One
afternoon four of us sitting on chairs within the feebly fenced 4 feet high
compound made of wooden reapers around our house at Marianad, we were
discussing, as usual, about many things connected to our work and the
developments in the Diocese with Bishop Peter Bernard Pereira. Bishop Pereira
was the first native bishop of Trivandrum Diocese, who founded Marianad out of
barren land as a model village and Community Development Project (MCDP) to
experiment the possibilities of improving the living conditions of the
traditional fisher folks, who formed majority in his Diocese. The objective was
to extend the lessons learned for a wider development work in his Diocese and
elsewhere. Bishop Pereira used to visit us whenever he had important visitors
interested in development to visit Marianad and on rare occasions, whenever he
wanted to take couple of hours away from his regular work to visit us on the
way after inspecting his Menamkulam and Vettuthura properties. He used to come
in a 4Weeler Jeep, sometime himself driving even though he would have his
driver with him. That afternoon discussion touched on some sad events in his
official life as a Bishop connected to Fathimapuram village, which is located 5
KMs South of Mariand on the outskirts of St. Andrews Parish boundary. We found
him bit emotional while explaining about a recent event wherein a coastal
parish, St. Andrews Parish, in his Diocese denied cemetery space for a person
from Fathimapuram village in spite of his direction to be buried in the local St. Andrews cemetery. Finally, after waiting for a long
time, the frustrated relatives had to take the dead body to 50 Kilometres South
to Karumkulam, to be buried. While talking to us about it, we found his voice
changing, pausing for a while, removing his spectacles and cleaning his eyes
with his kerchief.
Fathimapuram
village 20 Km North of Trivandrum City , is a newly created settlement, located on the
banks of Parvathiputhanar canal connecting Trivandrum India
and Sri Lanka St. Andrews and
started fishing. However they kept their ties and were visiting their native
villages for social and religious purposes particularly visiting en-mass during
important religious festivities. On one such occasion when they returned after
attending the annual festival of their Parish Saint, they found all their huts
were destroyed deliberatively and thrown into the sea.
When they
tried to reconstruct, they were prevented to do so and further they were also
prevented using St. Andrews beach. Couple of
nights sleeping on the available open space; it came to the notice of local
politicians. Seeing the plight of the landless and houseless fishermen and
their families including children, the local Marxist Communist Party workers
headed by their leader Mr. Ravi, the then President of Kadinamkulam Panchayat,
helped them to put up their huts on the banks of the canal, which is a
unassignable government land and situated one Kilometre away from the sea
shore. The political party also intervened and made a settlement to allow the
fishermen to use a narrow pathway to the seashore between St.
Andrews and Puthenthope, neighbouring village –– only to use for
the purpose of entering the sea. They were also denied of keeping their fishing
equipments on the sea shore, whereby they had no control of the seashore, where
the fisher folk generally live and keep their implements and do their fishing
related work. The situation left the fishermen completely vulnerable to the
sharks on land, which is more dangerous than those at sea. The new settlement
on the banks of the canal - they called as Fathimapuram, with a religious
connotation. As fishermen generally find collective psychological security in
having their own Church and since they were prevented from entering in the
local St. Andrews
Church St. Xavier’s
College. Having own worshiping place and a priest provided fishermen without any
assets a big moral strength to continue with their life. Fishermen compensate
their poverty by adding grandeur and wealth to their Church in which they find
pride.
Even before
the discussion with Bishop Pereira in question, as social workers, we were
aware and have had personal experience about the existence of caste in the form
of class differentiation and consequent discrimination within the coastal
population. But that day Bishop Pereira explaining about it and admitting its
active operation among the Catholic fishermen of his Diocese and his helplessness
saddened us as well as made us angry. According to him the people of St. Andrews are also from the fishing community, but some
of them had the privilege of working in distant towns and different countries,
thereby felt that they were a privileged set of people, and hence developed a
caste discriminatory type of attitude towards other fisher folks, particularly
the migrant traditional fisher folk. After Bishop left, we, Ms. Lauretta
Farina, originally from Italy and a trained Medical person who came to work in
Trivandrum Diocese and Marianad in 1961 as a member of a lay congregation
called Catholic Feminine Auxiliaries (AFI) with HQ in Brussels, on the
invitation of Bishop Pereira to work among his fishing stock and Ms. Nalini
Nayak from Bangalore who joined the Marianad Team in 1966, soon after her
University studies and myself, the first Team member from the fishing stock
joined in the beginning of 1999, who were the then Marianad team members, felt
so shocked to see the active practice of discrimination and exclusion even
within the same Catholic rite. Our shock further grew after seeing Bishop
Pereira emotional. My traditional fishing family background triggered the anger
within me against this injustice and it grew further deep in my mind.
