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.