Replacing Fleet No Easy Task

Since coming back to Sri Lanka late last month, I have found myself swinging from optimistic to pessimistic and back again on an almost daily basis. Sometimes hourly. It all depends on who you talk to, and when.

Let me bring you up to date on the fishermen, and you'll see what I mean. More than 200 boats -- ranging from small dinghies to large, ocean-going fishing boats -- were lost in Weligama Bay as a result of the tsunami. A variety of groups have promised to replace them, but the process has gotten bogged down in petty disputes, and even threats of violence if a new boat or a new boat engine is not immediately forthcoming.

Using funds provided by foreign donors, my brother Geoffrey has said he will replace three of the big catamarans next to Taprobane, and several dozen boats elsewhere in the bay. He's largely resolved one problem, which is how to apportion the proceeds of the fishing catch between the crew and the owner. There's general agreement that an 8-3 system is equitable for an eight-man catamaran: eight parts to the crew, and three parts to the owner, who is also responsible for the upkeep of the boat.

But now there's a new problem, which is that some boat owners have submitted duplicate claims to different donors. My brother Geoffrey has discovered that several of the boat owners he had promised to help are also part of a boat donation program launched by a local bank. So he and the other donors have laid down a rule: Only one new boat will be built for each boat that was lost in the tsunami. Who provides the replacement is another story.

When the fishermen don't get their way, a nasty scene can sometimes ensue. A couple of days ago, another donor discovered that a fisherman had provided false information about a missing boat engine. When the donor withdrew an earlier offer to supply the fisherman a new engine, the fisherman threatened to burn all the boats on the beach. That particular dispute ended with the police being called.

-- Michael Dobbs

By washingtonpost.com |  February 15, 2005; 5:00 AM ET  | Category:  Michael Dobbs
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