By Angel PHIRI
When I heard of the death of the SDA youth on a fish rig, I kept asking, what really happened. Was it at night or was it in the day. Why would they jump off, did the crew of the rig threaten to drive off?
The last time I wanted to board a Kapenta rig in Siavonga about four years ago , the crew members stopped me. My intention was to document them, how they fish and what happens on board. Unfortunately I was not allowed.
A Kapenta rig is usually manned by a crew of three.
One fisherman told me, they can not allow strangers and women on the boat because it would give them bad luck.
They are not even allowed to have sex or have any romantic relations with their women before they go fishing.
When I asked why it was like that, his answer was ” I don’t think so, it is a very dangerous venture, there are certain things that happen that a woman can not cope with. Sometimes a big wave can just sweep everyone off the boat, that’s why only men can do this job”.
It might sound like misogyny, but what I gather is that most of the fishermen are superstitious and use charms to do their work.
That’s why you hear claims from people who say they either turn into snakes or fish, stories you can only get from sci-fi movies.
The fishing rig only moves at night. Sometimes it goes over 60km away from the main land.Sometimes a fishing crew can be away for several days.They camp on islands across the lake.
Sometimes they buy off fish from other fishermen on islands to resale when they run out of luck.
Most of the rigs are self made designed in a form of a pontoon with a very big net in the front. There is a spot light attached to the net. The sardines are attracted to the light swimming straight in the trap like a moth to a fire.
The rig has a small kennel like house barely big enough to accomodate a five year old child for anyone who wants to sleep. Only one person is allowed to sleep at a time while other two man the craft.
When I asked about the toilet. The fisherman pointed at three buckets. One was completely empty, the other one had water and the third one sand .
The empty bucket is used as a chamber pot to offload the call of nature, there after they would take some sand and pour in the bucket to bury faecal matter. They would bury the waste when they reach an island. The water is used for washing. They also carry containers of fresh water because lake water is very dirty.
If you have ever been to a lake, you would mistake these fishing boats for city lights as the lamps and spot lights illuminate across the water..
Usually the people who work on the rigs are just employees of fish boat owners. They are paid according to the weight of their catch.
That is why when there is a fish ban, a lot of them try by all means to fish illegally because a day wasted makes them lose revenue.
When there was an outbreak of cholera in Lusaka, Government put a fish ban and insisted that each fishing rig should have a functioning toilet. Whether this was being followed or not, we can only speculate.
Whatever happened to the SDA youth is very depressing I Isympathise with the families of the deceased. I hope the police get to the bottom on the matter in the investigations.
Written by Angel Phiri