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Matthew Vella
Mumbai filmmakers are getting ready to relive the horror of the tragedy of the Yiohan, the boat carrying hundreds of fleeing Indian, Pakistani and Bengali migrants across the Mediterranean to Italy.
Dubbed the ‘Malta boat tragedy’, in which nearly 300 Asian immigrants drowned on Christmas Day 1996, the Yiohan horror will be revisited in a Bollywood screen adaptation by big-name Indian and Pakistani actors.
The tragedy occurred when, in bad weather conditions, 283 immigrants out of 450 from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were transferred from the Yiohan, captained by Youssef El Hallal, to another boat – a former RAF search and rescue launch – on the night of Christmas day 1996. Before the transfer could take place the two boats collided sending the Yiohan with most of the immigrants inside it to the bottom of the sea. It was the biggest maritime disaster in the Mediterranean since the Second World War.
The 200 million Indian rupee (Lm1.5 million) film, ‘Kaafila’ (Caravan), will feature actors Sunny Deol and Sana Nawaz.
Sheik Ahmed Turab, 44, a Maltese of Pakistani origin who was acquitted of voluntary mass homicide for the his involvement in the Yiohan tragedy, told MaltaToday he has not yet been called by the producers of ‘Kaafila’. Turab said he would expect that he could give his version of the events about what happened.
Turab said he had already been consulted on another film, ‘Umeed’, about the events.
St Edward’s-educated Turab, is refusing to attend court proceedings in Italy for his involvement, since he argues that he has already been acquitted of voluntary mass homicide – he had told MaltaToday previously that he saw no reason why he should be held responsible for the deaths as he claims he did everything in his power to prevent them, but could face extradition proceedings if found guilty in Syracuse.
In Malta it is not possible to try someone for the same or similar charges twice. The Italian court in Syracuse is trying Turab for involuntary homicide, a different charge from the one he was previously acquitted of.
matthew@newsworksltd.com
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