One year on, families of T.N. fishermen stuck in Kuwait seek govt. help

Families of Tamil Nadu fishermen in Kuwait plead for help after arrest, facing challenges and seeking government intervention.

It has been a harrowing year for the families of four Tamil Nadu fishermen arrested in Kuwait. 

Muniya Jothi, sister of 21-year-old M. Chandru, one of the four fishermen, endures the daily heartbreak of her five-year-old asking, “Where is mama?” Chandru, the youngest of the group, only studied up to 9th grade, never travelled far from home, and learnt to sign his name only when the Kuwait opportunity came up.

The fishermen — Karthik,23, Jesu, 44, M. Chandru, 21, and S. Vinoth Kumar, 27 — went to Kuwait in September 2023 on contract to work in the fishing industry. With Jesu, the eldest, having prior overseas work experience, their families felt reassured. 

For three months, they worked diligently, but the last time their families heard from them under normal circumstances was on December 5, 2023, before they embarked on a boat with an Egyptian captain. The same day, they were arrested by the Kuwait Coast Guard for transporting illegal substances. Since then, the men have faced immense challenges in defending themselves. Their families maintain they were deceived by malicious parties.

Speaking at a press event organised by the Tamil Nadu Domestic Workers Welfare Association, the families detailed their struggles and appealed for government intervention. “We have no resources left. Our loved ones are innocent, and we need help to bring them back,” says Krishna Anandhi, Jesu’s wife. Ms. Anandhi is also burdened with the uncertainty of her children’s future. “Their education is at stake, and our family has no support,” she says.

Vinoth Kumar’s mother, Nainar Ammal, who is in her late 60s, is equally distraught. “I have three sons, but he is the only one who cared for me. Now, I work as a domestic help to survive,” she says, tearing up.

The families have made pleas to Ramanathapuram Collector, and political leaders, including Ramanathapuram MLA K. Navaskani, Minister for Milk and Dairy Development R.S. Rajakannappan, and Thoothukudi MP K. Kanimozhi. Yet, the case lingers in a Kuwaiti court.