This article which appeared recently in a Malayalam newspaper has grabbed my attention. Three families. Three kids with the most innocent and beautiful smiles. But today, the scene has entirely changed. The beauty of these smiles has been faded by the harsh waves of reality. Today, the happiness of these young mothers is replaced by countless tears and the intolerable pain caused by separation. Imagine how tough it would be for them to accept, to digest the fact that their husbands are held captive in the Indonesian jail for something they never did.

The beginning of their suffering dates back to 8th March 2022. These three young men – Jomon, Emmanuel and Sijin were fishermen in the ‘Blessing boat’ of a Kanyakumari resident Maria Jesindas. As fishing opportunities in the Kerala-Tamil Nadu regions were coming down, Maria got his boat registered in the Andaman and was permitted to go fishing up to Banda Aceh of Indonesia.

Off to that miserable day that changed their simple lives forever. It was on 7th March that their boat’s engine stopped working. As they were busily working on...