During our
next Team Meeting, we decided to help the Fathimapuram fishermen by extending
our work. More or less at this juncture Fr. Mathew Nambiaparampil S.J., who was one among the
priests from Xavier’s College, which is also situated in St. Andrews at the outskirts
of Fathimapuram, visiting Marianad every Sunday expressed his desire to do something in Fathimapuram. This led to
engage the first Community Organiser, Mr. Peter John Culas, my younger brother,
to work in Fathimapuram employed by Fr. Mathew. He worked there for some months
living in a rented house in St. Dominic Vettucaud. While helping Fathimapuram
fishermen to carry their catch through the narrow lane, he was interrupted by
some local anti-social elements who prevented him and beaten. With this St. Xavier’s College supporting Community Organisers also
stopped. Later through Marianad C.D.P. and its other different off shoot
outfits, we continued to help organise the fishermen at Fathimapuram against
the discrimination and subsequent economic and social exploitation. (Other
community organisers, followed were Mr. David, Jones, Johnson, Eugene Herbert,
Stella, Andrews, Mary Dass, Kennedy, Johnson, Daisy etc.). These community
organisers helped to start and develop a fishermen marketing Co-op in similar
lines of that of Marianad Coop. Through their marketing coop – they availed
bank loans, started acquiring their own fishing implements thereby showed signs
of improving their living conditions. However they were still under the
clutches of sharks on land and still under their mercy. They witnessed silently
their catches forcefully taken away for no reason by anti-social elements with
the tacit support of the local community which has imposed restrictions on
their fishing and daily life, their nets bought with bank loans destroyed on
the sea shore in their absence when they were in their homes, far away from the
sea shore and not allowed to lead a normal life in their own country amongst
their own fishing stock.
The
cooperative spirit that was developing enabled the Fathimapuram people to have
serious discussions on the implications of their future without having any
proper access and control on the seashore. At the end, they decided to exert
their citizen’s rights and to put up huts on the sea shore, a public place
normally used by fishermen for fishing related activities and for housing
purposes. They sought cooperation from Marianad fishermen who also extended
their support. After much planning, they collected coconut leaves, bamboos and
other temporary building materials and built their houses on the midnight of 14th
August 1984 to declare their freedom on 15th August, the country’s
Independence Day, a symbolic and meaningful gesture.
Constructing,
the huts at midnight on the sea shore without the waking up of the locals from
their midnight slumber was not any easy task. The
insulated and closed bodied fish van of Marianad Fishing Cooperative Society
(MMUCS) brought the building materials. The team consisting fishermen and
labourers were busy engaged in the construction. Some of them were to be on the
look out for any possible leak of information or any counter actions. But soon
found that none of them was reporting back. As a result, individuals from the
spot, were sent out one after another to find out and report if something was
happening outside, but soon we realised that none of them were returning. The
number of people working diminished. However the work continued. Some individuals of the local villages saw
the hectic activities taking place in the thick of the midnight on their
shores. They alerted their leaders and the people of the neighbouring villages.
Within no time the Church bells started ringing informing unexpected calamity
for their Parish and asking people to assemble. Needless to say that within no
time people in hundreds from three surrounding parishes, a big hostile mob
assembled with sticks and batons etc. They marched towards the huts and started
beating all those whom they could find – say about 15 - 20 of us. Seeing a big
crowd approaching us, some, who were with us, started jumping into the sea.
Others who were left including Mr. Xavier Culas (he is the present Chair of
CECT) and Mr. Pauline of Marianad and me received heavy beatings. Providentially, by this time I heard a familiar
voice from the crowd and identified one of the local political leaders from
Puthenthope, Mr. Mousolini, who was known to me and a personal friend of mine.
