PCT Seamen’s/Fishermen’s Service Center Serves Migrant Fishermen With Health Examination, Hair Cut, Banquet And A Documentary Film – The Cries of Sea

漁工朋友長期在海上工作,難得修整儀容,服務中心貼心提供義剪及健康檢測。(攝影/林婉婷)

Taiwan Church News
3409 Edition
June 26 – July 2, 2017
Church Ministry

PCT Seamen’s/Fishermen’s Service Center Serves Migrant Fishermen With Health Examination, Hair Cut, Banquet And A Documentary Film – The Cries of Sea

Reported by Lin Wang-ting

As June is usually the annual harvest season for squid fishing, flocks of migrant fishermen could be seen busy loading goods in the Chien-jen harbour of Kaohsiung City.

On June 24, PCT Seamen’s/Fishermen’s Service Center held a charity event, entitled as “Let’s care for each other and listen to The Cries of Sea“, serving the migrant fishermen with free health examination(including blood glucose, blood pressure, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis and foot pressure test), haircut, banquet and a documentary – The Cries of Sea – based on true slavery-like stories of Indonesian migrant fishermen toiling on global oceans for Taiwan
fishing companies from 2013 to 2016.

In the documentary “The Cries of Sea – a story of Indonesia crews in Taiwan“, directed and produced by an Indonesian-Chinese director Mr Richard Yanato, working conditions of Indonesian crew employed by Taiwan fishing companies are horrendously inhumane: the crews have to work 8 to 12 months on the ship; only 4 hours to sleep per day in the busy months; no communication allowed to their families or outside world except gambling and
alcoholics on board; minimum salary per month is only US$ 150; being exploited by a high brokerage fees; working without any insurance or official registration by Taiwan authority.

Comparing to the legal treatments of those fishermen, registered officially to work within Taiwan’s water territory, who are assured to have a minimum wage of US$ 450 salary per month, 10 hours duty-off per day and a medicare insurance covered by the employer, Mrs Dye Hua-chu, director of PCT Seamen’s/Fishermen’s Service Center, pointed out that how to reach these basic terms for those migrant crews working at distant oceans for Taiwan shipping companies is the most critical challenge and mission now.

Translated by Peter Wolfe

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