Having survived five hours of swimming in the dark ocean in the dead of night, two Woodland fishermen broke down in tears yesterday as they recalled how pirates beat, robbed and then forced them to jump overboard.
The thieves sped off with the fishermen's boat, engine and catch but not before throwing them a lifeline, a bin cover which saved them from drowning.
Speaking to Guardian Media, Narendra Sankar and Sumair Phillip said they would have died if they did not have the bin cover to hold on to.
Recalling the ordeal, Sankar said they were on board the Ocean Beauty fishing in the Gulf of Paria about ten miles offshore when around 2 am, a speeding boat passed them.
An hour later, the same boat came up behind them.
"I heard the boat, and it reached close about 200 feet and when I buss the light to let them know there is a boat here, a man pulled out a big gun and started to buss shots on the boat and say 'nobody move'," Sankar recalled.
He said seven or eight men were on the pirate boat, and they boarded the Ocean Beauty. They then began hitting Sumair with the flat side of a cutlass, before ordering him to jump overboard.
Sankar said he tried to reason with the pirates.
"I told them to go ahead and take the engine. Just leave the boat, so we could live, but they buss the shot and I realise them men were serious, so I jumped out of the boat too.
"The current was pulling down off La Brea and if we didn’t fight that current and keep at a level we would have died. It's like a slow death, somebody killing you. I kept telling my sailor I feeling to give up, but he kept telling me 'boy, study your children'," Sankar wept.
His daughters aged three and four were at home with his wife, Anisa. The family lives in a plywood shack on the bank of the Woodland River.
Sankar said he felt disappointed that there was no Coast Guard to rescue them.
"I working in the sea since 2007, and I have never seen a police boat in the Gulf yet," he added.
Meanwhile, Phillip said he was determined to survive and by dawn, they were rescued by an Otaheite fisherman.
Both Sumair and Phillip said they were reluctant to go back to the sea because it was too dangerous for honest fishermen.
When Guardian Media visited Sankar's wife, she was cooking their catch.
"I am always afraid when he goes out. It's 50/50 when they go to sea because we are never sure if they coming back. I tell him to stay home, the children will live. We will find a way," she cried.
Anisa said she was grateful that her husband survived, as she did not know how to care for her children on her own. She said times were tough but despite everything, they wanted to make a good life for their children.
She said she was hoping that someone could offer them another job because all they wanted to do was to earn an honest dollar.
Anyone wanting to assist Sankar and Phillip can call 319-9175 or 289-6523.
