He intensely gazes at the sea, looking for signs of fish. Something catches his eye, and he points it out to his son. The young boy is learning his father’s trade. Slowly he wades into the water, stalking his prey. He readies his net and casts it onto the sea. There is tension in the air as he reels in his dragnet, unsure of whether his throw was successful. The reward for his effort is a tiny fish, the size of a deck of cards.
Just feet from the Farah III I watch this Tamil fisherman work. One month before the climax of the Sri Lankan civil war he fled his village. He has no boat to fish in the deeper waters, as his was destroyed in the final weeks of the war. He has a net and that enables him to survive.