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| “In
Pakistan, FDH supports vulnerable workers in thief fight for
the respect of their economic, human, and social rights.” |
| Forum Pakistanais des Pecheurs
:
Fishing communities in Pakistan represent 125 000 fishermen
who, with 20 000 boats, help feed between one and two
million people. Most use traditional fishing techniques but
are confronted daily with two key problems: reduction of maritime
resources, and arbitrary imprisonments by Indian authorities
due to the ongoing war between India and Pakistan. FDH supports
the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, which helps mobilize, organize,
and train these independent fishermen so that they can defend
their economic, social, and human rights.
To learn more about this project, click
here.
Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum website:
http://www.pff.org.pk
|
Project Co-Financed
by the European Union
| Statistics
on Pakistan |
Area: 803 943 km2
(2)
Population: 144 971 000
(2)
Population below poverty level
(-$2/day): 84.6% (1)
Illiteracy rate: 56.8%
of the population in 2000 (1)
Life expectancy at birth:
59 (1)
Rural population: 47.3%
(2)
Infant mortality rate:
85/1000 (compared with 5/1000 in France) (1)
Human development index:
138 out of 173 countries (1)
State and government:
Federal Islamic republic with military regime
Languages: Urdu and English
(official), Pengabi, Sindhi, Pachtou, Balouchi
Religion: Muslim (97%), Catholic, Hindu, and others (3%)
(1)World Report on Human Development 2002, PNUD, De Boeck
Université
(2)State of the World 2003, La Découverte
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| Independent fishermen
are mobilizing against decreasing maritime resources,
due to environmental problems—pollution from Karachi’s
garbage, and a lack of freshwater due to use in agriculture
and in Karachi—and industrial foreign fishing
boats that come increasingly closer to the coast. © FDH |
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| There is a daily
battle for the fishermen’s physical security when
they go out fishing, since the Oman Sea is situated
between India and Pakistan, two countries with long-term
hostilities. Sometimes, fishing boats from one of the
two countries cross the maritime borders, which are
impossible to locate exactly, especially since they
are still disputed in some areas. |
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| These
fishermen, and the children that fish with them, are
arrested and imprisoned, generally without any legal
proceedings, for a period of 2 to 10 years. The only
judicial basis for these arrests is “illegal entrance
into the territory,” considered as a threat. The
isolated communities that they come from are often not
told of family members’ arrests. Some have died
in Indian and Pakistani jails. The government ministries
of the two countries treat these imprisoned fishermen
as prisoners of war or hostages, who they exchange during
official negotiations.
Thanks to PFF, 1000 Pakistani fishermen imprisoned in
India have already been freed, along with 229 Indian
fishermen. Unfortunately, since the attacks of 11 September
2001, 33 Indian boats were stopped and 190 Indian fishermen
were again incarcerated in Pakistan. © FDH |
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| The fishermen
are forced to live in slums, in conditions similar
to the eighteenth century.
© PILER |
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Pakistan - Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum
