Parola 119.Indd
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�������������������������������������������������������� Double Issue NO: 119 July - October 2003 PIRACY SOARS AS VIOLENCE AGAINST SEAFARERS INTENSIFIES London, 31 October 2003. In its latest quarterly piracy report, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported that numbers of piracy attacks on shipping throughout the world reached a record 344 in the first nine months of 2003, with Indonesian waters remaining the most dangerous. The alarming escalation of violence against seafarers was already announced by the IMB in July this year in its report “Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships”, which showed a rising toll of dead and injured seamen as the number of incidents in which firearms were used rose. IMB Director Captain Pottengal Mukundan said: “Levels of violence have increased significantly.” He instanced as typical incidents the fatal shooting in the head of a ship’s officer on board a tanker off Santos, and the abduction of crew for ransom off Nigeria where their vessel was run aground. In the report covering the first six months of 2003, the IMB says that a total of 16 seafarers were killed in piratical attacks, 20 were reported missing, and 52 were injured. Numbers taken hostage more than doubled to 193. Pirates fired a hail of bullets from automatic weapons at a chemical tanker off Indonesia in an attempt to force it to stop. A ship’s engineer was hit and was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment. The figures were the worst for a six months period since the IMB, a specialized division of the International Chamber of Commerce, started compiling global piracy statistics in 1991. The number of attacks rose 37% compared with 171 during the corresponding period in 2002, when six crew members were killed. More attacks were reported off Indonesia than anywhere else in the world, which accounted for more than one quarter of the world total with 64 incidents. These included 43 ships boarded, four hijacked and attempted attacks on a further 17 ships. The IMB also warned that attacks by pirates against tankers in Indonesian waters could lead to an environmental disaster. Vulnerable vessels, such as a gas tanker and chemical tankers, have been targeted by heavily armed pirate gangs. Among other piracy-prone areas, attacks doubled off Bangladesh where the number of attacks doubled to 23. Nigeria and India, with 18 attacks each, occupy third place in the table. The report identifies 26 ports and anchorages that are the most prone to attacks. Chittagong, Lagos, Cochin, Chennai, Dakar and Rio Haina headed the list. (From ICC IMB website: iccwbo.org/index_ccs.asp) > INSIDE SPECIALS < PICTORIAL: ABSENTEE VOTING REGISTRATION ANNOUNCEMENT FOR ALL INDONESIAN SEAFARERS PSAP CONFERENCE REPORT ON OFW & SEAFARERS’ REMITTANCES Parola no.119 - July - October 2003 - Page 1 PSAP - TASK FORCE MARITIME VOTE SPEARHEADS SEAFARERS’ REGISTRATION IN ROTTERDAM “Mga kapwang marino, kailangan bumoto tayo at ang ating mga pamilya sa 2004 national elections. Tayo na at magrehistro!” This was the call of the first group of Filipino seafarers who traveled all the way to the Philippine Embassy in the Netherlands on August 4 to register as absentee voters for the May 10, 2004 Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands Romeo Arguelles, and other embassy Philippine national elections. staff , with Task Force volunteers and seafarer-registrants Under Republic Act 9189, the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003, seafarers can now exercise their right of suffrage abroad, and vote for President, Vice President, Senators, and Party-list representatives in Congress. They will be able to cast their votes anytime from March 12 to May 10 next year. Under this law, “seafarers” are defined as including all sea-based OFWs working on rigs and other offshore installations. The registration period for absentee voters started on August 1 and will continue up to September 30. Seafarers who were visiting the Netherlands were able to register closer to port as a new registration center was set up in Rotterdam. Thanks to the efforts of concerned groups like the Task Force Maritime Vote, the COMELEC approved in mid-August the establishment of a registration center in Rotterdam. Filipinos in the Netherlands launched the Task Force Maritime Vote whose primary mission is to assist seafarers and sea-based OFWs exercise their overseas voting rights. The Task Force (TFMV), which is supported by the Philippine Seafarers Assistance Programme (PSAP/ PAROLA), extends all manner of help to seafarers and off-shore OFWs by way of information, advice, transportation, and logistical support during the registration and voting periods. It is a non-partisan and non- political group and will not campaign for or against any candidate or political party. The Philippine Embassy in the Netherlands gave the