Perspective: Fishermen And Their Rights
Perspective
There have been reports, considered disgusting if not disturbing that five (5) Jamaicans were stopped at sea and detained by a foreign power in 2017 and held for five months. It does not matter who the country is … it is the human rights and treatment meted out to my fellow countrymen that alarms me. If these Fisher folks were suspected of trafficking in drugs that is to be regretted. We do not condone illegality or any form of knowingly breaking the laws. So we are on the right side of the law.
A suspect is entitled to due process.
Degrading
Reports yet to be denied are that these unfortunate if not vulnerable souls were subjected to the most dehumanizing condition and not the accepted standard of care as dictated by International convention. Maritime laws and the Geneva convention spells out very clearly how prisoners should be treated.
Thought To Be Dead
Due to the apparent lack of communication it was believed that these missing Fisher folks were dead. At least one family member began disposing of his property.
Law Suit
As a law suit has been filed we will refrain from commenting further on this most unfortunate development. If true this is shameful, sleesy, slimy and scandalous.
We await the legal process. So far no evidence to support claim of drug trafficking has been proffered. We hear about a Shiprider Agreement. Does this agreement endorse human rights abuses?
Hopeton O’Connor-Dennie is Senior International Correspondent and photojournalist for Vision Newspaper Canada.
Alwin Marshall-Squire is the Editor-in-Chief of S-Q Publications Inc., overseeing editorial strategy for GTA Weekly, GTA Today, and Vision Newspaper. He leads the publications’ mission to deliver bold, original journalism focused on the people and communities of the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, and the global Caribbean diaspora.
Also writes for GTA Weekly and GTA Today.
