The Life of Fishermen in the Little Rome - Negombo.

Negombo is a traditional fishing town which is located nearly 35 km far from the commercial city of Colombo in Sri Lanka. The economy of the town mainly based on the tourism and fishing industry.

The majority of the town is Roman Catholics but the Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims also live in the same town peacefully building brotherhood with each other. Negombo is also called as the 'little Rome' due to the majority of Roman Catholics.

There are many tourist attractions in Negombo. The old Dutch Fort gate, the Dutch canal, old churches and fishing villages are some of them.

The fishing families of the Negombo lagoon who live in the small, thatched palm houses in the villages are struggling so much to fulfill their basic requirements and to bear up their daily expenses.

The fishermen face obstacles each and every day in their voyages putting their lives into risks. The sudden rain and wind storms can cause to lose their lives too. Though they return facing such difficulties somedays they are lucky enough to bring good harvest of fish but somedays they fail. Not only that though the market prices of fish are so high the fishermen who work in boats on daily basis are paid low wages by the boat owners.

They work hard from the morning till night for bread.  Not only fishing but also pulling the net, grouping the fish, selling them are also parts of the hard lives of fishermen. They go for sailing  with the intention of granting better lives for their wives and kids. It is a common sight in the Negombo beach that you can see the wives or kids waiting for their husbands or fathers gazing at the sea.

It's a beautiful view that you may see the cheerful kids of them playing on the salty, sandy beaches of Negombo.

The daily tasks performed by the fishermen will be an eye-catching sight for local and foreign tourists who visit Negombo and they will be able to buy fresh fish from their boats itself.

📷 courtesy: LifeSriLanka - Gamini Mendis.