These are people who spend weeks or months at a time out in the open ocean, with none other than the crew they sail with being the main reason we don’t hear about seafarers. This is also a form of isolation that they experience and need to be strong mentally to be able to cope with it.
This is the main reason why we don’t hear about seafarers. They spend many months out at sea and when they return, they want to spend the little time they get with their family and loved ones. People from coastal areas may have a better idea of a sea farers life but inland dwellers would have a faint idea concerning sea farers lives.
This reason makes people think sea farers well being is not being looked after since they live out at sea but this is not true at all. IMO and other marine organizations have made laws that protect the seafarer from exploitation. They understand the requirements a human being needs to be able to work productively. Since they spend long periods of time out of sight this does not mean they are out of mind.
Most if not all basic requirements are today provided on board marine vessels. A wide variety of food and basic necessities are provided. Technology has played a major part in comforting crew members since facilities such as internet, phone calls and video calling is available for sailors to communicate with loved ones. These facilities may sound very irrelevant to the common person but to sailors the opportunity to speak to a loved one gives the person lots of encouragement and strength to continue working.
Their employers too have added many facilities to boost the sailor’s morals. Modern recreation facilities among other facilities are all techniques to comport sailors making them serve on a vessel for longer periods.
Depending on the vessel a sailor works on some will range from day to day voyages with sailors spending there night at home to vessels that are too big to enter harbors thus crew spend many months on board sometimes not being able to even see land for months at a time. These are the sailors most people don’t hear about; friend and family comprehend with separations of up to a year at a time. On return to land the sailor has few moments to share with explaining his disappearance instead they spend time with people close to them. Many of us are not willing to spend even a few weeks away from family; this means these people make big sacrifices to ensure we are supplied with imported materials. On the seafarer’s day 25th June, dedicated to them by the IMO, let us all join hands and so our thanks and gratitude to them for the brave work they do for us. We can do this by thanking them in general over the mass media or social networks so that they now we do care.
Why We Don’t Hear Enough About Seafarers?,