A few years back when we were travelling together on my motor bike in Trivandrum , both of us met with a road accident and were
taken to the nearby Medical
College Hospital
As soon as
we reached the main road, we walked away, we deliberately avoided running,
through those who were running towards us towards the beach. We, escorted by
Eugine Herbert, went to the neighbouring village Menamkulam, beyond
Fathimapuram into his house. Eugeine Herbert was one of our colleagues, who
have also worked as our Community Oorganiser in Fathimapuram. We were taken
that night by him to another house in a distant place, where I lived
underground for almost a week. Meanwhile, making use of the connection with
some fellow judicial officers of my brother, who was the first Community
Organiser in Fathimapuram and at that time an Inspector in the Excise, I was
produced before the Magistrate in his house and obtained bail. Later I was told
that at the instigation of some local politicians who had direct contact with
the then Home Minister Mr. Vayalar Ravi and also because the night was leading
to the Independence Day, in the thick of midnight itself a large contingent of
police had arrived at the scene looking for us. Early morning they went and
searched for me in Marianad and arrested some of the fishermen, who were active
members of Marianad community. I also heard that Mr. Oliver from Marianad, who
took no part in the attempted hut construction was picked up from his house and
taken to the Police Station and badly beaten. Mr. Vijayan who was driving the
Marianad fish van also was taken to custody and later released.
Later,
after a few weeks, having realised the real reason behind the attempted hut
construction on the sea shore, which is public property, some friendly police
officials and other sympathisers advised us to purchase some land for housing
the Fathimapuram people. Although this was not a new idea, it was an
impracticable one as all the local parishes around Fathimapuram have already
proclaimed their unwritten law not to sell any land to the Fathimapuram
fishermen families even though the later may have means for it. If anyone from
the three nearby and surrounding Parishes of Fathimapuram – ie. St. Andrews , Puthenthope and St. Dominic Vettucaud - sell
land to them will be excommunicated – that was the unwritten law of the
Parishes. In this predicament, Mr. Joyachan Antony, who was the President of
the District Fishermen Union and a native of one of the nearby coastal
villages, Thumba, volunteered to buy the land in his name provided we raise the
necessary cost. We promised to raise the required money and Mr. Joyachan Antony
found Mr. Lazer Silva wanting to sell about two acres of his land and building
on Puthenthope coast. As both of them knew each other very well and worked
earlier in the same political party, Mr. Lazer Silva agreed to sell his
property for a very unreasonably high price. We raised the Advance money and an
Agreement for Sale
As the sale
of land had been announced earlier, within a few weeks, Mr. Lazer Silva had to
disclose about the Agreement for sale to Mr. Joyachan Antony about whom others
in Puthenthope had doubts of his intention to settle the fishermen from
Fathimapuram. Hence Puthenthope church leaders demanded Mr. Lazer Silva to
withdraw from the sale of land to Joyachan Antony and threatened with the
consequence of ex-communication. Mr. Silva informed this to Mr. J. Antony and
requested him to withdraw from the attempt as a friend. Mr. Joyachan Antony
refused. Mr. Silva who wanted to avoid an excommunication action against him
and his family reported the matter to the Puthenthope Parish. On this, we were
told that later the Puthenthope Parish under the leadership of its Parish
Priest - Fr. Stephen Mathessery, had held a special One Hour Adoration of the
Blessed Sacrament for the sole purpose of praying for the change of heart of
the person – Joyachan Antony, who was going to purchase the land for
Fathimapuram fishermen. Upon this, we were told that Puthenthope Parish, in
which most of its members are absent economic migrants in many foreign
countries, also contacted the Home Minister of the State to intervene. It was
beyond his legal purview to stop the sale. However, he assured that if that
land was purchased for the housing purpose of the fishermen of Fathimapuram,
against the wishes of Puthenthope Parish, the Minister would help the
Puthenthope people by not providing protection for enjoying the land. This
again put us into further difficulties and complications – as even after
raising a huge amount and purchasing the land it would not be available for the
purpose for which this was bought. Further, the land would be illegally
encroached. Needless to say the situation in which we were caught – it was like
between the devil and the deep sea. My be Puthenthope people’s prayers were answered, final wisdom prevailed
to withdraw from the Sale Deed and receive the advance back from Mr. Lazer
Silva, who later was very thankful to Mr. Joyachan for his great gesture of
understanding his and his family’s plight in his community.
