Fifteen Bangladeshi fishermen, including eight from Ramgati in Lakshmipur, have spent around six months in Myanmar custody after being detained by the country’s navy while fishing in the Bay of Bengal. The fishermen were later sentenced to different terms on allegations of entering Myanmar waters illegally, leaving their families in Ramgati, Kamalnagar, Noakhali and Bhola facing severe financial hardship.
The fishermen were detained on 25 March near St Martin’s Island along with the fishing trawler FB Ma-Babar Doya. They were subsequently prosecuted on allegations of unauthorised entry and handed prison sentences of varying lengths.
One of those detained, 15-year-old Md Tahmid from Char Gajaria in Ramgati, has since returned to Bangladesh because of his age. After his release, Tahmid described difficult conditions inside the Myanmar prison, alleging that the Bangladeshi fishermen had been subjected to physical and mental abuse and were not receiving adequate food.
The fishermen detained with the same trawler are from several coastal communities. Eight are from Ramgati, while others come from Kamalnagar, Subarnachar in Noakhali, Pahartali in Chattogram, Daulatkhan in Bhola and Maheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar. For many of them, fishing is the principal source of income for their households.
Abdullah Al Razi, head of the Bangladesh mission in Sittwe, the capital of Myanmar’s Rakhine State, said around 180 Bangladeshi nationals were being held in Myanmar prisons on allegations of violating the country’s territorial waters. He said an appeal had been made to the central government in Myanmar seeking their release and pardon.
The prolonged detention has placed an additional burden on families that were already economically vulnerable. Many of the households affected by the arrests have either lost their homes to river erosion or have no permanent land of their own. With their principal earners absent for months, families are struggling to meet basic expenses, including food and the needs of their children.
Sumaiya Akter, wife of fisherman Md Nirob of Char Poragachha union, said the family has no homestead of its own. She lives in a small house beside the Bhuluya River with her mother-in-law, two sisters-in-law and two daughters. Nirob was the sole earning member of the household. Since his detention, she said, the family has been going through an extremely difficult period.
A similar situation has affected the family of fisherman Farhad Hossain from Sonali village in Char Alexander union. His mother, Farida Begum, said river erosion had forced the family to lose its homestead. Farhad’s father is disabled following an accident and remains at home. Farhad was the only earning member of the four-person family, leaving his relatives in severe distress following his detention.
Relatives of the detained fishermen have repeatedly sought government intervention to secure their return. They have organised human chains and other programmes, including a demonstration in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka. They have also contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs and other relevant authorities. Despite those efforts, the families say they have yet to receive a definitive resolution regarding the fishermen’s return.
Local authorities and political representatives say diplomatic and administrative efforts are continuing to bring the fishermen home safely. Ramgati Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sheikh Ehsan Uddin and local Member of Parliament and parliamentary whip A B M Ashraf Uddin Nijan said efforts were being pursued at the highest levels.
For the families waiting in Bangladesh, however, the issue remains painfully immediate. Every additional month without their sole breadwinners deepens their financial insecurity, while uncertainty over the fishermen’s conditions in Myanmar continues to fuel anxiety. Their relatives are now hoping that diplomatic efforts will lead to a safe and early return home.
