Last week a band of sea pirates operating in the Pomeroon River took their attacks to another level; they heated knives and scorched the buttocks of a number of fishermen, telling them that they must always have Yamaha outboard engines and no other brands.
These were some of the same fishermen who only recently met Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee and complained about the escalating piracy attacks in the Corentyne and other parts of the country.
During their meeting with Rohee back in January the fishermen had alleged that on many occasions when pirates hijacked their boats and stole their fishing nets they were made to wait for hours before police took statements from them, which is often prompted by them buying a box of food for the rank. The fishermen who hail from various East Coast villages, but who all operate in the Corentyne River, were meeting Rohee, for the second time.
The minister had promised the fishermen that he would raise the matter with the Commissioner of Police, while urging the fishermen to be vigilant and report all incidents of robbery to the police.
Richard Harold, one of the fishermen who met Rohee back then, told Stabroek News on Thursday that the minister has failed in his promise. “We ain’t get no help from the minister, the police, nobody since the meeting,” Harold said.
He reiterated that several of his colleagues have virtually abandoned their vessels because of the situation. He said they could not continue to operate under these conditions and if nothing were done they would all leave one of these days.
Rohee had told the fishermen that the police advised him that the pirates are really “thief men” who have taken their attacks to the seas because of the strong police presence on land. He promised the men to look into getting the police to be more proactive and to introduce stiffer penalties for the pirates when caught.
The fishermen had disclosed that the pirates are more vicious during the holiday season. The men said the sea bandits have become emboldened; also noting that over the years the men have stopped wearing masks during the commission of robberies.
It was during two separate attacks last week in the Waini and Pomeroon rivers that the pirates beat, tortured and robbed two groups of fishermen of a quantity of gasoline, groceries and engine leads. They also hijacked one boat. Harold said the crew that was attacked in the Pomeroon was stripped of their clothing and the bandits heated knives and pressed them against their buttocks. They then took away the fishermen’s boat with their groceries and fishing equipment. “We don’t know what to do, we don’t know who next would be hurt,” Harold told Stabroek News.
The man said neither the police nor the Guyana Defence Force coast guard was doing enough. He alleged that the officers would usually beg them for fish and other goods before they performed their duties.
According to Harold, at present they do not know where to fish as nowhere was safe. He said the bandits were everywhere and they seemed to have expanded their network.
Meanwhile, a senior officer at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard unit said they have received intelligence that some of the pirates are fishermen. The officer said there is an obvious connection between some of the pirates and the fishermen, but most times the fishermen do not want to accept this. The officer said the Coast Guard unit continues to conduct river patrols in all three counties in an effort to stem the tide of attacks. However, he said he could not be at two places at the same time.
“The pirates are smart enough. They will not attack these vessels when we are around,” the officer, who requested anonymity, said.
Harold said the situation has reached boiling point and their next move would have to be on the streets. “It seems like only if we go on the streets something would happen to protect us fishermen,” an irate Harold told Stabroek News.
According to reports, last Wednesday around 5 pm six sea bandits armed with guns robbed Beany Mohamed and his fishing crew some seven miles off the Waini River in the Atlantic Ocean. Mohamed, 48, of Lusignan, East Coast Demerara and his crew were fishing when the robbers pulled up in another boat propelled by two outboard engines, fired a shot and boarded it. They then ordered the crew to lie face down and robbed them of 200 gallons of gasoline stored in four drums, rations, one engine lead, one flash lamp and five yellow coats. During the process, the bandits beat the men and then they jetted off. Then on Saturday last around 9.30 pm four armed sea bandits robbed Hamsram Powletram and his crew in the Atlantic Ocean. Powletram and his five-man crew were in their vessel, Direction, fishing about seven miles off the Pomeroon River mouth. The bandits fired two shots, boarded Direction and ordered the crew into the cabin. It was in here they singed the men with hot knives before taking the vessel to Liberty Island, Essequibo where the crew was ordered to disembark and the bandits fired two more shots. The bandits also ran off with one 48 HP Yamaha outboard engine, 1,500 lbs of 5″ seine, three 45-gallon drums of gasoline and the men’s catch.
