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Thursday March 28, 2024

Between adversity and apathy, coastal women sail ships of hope

By Jan Khaskheli
March 05, 2020

HYDERABAD: The vulnerability of the fishing community can be gauged from the fact it lived in the open at the mercy of strong winds, cyclones, and floods, which always washed out everything, including shelters, said Amina Mallah, pointing a finger towards the shanties in her village in Badin district.

Amina, the resident of a hut-town, Tayyab Mallah, located in Union Council Seerani, has had devastating experiences of frequent natural disasters including cyclone A-02 in 1999, floods in 2010, 2011, and others.

“It has become a routine now that we receive alerts from the government whenever a cyclone develops in Arabian Sea. After which, having no other option, we are forced to take our children to other places amid fear and chaos,” she said.

“All the local residents here always lose their shanties and then rebuild the same again and again,” she said narrating the plight. The community people in the area traditionally depend on agriculture farming, livestock rearing, and fishing for livelihood. But now they are facing tough situation because of depleting underground water reserves due to sea intrusion and persistent water scarcity in River Indus, shrinking natural grazing fields and uncertain fishing activities.

Thus, the youth of the community prefers to move to urban centers in search of better livelihood, while the elderly prefer staying back to take care of the families. Some of the elders being unaware cut shrubs and trees to sell them as firewood to ease their lives. They do not understand how they are making their own families vulnerable to disasters.

Jumman Sheedi, a community worker in village Ramzan Sheedi in the same neighbourhood recalled the happy days when there used to be lush crops and larger herds of animals in this area with all the families in the villages enjoying ample bread and butter.

“Though we live at a distance from the sea and major drains, we always face threats of sea storms and breaches in drains near their villages, which inundate agriculture and residential lands, compelling dwellers to shift to safer places in other areas,” Sheedi said.

Sheedi is a sharecropper, working in agriculture field, said since they belonged to the tail-end area (of Indus River) they hardly receive the water they deserved to cultivate crops on time.

“This year we have received plenty of irrigation water after two years’ gap and have cultivated wheat, tomato, and other crops,” he said heaving a sigh of relief. Jumman said he was hoping to get a crop share to make both ends meet for his small family. “Otherwise, the community people have to depend on watercourses for drinking water, because the underground water seems unsafe due to increasing salinity and sea intrusion all around,” he said adding that if there was a delay in receiving flowing water they were compelled to use contaminated water for domestic use.

He said the farmland here was quite fertile and produced tomatoes and other vegetables besides major crops like wheat and paddy. “During this year, the farmers are hopeful to receive river water for agriculture, which is a major source of livelihood of the community,” Jumman said.

Three union councils Seerani, Bhugra Memon, and Ahmed Rajo are located at the coast. Therefore, the people are vulnerable to cyclones and increasing levels of sea intrusion.

The coastal community members said on top of depleting sources of livelihood, their areas continue to be devoid of any development or social support, like schools, healthcare facilities, etc. Only a small number of minor girls and boys now have started going to schools in neighbouring villages, travelling a distance of two to three kilometers. Previously there was no concept of educating children here. That is why younger boys extend helping hands to their parents in agriculture, labour and fishing.

“There is no fresh water body near their area; therefore, mostly they are associated with agriculture through generations, while a small number of the community members travel to different jetties to find work on fishing boats,” they said. But fishing too has become uncertain due to frequent ups and downs in the ocean, compelling the boat crews to stay idle at homes for many days, the community members added.

Safia Sheedi, a community activist looked hopeful, when she said, “Despite difficulties and challenges the people seem aware and do not depend on government or elected legislators for any development. They are struggling to change at their own. That is an inspiring sign”.

Safia is among the community women, who organised a gathering in village Tayyab Mallah to provide goats to the deserving women in this difficult time. These women have traditional skills to manage livestock at domestic level. They collect fodder for animals, milking and taking care of the same.

Management and Development Foundation (MDF), a private research-based organisation provided two goats to each of 80 women of three villages in the coastal area, finding them living below the poverty line. Goats are considered the most productive animals, which can help ease the family’s economic issues.

Obviously, it was a women’s show where the community women came together to discuss the issues of poverty, water, unemployment, depleting natural resources, and set their roles and way forward.

During talks, the majority of community people wanted the government to ensure release of water in irrigation system channels, maintain smaller drainage network properly to avoid any disaster and make schools functional, so they may empower their children with education.