…Savitri Ramkishun tells the story of her sons’ determination to be fishermen
By Lakhram Bhagirat
They were on the Atlantic Ocean drifting for five days and had nothing to eat. Their sink was being baked in the sun. They were dehydrated and forced to drink the salted sea water. They had no food but made meals of dried, uncooked macaroni and sun-baked fish. They called and waved to several passing boats in the open water but no one came to their rescue.
They had never experienced such hardship since they are merely teenagers. They persevered and tried not to give in as their faith in being rescued dwindled. They were four boys no older than 19 years old. They were confused and had no idea what their next move would be or if they would ever see their families again.
But help came on the fourth day but it meant that they would have to be separated. Only one could have gone to shore while the other three would be left behind and made to spend another night in the open sea. However, they knew help would come sooner rather than later and they now had bread and water to fill their sick and empty stomachs.
After such an experience, one would try to stay as far as possible from the sea but that is not the case for brothers Shadeo Ramkishun and Anand Sookram. Being stranded at sea and drifting for days with their cousin, Adesh Latchman, and friend, Manmohan Indar, only strengthened the brothers’ resolve that they are born “fishermen”.
Ramkishun, 19; Sookram, 18; Indar, 19; and Latchman, 18, left their Dundee Dam, Mahaicony home sometime around 10:00h on Tuesday, June 25, for the Abary koker. When they got there, they loaded fishing boat “Angela 3” and left for the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It was not the first time the brothers would be doing that since it was their means of income but it was the first time they would be going out with their cousin and friend.
They were scheduled to return the following day with their catch. Everything went smoothly the first day and night into their trip but on the day they were to return home, tragedy struck. Of the four boys, none have the technical knowledge to deal with their boat engine so when they were preparing to head home and the engine conked out, they had no idea what to do. They tried restarting it several times but the 15-year-old engine refused to buckle.
The four teenagers just resigned after many failed attempts. They then began to look for help but help was nowhere to be seen.
Ramkishun and Sookram’s mother, Savitri, told Sunday Times Magazine that it was a difficult time for the family after they did not hear from the boys. However, she said that she was confident that her sons would be okay since “dem ah fisherman pickney”.
The mother said her boys are not chained to the incident, rather it only strengthened their resolve since “fishing wuk ah all dem know”.
The brothers both dropped out of school when they reached fourteen years old and coming from a long line of fishermen only meant that they would join the industry. They began going to the Abary koker with their father, who would teach them what they needed to know and when they felt that they had the skillset and knowledge to venture out on their own, they took the “Angela 3” and started going out to sea by themselves.
They would usually go out and spend two days and one night in the ocean and come back and sell their catch. When they did not return that Wednesday, Savitri said she was not really worried about them because she thought they were staying a bit longer so it was business as usual for her. However, when Thursday came and there was no word or any sign of her boys and their boat, worry started to seep in.
“Thursday pass and then my husband say you know what, something happen like with them boys this because he hear like one boat nah come in. Me tell me husband say go and see say if the bai them deh ah work and he say no some boat tell he that them bai bruckdown and deh ah sea. Friday we come together and we say where them gone and then me son Bobo (Sahadeo) call me and say that abay deh Mahaica to Mahaicony and abay deh half way. Abay bruck down with the engine and can’t start it back.”
It was then that the family kicked into search mode and began looking for the boys, who related that they were drifting between Mahaica and Mahaicony.
Help came for the boys on Saturday when a smaller boat came to their rescue. However, the smaller boat could only accommodate one of them and Sahadeo jumped at the opportunity to get help for the crew. He was brought to the Mahaicony Stelling that afternoon and immediately called his parents, asking that his father come to their rescue. It was until later that night that his father ventured to the stelling to collect him and the following day he took them to the spot where the others were and they were all rescued.
Fuh deh six days out ah sea deh and struggling. Them had to drink salt water to survive. It was hard fuh dem and all the mothers and father pray for them. Me thankful for that. When the thing come shocking to me and me start to feel that me gon lose me son them because was two of two of them. Them still say them going back to work. Them tell them daddy that ‘abeh ah fisherman pickney done’ and abay gon go wuk because that is the wuk abay know.”
“Them say that them nah friken. Them ah go since them reach 14 year. Me thankful them reach home safe. Them had food before and them try with it but after that them say them live on salt water and melt ice fuh drink. Them had to face it. They say them take the fish and bake it in the sun and them eat it. Them feel very bad that all them boat man ah pass them and although them ah wave, people don’t want to help. Them say that them start to cry and beg God because them say it was hard. When night ah step in them ah pray.”
The family has since acquired another engine and Sahadeo went back out to sea on Sunday while Anand went out on Monday. They are determined to not let that incident define their career choice but it makes for a good story for them to tell. The boys do not see themselves doing anything else and they have their parents’ blessings to continue this venture.
They are forging ahead at full steam.