Task Force its full encouragement and support. A Report from the TASK FORCE Of the 532 absentee-voter registrants in the Netherlands, 214, or roughly half, were seafarers. Throughout the registration period, the Task Force visited a total of 61 ships with Filipino crew. Of these 61, only the crew of 19 ships were permitted shore leave or found the time to register. There were also about a dozen seafarers in the maritime hotel (in-transit status) who were able to register. The ferrying of seafarers to the registration centres and back to their ships accounted for an estimated 7,500 kilometres of Task Force travelling Special arrangements were made with high-level ship management in 3 instances for a mass registration of vessel crew: the “Pride of Rotterdam”; Stena Line; and the “Solitaire”. In the case of the Stena Line, the registration took place along side ship and in the case of the Solitaire, the registration machines were installed on-board. On September 28, the Task Force assisted the Commission on Filipino Migrant Workers in the mobilization in Amsterdam. Filipino seafarers in general have expressed great interest in the AV registration process and were very keen to participate in the exercise. However, there were many constraints on the ground which they faced and which prevented them from leaving ship: e.g. (1) Captains did not allow their crew to take shore leave outside Rotterdam/the port area; (2) The work routine of seafarers while the ship is alongside is heavy and sometimes even more demanding that their work routine at sea. Many seafarers preferred to use their “free time” either resting aboard or else go sight-seeing at the city Cont’d on next page Parola no.119 - July - October 2003 - Page 2 EDITORIAL LET US WORK HARDER FOR THE REALIZATION OF THE MARITIME VOTE IN THE PHILIPPINES Magulo na naman! Lokohan na naman! Eleksyon na naman po! So why should seafarers and their families bother with elections and tiresome politicians? To be empowered. That is a short answer to the question why anyone should bother to register and vote in the 2004 Philippine elections, and in all coming elections. Empowerment means participation in decision-making. And for Filipinos at home and overseas, what better way to participate in the nation’s decision-making than by helping choose their next set of leaders? To be indifferent to elections in the country will only make politics more dirty than it already is. The only way to make politics clean and truly democratic is for each one to sincerely do his or her little part of contributing a voice to the political process. The vision of a Philippines that is free from poverty, war and corruption can only be attained if people are empowered. For seafarers in particular, it is very critical for them to be recognized as a voting bloc. Would it not be great if seafarers and their families are perceived by the public and by politicians especially as capable of delivering a strong vote - “the maritime vote” - similar to the fabled “Iglesia vote” or “Ilocano vote”? The objective, of course, is not just to show that they can be united in their choice of national leaders, whether for President or Senator or party-list congressman. More importantly, the power of a “maritime vote” will force politicians and the government as a whole to listen to the numerous needs and grievances of seafarers and their families, and to adopt and implement policies that will meet these needs and collective sentiments in the most meaningful way possible. As it is, there is still a lot to be done to make the “maritime vote” a reality. It is reported that less than 2,000 seafarers worldwide have registered under the new Absentee Voting Law. But that is just a start. Around the country, seafarers’ families are slowly but surely organizing themselves. It is only a matter of time and right initiatives before seafarers and their families will be recognized as a political force in their own right. Seafarers and their families yearn for a proud, strong and caring Philippine Republic. They are global Filipinos in every sense. O ano, empowered ka na ba? TASK FORCE: from page 2 center. To meet the welfare need, what the TFMV usually did was to accompany seafarers for a brief sightseeing after registration; (3) The main challenge was to convince the captain/master that the AV registration was meaningful and worthwhile. A majority of the captains agreed that the AV exercise is a good initiative. One Ukrainian captain remarked that the work of the TFMV was ‘mission impossible’. Working closely with the embassy proved to be very rewarding; even the embassy personnel appreciated with a clearer view the difficulties and practical challenges involved in the case of seafarer registrations. It was a labour-intensive and financially expensive endeavour, but one that is more than justified by the sense of empowerment felt and shared by the many seafarers who took precious time out to register.