Activists seek support for Sri Lanka’s fishing families

(June 08, 2011) The general secretary of the All Ceylon Fisher Folk trade union addressing a meeting of the Clergy and rights activists in Colombo on Monday , called for public support to fishing families in the fight against a tourism development. The project, as proposed by the government will affect 14 islands in the north-western coastal area of Kalpitiya, where more than 10,000 people depend on fishing for their livelihood. General Secretary Dinesh Suranjan Fernando, who is a fisherman said - “We are not against developing the country in the field of tourism but it should not affect our livelihood. “People in the Kalpitiya Tourism Zone are living with fear due to the threat to their livelihoods,” said Fr. Sarath Idda-mal-goda, a Catholic priest. Rights activists say the proposed tourism project would pose many difficulties for people living on the islands. They pointed out that a land grab by the private sector has already resulted in destruction of mangrove forests and other ecosystems in the zone. They said people living in the zone ,face the loss of their anchorage points, forced evictions and loss of land with illegal contracts. Most of the fishing community living there have to leave their homelands and jobs. It is unfair,” they added. Catholicism and Islam are the principal religions in the 14 islands, which have an area of some 1,673 hectares.