While pilgrims and students from India who were stranded in Iran have been evacuated, fishermen allege that the government has not acknowledged their plight.
“It has been 22 days that we have been stuck here and are asking for help. The government doesn’t seem bothered,” an Indian fisherman stranded in Iran told TNM, on behalf of a thousand others awaiting evacuation. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a large part of the world, including India, to close its borders and impose shutdown orders within the country.
“The constant response we are being given when we contact them is ‘tomorrow’. That tomorrow never comes,” he said.
Iran has been one of the worst affected by the coronavirus outbreak. On Tuesday, the country had almost 15,000 confirmed cases and 853 deaths as a result of the virus, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Many pilgrims and students from India, who were stranded in Iran amidst the pandemic, have been evacuated by the Indian government. However, there are also allegations that India has yet to take stock of the condition of fishermen in various parts of the country.
More than a thousand Indian fishermen are stranded in towns like Chiru Port, Charak, Kish, Lavan and Mugham in Iran. A majority of them are from Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, aside from Kerala and Gujarat.
Speaking to TNM, a fisherman who did not wish to be named, said since the last week of February, no one from the Indian Embassy has asked about their situation. “When we contact them, they just say ‘tomorrow,’ which never seems to come,” he said.
On March 8, the union minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar tweeted that they are maintaining contact with the fishermen and that no case of coronavirus had been reported among them. Yet, there is a feeling of despair among the fishermen who may soon run out of food as they await anxiously to return home. They also allege that they have been left to fend for themselves by boat owners, all of whom are from Iran.
“We are now rationing food and most of us are eating only once a day. We are boiling the water we use for taking baths to drink. The boat owners are forcing us to go to the sea and fish since they don’t want to suffer losses in this period,” he added.
Our Emb @India_in_Iran continues to maintain close contact w Indian fishermen in #Iran.No case of #COVID19 reportd among them. Ensuring tht they hv adequate supplies. Will continue to monitor their welfare.@vijayanpinarayi @vijayrupanibjp @CMOTamilNadu @ShashiTharoor @mkstalin
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) March 8, 2020
According to the minister, as of Monday, the government of India has brought back 389 Indians, mostly pilgrims, students and teachers, from Iran. However, the fishermen allege that though they have reached out to Embassy officials, there is no clear response for when they will be evacuated from the country and brought back to India.
“Aren’t we human beings too? Now we feel like dying out here. We are running out of food and supplies. Our boat owners have abandoned us and now even our country is doing it,” the man rued.
Meanwhile on Tuesday evening, S Jaishankar announced that Air Asia flights were approved to operate from Kuala Lumpur to Delhi and Visakhapatnam to bring back stranded Indians from the Malaysian airport. This decision came after many appealed to the ministry to help bring back the Indians who were stuck in the transit after India banned passengers from Malaysia, Afghanistan and the Philippines from entering the country.
Source: The News Minute