Back to
square one – our search for land continued endlessly. Now, our new search was
geared to locate a plot of land in the vicinity, which does not belong to
anyone from the neighbouring three parishes where the ban to sell land for
Fathimapuram people was in force. It was at this time, one of our friends Mr.
Sharma, who in 1978 helped us to locate the land and building in the heart of Trivandrum St. Andrew Parish leaders came
to know that we are behind that land and they equipped themselves to buy the
land at any cost. Upon this we have decided to use one of our earlier and
successfully tried strategy of invoking the Land Acquisition Act to acquire
land for housing purpose of fishermen through Alillathura, which means village
without people, which was later changed to Mariand, Houseing Cooperative
Society, which was originally started by Bishop Pereira for implementing the
Housing Scheme at Marianad. Although within the same Panchayat (local Council),
this Coop did not have Fathimapuram within its area of operation – a lion
without teeth as for the purpose of land for Fathimapuran people. The matter
was discussed in the Marianad Housing Cooperative Society Governing Body which,
subsequently, decided to extend its area of operation throughout Kadinamkulam
Panchayat area to include Fathimapuram people to have their housing.
Accordingly, the Bye-laws of the Housing Coop were amended in its General Body.
The whole process took a long time. Meanwhile almost all fishermen of
Fathimapuram were enrolled as members of the Housing Coop. The amendment was
finally approved by the State Department of Cooperation. The General Body of
the Housing Co-op took decision to approach the State Government to acquire the
four acres of land belonging to the Bank for Fishermen Housing Purposes. All
paper works were done meticulously and cautiously and moved through the
Cooperative Department to the District Collector, who is vested with the
authority to make notification through the Government Gazette for acquiring
land for public purposes including for fishermen housing purposes, which was
duly notified. This was an unexpected blow for the leaders of St.
Andrews who then changed their strategy of opposing the purchase
and turned into physical opposition.
Although
the initial inspiration and support for the work out side of Marianad CDP were
given by Mariand Team, number of which increased by now including Mr. John
Kurien and other members working in other villages, in 1977, a new Non
Government Organisation called Programme for Community Organisation (PCO) was
formed with the Patronage of Bishop Pereira and Marianad Team Members and other
colleagues in other villages as members. This was done with the idea of
providing a legal umbrella for all the work initiated in the coastal areas of
Trivandrum Diocese. With the failed attempt to put up huts on St. Andrews
coast, our work started getting direct attacks from several quarters and
different thought process evolved in PCO to address the Housing problem of
Fathimapuram fishermen. The dominant one was to resort to a political solution
to the problem. The second line of thought was to help the fishermen to own
their own housing plot and then resort to political intervention. This means strategies
including chasing land etc. Although approaching it through political process
received majority, some of us were for the second option. This division also
came to reflect in the Marianad Housing Coop. Hence, some of us decided to
implement next steps through another NGO called the Coastal Educational and
Cultural Trust (CECT). CECT was registered in 1984 for the purpose of taking up
initiatives which were not covered by the existing organisations which were
created by us at different times for working in the coastal belt of Trivandrum
The
fishermen gained confidence once the land was bought for them, although it was
with borrowed funds and in the name of private individuals. However, it took
several months to further organise them, prepare them to get out of the shock
they received from the failed attempts and constant opposition and assign
individual plots in the name of fishermen. Three acres of land was divided into
5 cents each and assigned to 60 families. The balance 1 acre with an existing
building turned into a Community hall was earmarked for community purposes –
which was assigned in the name of Trivandrum District Fishermen Federation, an
off shoot of South Indian Fishermen Federation (SIFFS) started while I was the
Coordinator of PCO in 1980 – as network of all Fishermen Societies in the
District with fish marketing as the core activity initiated under the guidance
of Marianad Project and PCO. Once the land assignment was complete, the
fishermen with land titles approached the State Fisheries body – MATSYAFED -
for housing loans. When they received the Housing Loan, the Housing Programme
became a Government Programme and a function was organised to inaugurate the
laying of foundation stone on………..for the housing Programme. Two State
Ministers, including the Fisheries Minister Mr. Rama Krishnan and the Minister
for Youth Mr. Neela Lohida Dasan Nadar participated. To commemorate the memory
of a great visionary behind bringing changes in the coastal belt of Trivandrum
One would
imagine that further journey towards the construction of houses would go
without much difficulty. Matters did not end there. It was only the beginning
of another chapter. By this time, many things also changed in Marianad, where
the Parish Priest took forceful control of all people’s organisations working
in the village under the pretext of his position as Parish Priest. The St.
