Grim conditions for sailors
- Published in General
On seven white, medium-sized fishing boats, anchored and buoyed in Cape Town harbour, 75 men, have been stranded thousands of kilometers away from their home country. These seven ships, nearly fifty metres in length and ten in width, play host to these men, abandoned, for the most part, by the company whose fishing interests brought them to the Cape's shores.
Most of them are Indonesian, and some Taiwanese. These men are the deserted crews of these seven fishing boats, left with no provisions, no pay and no way of getting back home. The sailors have been restricted from leaving the ship after the discovery of illegal fish by harbour police and some sailors without the proper documentation to do such work.
The vessels docked into Cape Town harbour on the 22 October 2013. Border police proceeded to question the crew to understand the reason for their arrival. Ten of the 75 individuals were discovered to not have any identification with them. Taking me on what seemed to be a proud tour of the third and only active boat in the grouping, a young man, named Reski, pointed out the almost comically small facilities on board.
"We sleep here," he said after leading me into a cramped sleeping area, wooden cots stacked next to one another. I doubt half of the length of my legs would fit in one of these. In breadth they are not much more giving either, in a space I estimated to be about ten square metres, eleven men bunk up each night. Around the small boat we went, Reski eagerly pointing out each feature, even introducing me to the ship's reclusive engineer, Nahudin. The Taiwanese engineer, Reski said, spent all of his days in the engine room, because he did not know what else to do now that the vessels were indefinitely docked.
Along the way I was introduced to young men, likely not much younger or older than myself, stranded in a foreign country. Energetic hand taking and utterances of "Asalaamu Alaykoem" were heard everywhere. But Mariam Augustus, wife of Cassiem Augustus, the man who arranged my entry into the harbor, says the eagerness to interact with new people is a side effect of these young men being holed up at sea for such long periods of time.
"Some of these men have not seen the shore for five or seven years, because the [company] tricks them into working just outside the shore in waters near the coast. Who regulates that?" she explained at the Seamen's Mission in the harbor. "This happens on our shore, and all over the world. But by the time that they come in here, this is what we get. What else can you call it but a disaster? It's slave labour."
One of the fishermen, only willing to give his first name, Yusuf, relays the events leading up to their abandonment by their shipping company: "There were two [boats] inside the border, but they were stopped by the police because they had no passports on board [with the illegal] fish. Four of my friends didn't have passports because one ship burned down in the ocean. So only two boats were caught by the police, and the rest were waiting outside so that they could go in. But they were caught too," Yusuf explained.
Currently Cassiem Augustus, a port inspector and member of the International Transport Workers Union is the main liaison for these more than seventy men. He says he and the union are aiming to push the matter through the Western Cape High Court as an urgent matter so that each of the fishermen is allowed to return home.
He said after being taken to task by South African authorities, representatives of the boats' owners promised to help their employees repatriate but their promise was soon reneged upon. "The owners engaged with the [Indonesian] embassy, after being asked what their plan is they promised … they would pay the people and repatriate them ship by ship. They were asked to put that promise in black and white, but after agreeing, by the weekend they had left already," Cassiem said.
Currently, NGO Nakhlistan is assisting the men by providing them with meals and other basic supplies. VOC News contacted the South African Maritime Safety Authority and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for answers but has yet to receive a formal response. VOC (Andriques Che Petersen)
As a feeding scheme, well respected for its immense effort to feed thousands especially on the occasion of Eidul Fitr and Eidul Adha, Nakhlistan - an NGO and PBO status - stepped up to assist when that sees 75 Indonesian sailors were stranded in the Cape recently. According to Nakhlistan, PRO, Fatima Alie, this was a natural extension of their task to see to the needs of the destitute.
THe sailors crew members of seven fishing vessels and was brought to Nakhlistan's attention. "Since Sunday 17 November 2013, we have been feeding these seamen, some of whom have not seen their families for up to five years. The owners of these seven vessels have abandoned the vessels and the crew members."
Meanwhile, the NGO's is strapped, Allie added. "There is just so much that Nakhlistan can do to assist in the interim. Thus far, we have supplied toiletries, rice, chicken, meat, noodles, oil, coffee, tea, sugar, milk and various vegetables. If you are able to assist, please contact Nakhlistan on 083 231 9279, email info@nakhlistan.org.za or log onto www.nakhlistan.org.za," she urged. VOC
About seventy-five Indonesian sailors are stranded on seven ships in Cape Town harbour after police made discoveries of illegal fish and found some individuals not in possession of passports or identification documents. The sailors have been restricted from leaving the ship and now fear starvation as the resources on the ship are quickly diminishing.
According to Cassiem Augustus, a member of the International Transport Workers Federation, a trade union affiliated with the South African Trade Union and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), the illegal fish immediately sparked the concern from the Sea Fisheries who then proceeded to detain all crew members. The vessels docked into Cape Town harbour on the 22 October 2013, with some of the sailors on board without their identity documents and some illegal fish aboard.
Border police then proceeded to interrogate the crew to understand the reasons for their arrival. Ten of the 75 individuals were discovered to not have any identification documents with them, said Augustus. "Since the sailors were not allowed to leave the ship until legalities are sorted, as such, they are running out of food, water and now the electricity supply from the city," he said.
Augustus and his wife have now taken it upon themselves to buy food and water for the sailors out of their own pockets. However, they have now received help from local NGO Nakhlistan. The organisation's public relations officer Fatima Allie said they provided the crew with a pot of akhni which will feed the crew for two days. More food is being donated from the organisation which will be managed by Augustus and his wife Maryam. The two have worked tirelessly in trying to assist the sailors.
Augustus explained that the sailors who have been working for five years and others for 11 months, allegedly received no pay from their agents. Since the ship docked in Cape Town, the agents have allegedly relinquished all responsibilities in ensuring the safety of the sailors. "Not much can be done now until the sailors are arrested and become the responsibility of the court. Until then, the sailors rely on the generosity of others as their fate is unknown," said Augustus.
While most of the crew are Indonesian, their captains are Taiwanese and Chinese. According to Augustus, those individuals on the ships who do not have identification documents were saved as their ship was sinking. Police are now investigating when the individuals can be sent home and what laws have been broken upon their arrival. VOC
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