April 30, 2008	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 23, 1429

KARACHI, April 29: A teenaged Indian fisherman, who has been diagnosed with Aids, says that while the city’s juvenile jail offers better living conditions than his hometown in the Indian state of Gujarat, he can’t wait to meet his family.

Seventeen-year-old Narendra alias Bhagan is being released from prison where he remained lodged after being caught with five others for illegally fishing in Pakistani waters a few months back. He is set to fly home and join his family on Wednesday.

The teenager was found to be infected with HIV/AIDS virus and in an advanced stage of the disease during a routine screening of the inmates of the Youthful Offenders Industrial School, commonly known as Juvenile (or Bachcha) jail. His case was processed on humanitarian grounds on a priority basis. Talking to Dawn at the juvenile prison on Tuesday, the boy said he was eager to meet his family – a younger brother and parents. Coming from an extremely poor family, he did not have even charpais or chairs back home in Jambhori Kapidwad village of Vapi Taluka in Valsad district.

He worked on a fishing boat for the past six to seven years and earned between Rs2,500 and Rs3,000 a month. Earlier, he had worked in a bar as a waiter. His brother, Yuwraj, works as a painter and his mother works in a general store. But all their earnings are taken away by his father, Uttam, who spends all the money on alcohol.

Under-nourished and frail-looking Narendra said his lower half was paralysed a couple of years back and he was admitted to a hospital in the town of Daman, near his home, where during his 10 to 15 days’ stay he was administrated a couple of bottles of blood. After that though he was discharged from hospital, he did not recover fully and always had one or another medical problem, particularly permanent itching.

He said that there were more than 30 other Indian juvenile fishermen in the jail with him so he did not feel out of place. Besides, the attitude of Pakistani juvenile inmates and jail staff was also friendly with him, said Narendra.

The jail doctor told Dawn that the disease was in a fairly advanced stage. The boy would have to take medication continuously. During his stay in the jail his condition had deteriorated once as he had a spell of diarrhoea and vomiting and had dehydrated, but he was immediately provided medical assistance and now his condition was stable, the doctor said.

Responding to Dawn queries, IG Prisons Yamin Khan said the boy was sent to the jail by the civil and judicial magistrate, West, under FIR 25/2008 of the Docks police station under Section ¾ and 3/9 of the Fishery Act.

During a random blood screening of the inmates carried out by the HIV/AIDS Control Programme, he was declared to be HIV/AIDS positive on March 27. His case was prepared and, through the Sindh Home Department, sent to the federal interior ministry for the withdrawal of the criminal case and his deportation back home and also for approaching the foreign ministry to take up the matter with the Indian high commission.

Within a day, the entire case was processed and counsellor access was allowed and representatives of the Indian high commission visited the boy for the preparation of his travel documents.

The IHC’s camp office in the city issued Emergency Certificate No 964806 dated April 28, 2008, which says that the EC was being issued to Narendra to facilitate his repatriation to India.

Retired Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, who is running an NGO for the welfare of women and juvenile prisoners, has arranged his Karachi-Mumbai air ticket and Narendra is all set to fly by PK-274 back home and be with his brother and parents on Wednesday.

Mr Khan said that more than 470 Indian fishermen and over 30 juvenile Indian fishermen had been lodged in different city jails for the past two to three years. An IHC team had been allowed to meet them for the verification and preparation of their travel documents so that they could also be repatriated to their country.

He said that similarly there were more than 150 Pakistani fishermen in Indian jails and efforts would be made to bring them home soon.