Existential Struggles and the Perennial Poverty among Small-Scale Deep-Sea Fishermen: An Ethnographic Study
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Abstract:
Fishing in the sea is one of the high-risk
occupations due to the long hours of work in the harsh and unpredictable weather
of cold, heat, wet and windy, and the difficulty of reaching the shore when emergencies
arise. Recent cyclone Ockhi in December
2017 killed more than 500 fishermen in the South Indian Sea and created havoc in
their lives of many fishing families; however, every day thousands of fishermen
go to the sea for their livelihood, risking their lives and placing their families
at risk. In view of this, the objective of this ethnographic study was to explore
the lifestyle of the deep-sea fishermen in terms of their existential struggles
and the cause of their poverty. Specifically, the study focused on the perennial
poverty and the existential worldview of the people mainly: realities of life struggles,
meaning of life and death situations, examination of their work culture, customs
and rituals, the patterns of thinking and ideas, beliefs, behaviour and knowledge.
The study concludes some unique existential worldview, unconventional concepts of
life and death and their preference for economic needs over survival and safety
needs as defining factors of many of their life struggles. It was also identified
that it is not the earnings, but poor budgeting that perpetuates them in poverty.
The negligence of government’s labour wellbeing measures makes them one of the poorly
organized workforces in India.
Keywords:
Fishermen Problems, Existential Worldview,
High-risk Occupation, Fishing and Economy.
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