A Rough Passage Home

THE tide had indeed turned for the 194 Pakistan fishermen who waited to board flight PK 275—their plane to Pakistan. A day earlier on July 15, 191 visibly-relieved Indian fishermen landed at Mumbai's international airport before being whisked away to Gujarat—their homestate—four months after the release of 38 Indian minors from the neighbouring nation. "The decision to release fishermen captured on either side was taken by the two prime ministers when they met in Male recently," said Munawar S. Bhatti, first secretary, High Commission for Pakistan. "It is a goodwill move on the part of both nations."

The fishermen's entry into enemy territory was less pleasant. "We were helpless," ventured a fisherman from Valsad. "The wind simply carried us over and then the Pakistani Coast Guard caught us." The Pakistani fishermen had a similar tale to tell. Said Shahid Mohammed of Karachi: "We had no intention of coming into India. But there's no way of knowing the borders on sea. I have a large family back home and I think the last 11 months must have been horrible for them as my brother had also been captured along with me."

"Don't worry, you'll come home soon," comforted Jumman and Faroukh in letters to their 12-year-old friend Asim. "I've been here for six months.

Mein aise hi ghoomne chala tha aur mujhe bhi customs ne pakad liya (I just planned to wander but the Cus -toms caught me as well)," says the Class 3 student. The Pakistani fishermen, ranging between ages 12 and 60, have spent time in Gujarat prisons from six months to four years. Unlike the Indian fishermen who mostly hailed from Gujarat, the Pakistanis represented all provinces of Pakistan—Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan and NWFP.

Though he was glad to return home, young Asim wished he had taken a closer look at India as was his original intention. "If allowed, I would have gone to see the Taj Mahal and tried to meet Ajay Devgan," he says. Shahid Mohammed, a die-hard fan of Azharuddin, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar, was similarly disappointed. Both now wish to return under better circumstances, not storm-tossed by the rough weather of Indo-Pak relations.

OTHERS, however, would rather not return. Abdul Gaffar from Karachi was married for only 17 days before the sea—and the Indian Coast Guard—separated him from his bride Jushna. Twelve letters and one-and-a-half years later, Abdul is certain. "Never again. I'll find a job as a tailor but I'll never go back." Unlike him, 18-year-old Riaz Ahmed is undeterred. Says he: "I will go back to fish-ing. If I'm caught, then there's no option. I'll spend another three years here." Unlike the Pakistanis, the Indian fisher-men are terrified of breaking into foreign waters again. All cite the story of the refusal of Pakistani authorities to offer medication and ship the body of an Indian fisherman back home for cremation. "It was horrible. We were given nothing. We were beaten, starved and not even looked after when we were ill," says Harji. Standing on uncertain ground, Karachi-based Mohammed Sikander offers a reluctant: "Yes, we had no problems; we were looked after well. But you know, jail is jail." And as 80 fishermen continue to languish on either side of the watery border, their relatives hold up their photographs at the airport and weep: "Our men haven't returned. When will all this end?" Both sides had begun their journey with very little but fish on their minds. And both returned with empty nets and lost time. Also, one valuable lesson: fishing in troubled water never pays.