But the post mass function was not just a time of felicitations and speeches. Though 20 senior retired seamen were felicitated by Goa Seamen Association of India but the discussion and deliberation at the 400 odd seamen and families attended meeting was interesting.
Ajit Panchwadkar, the Deputy Collector of South Goa and Chief Guest at the function raised a very unique issue, He highlighted how when the seamen are at sea for over nine months, the real hero is the wife of the seamen, who usually as a homemaker not just looks after the family and provides them meals but coordinates the kids tutions, cares for the elderly in the house, manages the finances remitted by her husband, lives without his support, overlooks renovation and construction of the home, sees into the needs of the kids and most importantly waits anxiously for her husband.
“More than a recreation space for retired seamen, there needs to be a special space for wives of seamen, a forum for them to share and help each other, a forum which could help seamen’s wives receive some counseling in their loneliness and a forum where they can find companionship amongst themselves,” asserted Panchwadkar who hailed the seamen for their toil and hard lives and the role of their wives back home.
The Deputy Collector recalled how seamen not just make good salaries on ships but seamen in goa have a tradition to take their loved ones, neighbours, family members and friends also on the ship and seek employment for them too, thus uplifting the entire village population’s standard of living which is a great gesture by seamen.
Panchwadkar also congratulated Dixon Vaz and the entire Goan Seamen Association of India and their entire team for regularly rasing seamen’s concerns and needs with the government.
Panchwadar informed the public how young seamen boys would face hurdles in getting jobs on international vessels as they had only a passport and no seamen books for stamping. An area where the government through its NRI cell intervened and made it possible for them only at a minimum registration fee.
Meanwhile the NRI Commission Director and Senior bureaucrat, U D Kaat informed the gathering that Goa government spends over Rs 500 crore a month in government job salaries and giving out doles and schemes to various people based on schemes.
He said that his department is happy to have intervened and got the monthly allowance to a seamen hiked from Rs 200 to Rs 2000. He asserted that he will continue working for the seamen welfare especially those stuck in far-off lands or affected by any pirates situation.
Fr Jose Antonio Costa, Parish Priest, Chinchinim stated that he is happy that government is looking into the concerns and demands of seafarers at regular babsis and urged seamen to be united and help one and other just as they have been doing and prayed that they stay a united community all along.
Dixn Vaz, President, highlighted what his association has achieved for seamen till date and what proposal it wants to put before the government including asking for a seamen community center merging the seamen commission into the NRI commission.
