By Dennis R. Gorecho
Public health emergencies like the Covid-19 create stressful times for people and communities. However, the pandemic has brought about an unwelcome development even among hospitable people like Filipinos—social stigma and discrimination against certain sectors, including seafarers.
Seafarers are also on the frontline of the response to the pandemic and their protection is vital to ensure that significant services will continue.
Shipping is the lifeblood of the global economy. Ships transport almost 90 percent of the world’s trade, which include food, medicine, energy and raw materials, as well as manufactured goods and components.
Seafarers are not only responsible for the operations of such ships but are also responsible for the safe and smooth delivery of the cargo.
Currently, there’s one Filipino out of every four or five seafarers on board a ship (whether cargo or cruise), which means that the largest population of crew members comes from the Philippines.
There are over 375,000 deployed Filipino seafarers that contribute about $6.14 billion in remittances in 2018.
However, port restrictions and canceled flights are straining the ability of shipping firms to replace seafarers, further weakening global supply chains.
Ports in some parts of the world have refused to allow some ships to enter because they had previously docked in areas affected by Covid-19, preventing vessels from obtaining essential supplies.
“Seafarers are just as worthy as everyone else and should be treated with dignity and respect to ensure that they can continue to provide their vital services to the world,” the Special Tripartite Committee of the Maritime Labor Convention said in a statement.
There are reports that some suppliers have been prevented from boarding ships to give masks, overalls and other personal protective equipment to crews.
ILO Director-General Guy Ryder has asked governments “to ensure that, in these challenging times, seafarers are adequately protected from the Covid-19 pandemic, have access to medical care, and can travel to and from their ships, as necessary, in order to continue to play their crucial role.”
He added that seafarers should be treated as “key workers” and be exempted from travel restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Restrictions will cripple not only seafarers but also countries that rely on overseas supplies.
In the case of cruise ships, thousands of passengers and crew members remained on board worldwide, with workers representing dozens of countries and nationalities, due to port and border closures as well as flight restrictions.
There were 537 Filipino seafarers on board Diamond Princess that was placed under two weeks quarantine after it docked in Yokohama Bay in February. At least 25 other cruise ships have been later confirmed with Covid-19 cases.
Cruise ships are often settings for outbreaks of infectious diseases because of their closed environment, contact between travellers from many countries, and crew transfers between ships. Cruise ships bring diverse populations into proximity for many days, facilitating transmission of respiratory illness.
Due to halted operations of cruise ships, thousands of seafarers were displaced and began arriving home via charter flights.They boarded onto buses and were placed in hotels by the government under a 14-day preventative quarantine. Thereafter, some have gone back to their families while some are staying in Manila due to the lockdown.
Sadly, some residents have recently rejected the idea of converting hotels into quarantine facilities or temporary shelters for repatriated Filipino seafarers.
Fear and anxiety about a disease can lead to social stigma toward the seafarers. Stigma and discrimination occur because people associate a disease, such as Covid-19, with a specific sector like the seafarers.
Stigma stings everyone by creating fear or anger toward other people. Some of the manifestations of stigma include social avoidance or rejection, physical violence and denials of health care, education, housing or employment.
Discrimination causes further damage by spawning more apprehension or anger—feelings toward people instead of toward the problem.
Filipinos should not give in to fear or panic that lessen our humanity and respect—our seafarers are also our frontliners in our battle against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808 or 09088665786.