Filipino seafarers are keeping the wheels of commerce turning during the Covid-19 crisis. But they have a far lower profile than Pinoys providing vital support to the NHS and the hospitality industry. Lower still, is the profile of the small but vital army who support them in the UK.
UK ports alone host thousands of Filipino seafarers – who account for nearly 25% of the world’s estimated 1.6 million seafarers. Covid-19 means that their stay in British ports between voyages can be even more isolated and difficult than usual. But a network of seafarers’ centres – some of them staffed by Filipinos – based in UK ports, are continuing to provide much-needed practical and emotional support to them. This support often goes unrecognised.
What happens at seafarers’ centres?
I have spent the last ten years talking to, and interviewing, Filipino seafarers in seafarers’ centres in the UK and overseas. Seafarers’ centres offer support to thousands of sailors and their families through counselling, legal assistance, spiritual services, among others. They are often run by charitable trusts or religious organisations, such as the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church.
These places are where Filipino sailors normally spend their “shore leave” or the time they are permitted to go on land. They go there to unwind and enjoy some relaxed time with their workmates or seafarers from other ships. They buy beer, crisps and in many centres I have visited, Filipino snacks like Clover, Chippy, Boy Bawang and chicharon, the latter being a particular hit amongst Filipino seafarers.
Unknown to many, some of their staff, volunteers and religious chaplains are Filipinos. Though still a very small number compared to nurses and other health professionals in the UK, Filipinos work in ports and in many seafarer centres in Britain.
Significantly, the centres offer free Wi-Fi facilities, allowing sailors to contact their families back home. This is very important for them because many ships don’t have have Wi-Fi facilities onboard. The Seafarers International Research Centre (SIRC) found in 2018 that only 51% of seafarers surveyed had internet access onboard and only 19% had free and unlimited internet access.
In 2018, I sailed on a one-year-old bulk carrier for six weeks, which had no Wi-Fi facilities. Even where Wi-Fi is available, the connection is often poor and data allowance is limited. The provision of free wi-fi facilities means that seafarers can take advantage of these services to contact family members and friends, download movies, and catch up on news back home.
Filipino volunteers in these centres are mostly husbands or wives of nurses. In some cases, the husbands worked as sailors back in the Philippines before migrating to Britain. Port chaplains are usually sent to the UK by local religious organisations in the Philippines to work in ports here for a number of years. The presence of chaplains and volunteers onboard is always welcomed by the crews as I have witnessed many times as part of my research fieldwork.
Getting out and about
The work of seafarers’ centres may be challenging – but the work of volunteers and staff outside the centres can be even more so. Ports are a risky place to move around, with cranes in operation and the endless flow of vehicles and cargo. Chaplains and volunteers confront these dangers on a daily basis as they go from one ship to another – not simply waiting for Filipinos to come to them. Ships are sometimes moored in hard-to-access areas of the port which require ship visitors to go for long walks on jetties, exposed to the elements. And with mammoth ships, gangways can be challenging to negotiate, especially in rough weather conditions.
Once onboard, chaplains and volunteers need to be able to communicate well with seafarers who could be coming from different countries and whose needs can range widely, from top-up vouchers to counselling.
Based on my own experience, most seafarers only want free transport to the city or maybe mobile phone SIM cards. But in some cases, there are reports of bullying onboard, or unpaid salaries which seafarers confide to ship visitors. These volunteers then find ways to provide assistance by contacting the relevant authorities.
On other occasions, chaplains and volunteers will listen to seafarers as they unburden themselves to them – talking about family problems or coming to terms with the death of loved ones, whose funerals they were unable to attend.
I once visited a sick Filipino seafarer in a hospital with a chaplain. He was on his own and was visibly relieved to see us. And when I talked to him in Filipino, he couldn’t contain his happiness. The sound of your own language in a foreign country really gives great comfort.
Their work has never been more important
Now that shore leave is restricted in many ports because of the virus, the work of Filipino chaplains and volunteers has never been more important to their fellow Pinoys.
When seafarers’ centre staff come aboard to check on the needs of sailors, they bring with them the warmth of hospitality that Filipinos are known for all over the world. In their heavy rucksacks, they carry religious reading materials, newspapers, SIM cards, woolly hats, knitted gloves, bars of chocolates and many more things that bring relief to seafarers – many of whom have probably been at sea for weeks or months before docking.
For Filipino seafarers, meeting a fellow Filipino onboard is a pure gift. Maybe this visitor could help them find Mang Tomas, or maybe chicaron and pinakurat, and if possible, help them send money back home as their child is graduating from college and they desperately want to give them a gift.
The Filipino chaplain or volunteer will find ways to do this. They will move mountains just to be able to help, especially in these most challenging of times. Yes, you will see Filipinos everywhere, even in the most unfamiliar places in the world, and especially in ports in the UK.
Yet as they work in centres and in ports which are often out of the way and inaccessible to people for security reasons, Filipino volunteers remain anonymous to many of us. And whilst we have shown appreciation for NHS workers, for their sacrifice during the Covid-19 crisis, we should also pay tribute to and acknowledge the work of Filipino volunteers and chaplains working in UK ports, as well as in many parts of the world.
