has taken charge. From managing the income generated through fishing to looking after their hut, which the ravages of high tides have almost destroyed to dealing with government officials for her brothers' release, she is solely dealing with all.

The Jutt families live together in the Dabla Mohalla of UC Rehri Goth. Their original home was in Keti Bandar near Darya Saamond, but once the tributary dried up, they had to move. Ten years ago Mai Bhaagi, along with her brothers, shifted to the Dabla Mohalla. Already riddled with financial problems, none of them could have foreseen the trouble that lay in store for them. Mai Bhaagi recalls how it all began.

"It was a very stormy night in 1999," says the ageing woman, every wrinkle highlighted in her sun-reddened face as she speaks. "There was a cyclone. Some of the fishermen who had gone out to sea were tossed about in the waves and lost their way. My brothers and one of their friends - four men in total - had gone together but did not appear for days, even after the storm had died down."

At first, Mai Bhaagi thought they were lost. But as the days turned into months, she was forced to conclude that they must have died. "I waited. We all waited for them to come back home."

No one wanted to believe that the four men would not return. The loss of fishermen comes as an enormous financial blow to any of the poverty-stricken fisher folk on the Korangi Creek coastline. Without the fish they catch, they have no source of income. There are three other women in the small four-house 'neighbourhood' of this Jutt family, but their presence cannot bring in any money.

"In the Jutt community, we women are banned from leaving our houses," says Mai Bhaagi. "Whether it is sickness, or even a death, we cannot leave our doorway after we have been married."

Bhaagi, however, has flouted this rule magnificently. Not only has she dared to leave the doorway of her house, she has appeared on television. Five years after the disappearance of her brothers, she received a letter from them saying that they were in Gujarat Jail, and that she should fight for them.

"I cannot just sit back because I am not allowed to do anything," she says in Sindhi, her voice cracking in desperation.

Determined to make a difference, Mai Bhaagi approached the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF). With the help of its Chairman Mohammad Ali Shah, and coordinator Saami Memon, she managed to voice her appeal to the Home Minister and invite the electronic media to make public the plight of her brothers.

"Talking to media and ministers is all I can do," says Bhaagi.

According to Saami Memon, there are many cases similar to the arrest of Bhaagi's brothers, such as the family whose men got lost on the seas ten years ago with just two letters of communication since. There is yet another family from which four men have been missing for sixteen years.

"Fishermen are unaware of sea borders, and it becomes even more difficult for them to judge their bearings during a storm or bad weather," explains Memon. "Occasionally, the men who are arrested are framed in a narcotics case."

While there are around 50 Indian men in Pakistani jails, there are close to 100 fishermen in Indian jails, mostly in Gujarat. When they were home, they were the lone source of income for their families. Mai Bhaagi understands the implications of their absence all too well. She cannot fish herself, and has to send other male members of her family to do so. However, she manages the finances back home.

"Only one of our young boys is left," says Bhaagi, pointing to her fifteen-year-old nephew, Mithu. His eyes are red, glazed, and droopy, and his skin dark and blotchy. It is clear that he is a drug user, but Bhaagi has no one else she can depend upon.

Her problems do not end here. In her neighbourhood, many of the huts, which are made of straw and mud bricks, have been ruined as rainwater and high tides wash over them. Bhaagi has been left to rebuild her own hut with Mithu's help.

Along the coastline, one particular family that can afford it has erected a cemented wall, which traps water. There had once been another wall to keep water off the shore, but it broke down and was not replaced. The pool of stagnant water in the area has caused an outbreak of various illnesses among children.

If not for the stagnant water, the children can contract diseases from the creek, into which many factories in the Korangi Industrial Area have dumped toxic waste. Some of the diseases are known to the people in the area. Others are not.

The polluted water has added to Bhaagi's suffering. One of her grandchildren, who is just a few months old, is malnourished and has developed a rash on the soles of her feet. Bhaagi's other grandchild is no healthier. Ever since being infected with tetanus, his mental and physical growth has been stunted. Sitting next to his grandmother, his eyes are out of focus. He, too, looks malnourished, even though his stomach is bloated.

"I cannot afford to even think of going out to get them treated," says Bhaagi. "First of all, commuting to a hospital will not cost less than Rs1,000. Secondly, even though treatment is free, the medications are not. And what about the routine check-up later?"

Government talks have not eased the situation of the fishing community in the area, who continue to die of illness and starvation, and wait for their arrested relatives to be released. Regardless of this and everything else she has to go through, Mai Bhaagi's resolve to struggle for her brothers' freedom remains intact. "I will fight for them," she vows. By Xari Jalil, Source The News International