Widowed 038; desperate for anything

8216;8216;It is very difficult to keep these women from joining the flesh trade because they have no other means of sustaining themselves and their families,8217;8217; said J Nagarajan, secretary of Kattur-based Bharati Women Development Centre. Bharati has been working in Kameshwaram, about 4 km from Vailankanni, for the past eight months and is trying hard to save the widows from straying. 8216;8216;Their husbands used to catch fish and the women went to nearby markets and sold them. Now there is nobody to bring them the fish,8217;8217; said Nagarajan.

Widows like Elakhi Murugan who have young children to look after survive by helping other families sell their catch. 8216;8216;They earn Rs 50 on a good day during the fishing season. Otherwise they depend on food provided by the panchayat or NGOs,8217;8217; Murugan, a panchayat volunteer says.

NGOs like Bharati are now holding counselling sessions for the widows. 8216;8216;We cannot forcefully prevent anyone from doing any work. We explain to them the importance of dignity of labour and hard work, and the trap they will all fall into if they try to find easier means of earning,8217;8217; says Nagarajan.

Most widows gathered for an interaction at the village temple expressed the desire to lead a decent and respectful life. Pushpavalli, 55, the oldest among them, said they need a 8216;8216;loading autorickshaw8217;8217;, a goods carrier. 8216;8216;We cannot carry a big load of fish on our heads to the market. If we can get a loading rickshaw all of us can buy more fish here and take them as far as Akkaraipettai or Nagapattinam to sell. Maybe we will even get a better price there. We can then earn a little more money,8217;8217; she said.

Bharati has constructed a fish landing point in the village and fishermen auction fish there daily. 8216;8216;We belong to the fishing community and we only know how to deal in fish. We have to have a better way of getting the fish to the market. If that can be done we don8217;t have to look for any other work,8217;8217; says a weeping Chinnapalai.

Although the Kameshwaram village fishermen8217;s panchayat is supposed to look after the families, especially the widows, it has not even ensured proper investment by the women of the compensation money they got for their husband8217;s deaths. 8216;8216;The majority of the widows have squandered the money. Either their sons and relatives have used it for unproductive purposes or they lived lavishly till the money lasted,8217;8217; says Nagarajan.

Murugan adds, 8216;8216;A few women have put the money in fixed deposits. Using the interest, one started a small shop, some started selling fish.8217;8217; But this was not the prudent way of all women. 8216;8216;They did not think of ensuring their economic security when they got so much money and spent it all. They just did not listen to our advice,8217;8217; said Govindraja, the village fishermen panchayat head.

Ephrem Susai, regional manager of the South Indian Federation of Fishermen Society, thinks NGOs and social organisations will be able to take care of widows. 8216;8216;So long as there is monetary support from organisations and the government they will be taken care of. It is only when aid stops that things will go wrong. Some stray cases of the widows opting for prostitution are already there,8217;8217; he said.