Andrews Parish leaders with political motivation and back support given by the
same elements in the neighbouring Parishes, particularly by Fr. Joseph Maria of
Marianad Parish vehemently started opposing the housing scheme by filing police
cases, law and order cases against individuals and as a group. Years later,
when providence had taken me to be settled in the United
Kingdom , I met with some of the NRIs from St. Andrews . They have told me about their financial
contributions towards legal, police and other expenses related to their Parish
campaign against the alleged Fathimapuram encroachment in the very heart of
their village. However, with the involvement of the State Government, fishermen
felt more confident of reaching their goal and took it on themselves the
responsibility of bringing building materials, arranging masons and carpenters,
supervising the buildings etc. The first stage of construction of foundation
went ahead without much problems and they obtained 1st Stage
Completion Certificate, the families received their Second instalment of
housing loan. The second stage of constructing the wall also progressed without
many problems.
One evening
the local Parish leaders collected their anti-social elements and hired thugs
from neighbouring Parishes – lead by Fr. Joseph Maria of Marianad Parish
marched towards the housing site and demolished all constructions, including
the foundations. Although matter was reported to the police, no action was
taken and nothing much happened. Later, we tired to negotiate by involving the
local Panchayat President Mr. Basline Perira, who outwardly expressed sympathy
and cooperation. We have offered to reduce the number of houses to 1/3rd
and use the rest of the land for community purposes. Agreement was reached in Trivandrum
Rest of the
story, what I know, is that during the next general election period, the
Fathimapuram people were promised physical support by the left political
parties and during the campaign they constructed huts in their land and started
living there. It did not lost for long. Towards the end of the campaign, their
huts were burned, upon which they retaliated with all their force and with the
support of the political parties. They attacked the houses of those who were
directly responsible for demolishing and burning their houses. This time it was
not safeguarding their land and properties, but inflicting physical damage and
injuries to the perpetrators that provided them with the courage and strength
to rebuild their huts again and live there. This slowly led to construct their
houses one by one and remained in the condition in which they are now – it is
the result of their fifth attempt to construct a dwelling place on their
legally owned land.
During the
period of regular oppositions against constructing houses for the fishermen,
Fr. Theo Simons of CEBEMO, the Netherland Catholic Agency which provided
partial support through CECT for initiating a Community Development Programme
including the Housing Programme in Fathimapuram on the strength of our
experience and commitment to the fishermen cause asked us two questions:
1) Was it
wise to purchase the land when there was so much of opposition, especially from
the local Catholic Church/s?
2) Would it
not have been wiser to negotiate with the local Church leaders before going for
purchasing the land?
My answer
was – negotiation have to be on equal grounds; and not based on mere mercy of
one party - of the enemies of the fishermen, who were illegally denied land
right and right to life. This is unchristian. Only after land has been
purchased, fishermen acquired legal right over their land, and only after that
the fishermen acquired the right and confidence to negotiate around the table
on equal terms. So ownership of a piece of land is basic to lead any decent
human life.
This is the
story behind the Fathimapuram fishermen against all oppositions and odds to
have a settlement of their own in their own country. Any attempt to understand
the history of their new Church building will be incomplete without
understanding the struggle for their own settlement in Fathimapuram.
In January 1999, six months before I left India UK , along with other UK
With all
the best wishes for the people of Fathimapuram on the occasion of the
inauguration of their new Church on 13TH October 2011.
