25 years later, Tamil boat people live the dream

[CHIMO]

It’s never a good time to be in a lifeboat over the Atlantic. But in August 1986, it was as bad as it could be: cold, windy and foggy.

One hundred and fifty-five people sat cheek by jowl in two lifeboats for three days and three nights that month. Some held hands, others prayed, as waves slammed into the sides of the boats. They had no food, little drinking water, just the clothes on their back.

They had almost given hope of rescue when the captain of a fishing boat, about six nautical miles off St. Shotts, Nfld., spotted them. His crew fed them before taking them ashore a few hours later.

The Tamil refugees had finally arrived in Canada.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1038325--25-years-later-tamil-boat-people-live-the-dream