Fourteen Vietnamese fishermen have finally been released after months of imprisonment in Thailand, but are now burdened with debts borrowed to afford their freedom.

The fishermen, all hailing from the southernmost province of Ca Mau, arrived in Ho Chi Minh City from Don Muang on November 27 after being released on bail from a prison in the southeastern Thai province of Songkhla.

The men were arrested by Thailand’s law enforcement officials for violating Thai waters while hunting for squid on September 18.

They were later sentenced to three months in jail.

They had been imprisoned for 55 days before their families back in Vietnam managed to pay enough money to have them released.

Nine of the 14 fishermen worked on the CM 99693 ship owned by Duong Hoang Du, and five others on the CM 91030 of Truong Cong Luan.

Both of the ship owners are based in Ca Mau's Song Doc Town, where people mostly earn a livelihood by fishing offshore.

Luan ran away after his ship carrying the crew members was towed to Songkhla, whereas Du said he had no idea where his CM 99693 vessel was when they were arrested.

Duong Hoang Huy, captain of the CM 99693, said there were three other ships sailing near the two arrested vessels on the dark night marred by foul weather of September 18, apparently implying they only entered the Thai waters accidentally and unconsciously.

“We notified each other that some Thai law enforcement ships were coming, and we both rushed toward Vietnamese waters when they approached,” the 24-year-old recalled.

However, all five Vietnamese boats were captured after a short chase, Huy said.

“People in military uniform jumped on to our boat, asking us to go to their ship at gunpoint,” Huy said.

“On their ship, we had our hands tied to our back, and my older brother Duong Hoang Huu was hit on his back with a buttstock when he raised his head.”

Nguyen Van Hien, one of the fishermen on the CM 99693 ship, said all of them were exposed to harsh weather on the Thai boat for almost 24 hours before they were fed with a bowl of porridge.

They were then all sent to prison in Songkhla to serve their three-month jail term the following day, Hien said.

Pay for release

News of the arrest of the fishermen was soon sent to their hometown, leaving their families in shock and grief.

The first thing Tran Thi Du, mother of the Huy and Huu brothers, did was to look for a source who could help bring her two sons back, albeit for a costly price.

Du finally found a source, who asked for VND70 million (US$3,125) to release Huy, as he was the ship captain, she told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

For Huu and other fishermen, the price was around VND15 million ($670) each, Du said.

The mother eventually had to “borrow from all possible sources” to collect around VND100 million ($4,464) to ‘rescue’ her sons and Thai Van An, who was on the same ship with Huu.

An was arrested while his wife was expecting their third child and had to struggle to make ends meet.

“An told me to ask my mother to pay for his release as his wife could not do so, and promised to pay me back,” Huu told Tuoi Tre.

“I did as he wished, even though I knew for sure he will never be able to return the money, given his hard life.”

Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Ut had to borrow VND12 million ($536) from a loan shark to afford the release of her husband, Nguyen Van Hien.

“My husband is still luckier than many other old fishermen, who may have to stay in jail forever as they will never have enough money,” Ut said.

For fishermen in Song Doc, being arrested for violating the waters of other countries is not uncommon, and they only see it as a mishap, after which they will still sail offshore to earn a livelihood.

“I do not know how to find the money for my family alternatively,” Hien said.

From January 2010 to November 2015, 248 boats with 2,269 fishermen in Ca Mau have been arrested overseas, 159 boats and 1,753 fishermen of which were held by Thailand, according to a report by the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Thai side has agreed to release 36 ships and confiscate 151 other boats.

In the meantime, 26 ships of Ca Mau fishermen were seized by Malaysia, while Cambodia has released all of the 18 boats it had arrested during the same period.

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