While Goan seafarers are stranded overseas, be it on their vessels or in foreign countries, their family members are worried in Goa and accuse Chief Minister Pramod Sawant of abdicating his responsibility for ethnic Goans while pampering the migrants who have sullied the face of Goa.
Around 20 families from Chandor whose near or dear ones are on board the ship said they would be happier and at comfort if they were quarantined in Goa instead of even nearby Mumbai. They were apprehensive of Mumbai has it has emerged as hotspot of Corona infection in India.
“Chief Minister’s assurance that they will be in India in 10 days is more upsetting as that is a long time and they should have been brought immediately, particularly since foreign flights have landed in Goa to take back their nationals,” said Fanny D’Silva whose son had just joined the ship.
Reve Furtado argued that the stranded seamen tell them that all is well to just prevent them from worrying about their well-being. “Actually from their friends we have come to know that many of them are not even getting proper meals or water,” she said.
“We have been told that on one ship the crew members were served noodles boiled in salted water and mashed potatoes.” disclosed Jennifer Furtado who also questioned the Centre’s refusal to allow Indian seafarers to disembark in Goa, which has an international airport and also a port that had foreign cruise vessels halting there.
All of them also questioned the government’s decision to ask the seafarers to pay for their quarantine. “Why should these Goan boys pay for the quarantine facilities when migrants are freely lodged at the indoor stadium in Navelim and are provided free food,” asked Fanny.
While Freeda Peixote whose husband is on board a ship said he has not been paid his salary Vincent Peixote pointed out that seafarers from other countries have been taken to their homeland by their governments while only Indian seafarers have been totally ignored by their government.
Reve Furtado raised another significant point when she pointed out about many seafarers who are suffering from illness like diabetes, blood pressure, etc. “They take the required stock of medicine when they join their duties. Their stock is either over now or about to get over and where will they get fresh stock?” she asked.
Social activist Kenneth Silveira ridiculed the government and MLAs attempts to collect information about seafarers on board through their family members at home. “All the information is there with the Director General of Shipping and the Chief Minister should have just called that office and got the information instead of taxing the already burdened family members of stranded seafarers,” he said.
Joaquim Gomes from Margao whose son is working for the Royal Carribean Cruises and who is stranded in Australia said the company has arranged for a ship to collect all Indian crew members and will land in India on May 3 with them. “However, I feel it would be better if my son remains on the ship as they are very safe and comfortable there,” he said.
While pointing out that Mumbai where they will disembark in India has emerged as hot spot for the virus, Joaquim also pointed out the crowd that had gathered in the city after the Prime Minister’s recent address and said there were more risks of contracting the virus in India then on board the ship.
Cliffton Barreto from Navelim who works for the Royal Caribbean Cruises said there was no crisis on board the vessels but admitted that there is panic amongst the crew members more because they keep getting all wrong information thanks to the social media over which nobody has any control.
“The seafarers have got free food, accommodation and WiFi, which is a blessing and a cruse too as they get all nonsense on social media,” said Cliffton adding that being alone in the cabin would be stressful to Goans who are used to having company always and said that no salary would also be depressing to some.
Addy Fernandes a youngster from Dramapur who is in quarantine on board the Indian ship Kanika at Mumbai said they are literally in quarantine since March 5 when they left from Dubai but disclosed that they are medically tested twice a day with their temperature checked.
While disclosing that there are 93 Goan crew members on the ship, he said it would have been better if they were quarantined in Goa instead of Mumbai even though they have plenty of food stored and they get their regular meals.
“There are few crew members who are on duty and I think the cooks will be paid their salaries but there is no clarity about the other crew members,” he said.
Eleasar D’Silva who had just got off his ship disclosed that his friends on board have told him that their salaries have been stopped and they are in quarantine for nearly a month. “Though they are being served food, water is scarce and they have ration it out,” he said.
Andrew D’Silva whose two sons are on board while two had returned home before the lockdown said it would be better if the seafarers are brought home as they would at least get proper meals at home. His wife however was confused as her sons have told her that they are well on board but she keeps hearing horror stories from others.
Jaret de Silva who is working as an Officer for Royal Caribbean Cruises said those on board the shops are better off there then returning home and opined that the companies will take at least one year to recover and renew seafarers contract and they would give priority to those who remained on board.
“There is panic amongst the seafarers and this is because most of the cruise vessels are in America at present from where they were to sail to either the Mediterranean or Alaska and America has tightened its policies as the disease is spreading fast there,” he said.
Both Joaquim and Jaret termed the protest by seafarer’s family members before the chief minister’s bungalow “a political gimmick” and added that it was sheer stupidity as the State government has no powers to decide upon the matter and it was for the Union government to decide.
Dixon Vaz who has been taking up the issues of seafarers in Goa said the situation on board the vessel keeps changing every day and said most of the 50 nationalities that were working on the ships have returned to their homeland with Indians being the only ones still stranded on their ships.
Venzy Viegas, a master mariner who has also been taking up the issues of seafarers pointed out that a ready plan of action was submitted to the government to bring back the seafarers and lamented that the Goa government that could have done a lot has only done “little”.
“The Goa government has to show that is has facilities to quarantine the seafarers when they return and only then will permission be given to bring back the seafarers,” said Venzy. He added that a bus could pick up the arriving seafarers at the runaway itself and take them to the quarantine centre as has been done in the USA.
But as the debate goes on about the stranded seafarers there are quite a number of Goan who are wary of bringing them to Goa directly as in Goa the Covid 19 cases have been only found in people who came from overseas and people fear that these seafarers will have the virus in them.
Some also justified the paid quarantine facility policy of the government and pointed out that the seafarers while they were working were not bothered about Goa or the government and only now that there is a problem they want the government to help them.
However, these naysayers are few and the fact remains that the family members of the seafarers are very worried with some of them fearing that there may be suicides too either amongst those on the ship or those down in Goa due to the tension.
The Goa Seamen Association of India that has been taking up the issues along with Dixon and Venzy to the government has also recently circulated widely, a form that the government has emailed them, which has to be filled by the stranded seafarers with updates about their situation and location. They say, they have been informed by the government that this will be used to help bring Goan seafarers home but time will tell how and when that will happen.
