Kenyan fishers working aboard Chinese trawlers in the Indian Ocean report widespread mistreatment and abuse by their Chinese managers, even threats of being pushed overboard, according to a story published in today’s Nation newspaper.
In addition to the alleged maltreatment, the sailors also said the trawlers they worked on engaged in mysterious trading activities with other ships. “At night the vessels exchange suspicious goods with other vessels. We wondered why whenever we were in fishing grounds, everything was ready but the vessels did not fish for almost a month stationed in the same spot,” said one sailor. “We could see foreign vessels exchanging goods wrapped in boxes and sacks whose contents were suspicious,” he added.
