Indian fishermen say they don't want children doing the same job

Published: 2006-01-26

VAILANKANNI, India (CNS) -- Just over a year after the South Asian tsunami, members of the traditional fishing community along the coastal areas of India say they do not want their children carrying on the family business. "Fishing will end with me. I will not allow my son to enter this profession," said K. Antony, a traditional fisherman who stood in front of the fiber boat donated to him by the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health at Vailankanni. "Whatever be the difficulty, I will make sure that my children study well and do not enter this profession," Antony said in January. Although churches and charities have been generous in donating fiber boats with engines and nets to replace the decaying catamarans washed away by the December 2004 tsunami, Antony said that "after the tsunami, many traditional fishermen are facing an identity crisis."

Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .