Thomas Kocherry, a social activist, priest and lawyer who worked on issues related to small-scale fishing communities around the world, passed away on 3 May 2014.
Kocherry helped found the Kerala Swatantra Matsyathozhilali Federation and was a Special Invitee to the World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP) and an Executive Committee Member of the National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF), India.
The following tribute comes from Naseegh Jaffer and Sherry Pictou, Co-Chairpersons of WFFP:
It is with the greatest sadness that we hear about the passing of Thomas Kocherry. It was just yesterday that he joined the co-ordinating committee of the World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP) in a lively telephonic conference discussion on issues that face small-scale fishers across the world. Today he is no more and all of us in the WFFP are shocked and mourn the loss of a pioneer of our organization.
His passing is an intimate loss for fisherfolk across the world.
Thomas was a hardened soldier in the fight for the rights of fishers and poor people. His very existence echoed the plight of the poor. He was never a person to indulge in luxury. Whenever the WFFP met internationally, he was always in the frontline of not wasting. All his international work reflected the life of the poor. We in the WFFP can attest to this and we value this personal attribute that he instilled in our organization.
As tough as a person as he was, he also stood tall in the fight against the exploitation of marginalized people. Even though he will be modest about it, we know that he has made an indelible impact in the fight for a better life for fishers in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Canada and all over the world.
For us in the WFFP, the legacy of Thomas Kocherry will continue to stand tall.
While we mourn his passing, we also celebrate the great contribution that he made in the struggle for human rights the world over. His absence will surely be missed.
See also:
http://nafso-convenersdiary.blogspot.in/2014/05/good-bye-my-dear-fr-thomas-kocherry.html
http://www.countercurrents.org/kocherry030514.htm
ICSF 2014