2013-11-18 Vatican Radio

 

(Vatican Radio)

 

The welfare of workers, and particularly of migrants, was a key issue of concern raised in a meeting Monday between Pope Francis and the Director General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Guy Ryder. Mr. Ryder, who was received in private audience in the Vatican by Pope Francis, told Vatican Radio following that encounter that "we discussed many of the issues that I think the Church shares concerns about with the International Labour Organization. We are very much concerned with promoting decent work in the world at the ILO and Pope Francis spoke about the dignity of work, the importance with which the Church and he personally attaches to the dignity of work and the challenges that that presents in today's world. And we talked particularly about the plight of some of the most vulnerable people in the world. And he spoke particularly about his concerns about human trafficking, and he spoke about (the southern Italian island of) Lampedusa and migrant workers. And I think we shared very much a concern that the way that the global economy is working right now does not always work in favor of those who are weakest and this needs to be corrected."

 

Ryder says another group which sometimes "escapes our attention" are domestic workers: "people who work in private homes often fall beyond the cover of labour legislation or public attention. There are more than fifty million domestic workers in the world. The ILO has recently adopted a convention to protect their rights and I think this was something that together, (the Pope and I) felt was a worthy area of work."

 

The Holy See cooperates with the ILO on matters of justice and peace, promoting the rights of migrants and workers in many areas, particularly in the maritime industry. "The Church has always played a very prominent and very practical... role in looking after seafarers in different circumstances," Ryder observes. "The ILO's own work with the respect to the maritime sector took a big boost when in 2006 actually, we passed a maritime labour convention which is a sort of small revolution I would say, for the maritime industry. For the first time, in one document, you have... a bill of rights of seafarers. It's a dangerous occupation. By definition it's an international sector. And this one bill of seafarers' rights, the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006, I think stands as a real instrument in our joint hands and I think that the Church together with the ILO will be able to use it to advance the welfare of again, a sector of the work force who really do need looking after properly."

"We needed twenty countries to sign up to it before it came into force, to ratify it in our language. That has now happened and actually that's pretty quick for the ILO. Not only is it twenty countries, but they represent a very, very high proportion of the tonnage, that is to say, the overall mercantile fleet in the world. So these things take time, but in fact, by our own standards, we're advancing pretty quickly in making this convention effective. "

Ryder explains the ILO is working to curb phenomena such as human trafficking, child and slave labor while pressing for the respect of the dignity of workers globally. "These are dramatically important things; they deserve our attention. And a phrase that Pope Francis used from (his July 2013 pastoral visit to) Lampedusa I think, is resonated very, very clearly - certainly in my organization: he talked about the danger of the 'globalization of indifference.' That is to say, that we stand back, look at these phenomena and somehow regard them as inevitable or normal in our world. And that is a reaction we must absolutely refuse and react against."

In this interview with Tracey McClure, the ILO Director General speaks about human trafficking and slave labor, Europe's nearly 24% youth unemployment, recent action to promote workers' safety in Asia where hundreds have died in factory fires and work-related accidents, and the 2015 Millenium Development deadline and beyond...

Click here to find a link to an MP3 audio of an interview of Mr. Ryder:

   Courtesy: Blogal.com

By: Carol McPhail

November 12, 2013 

 

   Courtesy: KFDM Channel 6 News

By: Lauren Huet 

       
Crew of Lowland Breeze in Port Arthur, TX

 

 

A crew of Filipino sailors found out about the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan while out at sea. The most they could do to check on and communicate with their families and friends, was e-mail. Now docked in Port Arthur, the sailors are taking advantage of every opportunity to Skype and call their loved ones.

The crew gathers at the Seafarer's Center of Port Arthur, a Christian outreach center that provides free Wi-Fi and a home-like atmosphere for sailors.

Reginald Villaruel, one of the Filipino crew members, says it's difficult to see pictures of the damage, and he wishes he could be home to help.

"It's very difficult, because also, I have a daughter, here, and my wife," he said, pointing to a picture of her on his laptop. In the photo, she's sitting on his wife's lap, and they're in the middle of a damaged room. "Our shop is damaged, so it's very difficult... because we have no electricity, maybe almost one month."

Although crew members could e-mail while at sea, they say they wanted to hear their family members' voices.

"That's why very sad, and very lonely," said Juffran Caeubig. "That's why after we came here, I just called them. I want to call. I want to see if they're okay."

Hearing from family made all the difference.

"I'm happy now we are here every day to communicate. Now all we need is Wi-Fi, and we can communicate with our family," said Villaruel.

"Happy. I'm very happy," agreed Caeubig. "I'm glad also that they are good."

This crew is on contract for nine months. Their contract will be up in April, and then they can return home.

"He really needs to stay on board to make money for his family," Doreen Badeaux explained about one of the crew. "The only reason he was able to have a concrete house is because he's a seafarer. That is one of the best paying jobs in the Philippines."

The crew plans to call their family members before leaving port tonight. Caeubig said this is what he'd say if he could talk to his family:

"To my mother, to take care of themselves. They can recover from the typhoon that comes to the Philippines. And then to my fellow friends, just take care. We will see each other again. Soon," said Caeubig.

 

 

   

I have come to New York to visit two friends, Roger Korner, the director of the United Seamen's Service, and maritime correspondent, Rajesh Joshi. While here, Roger invited me attend the Admiral of the Oceans Seas Dinner, and give the invocation.

 

Often when one thinks of New York, words like "harsh," "impersonal," and "uncaring" come to mind. However, on this visit, God's spirit was moving all around, and blessed me in so many ways.

Arriving at Newark Airport in clerics, I took New Jersey Transit to New York Penn Station. From there, I took the subway to Lexington and 3rd Avenue. I have a friend who has a flat there, and allows me to use it when I come to the city. As I walked the three blocks, from the subway station to the apartment, my eyes met the eyes of a man walking the opposite way. Since I was in clerics, he stopped, and said to me, "I have to witness to everyone. I just came from the doctors, and they have found me cancer-free. God is so good, and I have tell people about it." I smiled, asked him his name, and celebrated the blessing that God poured out on him. Ralph agreed, and after sharing his grace of joy with me, he went on his way.

At the Admiral of the Ocean Seas banquet, there was a group of midshipmen from the US Merchant Marine Academy. I walked over and introduced myself as a member of the Apostleship of the Sea of the United States. I told them of our efforts to reach out to the academies, and let them know that there is a Catholic maritime ministry, that we are in the ports that they would be calling at, and that we wished to share the sacramental life of the Church with them.

I went on and told them that often times, Navy chaplains don't know about the Apostleship of the Sea, and the parish pastors who often offer pastoral care at the academies, are not part of the AOS network, and not familiar with the unique faculties of this Catholic apostolic work.

I went on to explain that AOS has the faculties to train Catholic seafarers as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. They then are entrusted with the Blessed Sacrament, and gather the crew for a Liturgy of the Word service on the ship, and share the Eucharist while at sea.

A young Catholic female midshipman was very intrigued with what I was telling her. She responded by saying, "I wish we would have that during our training cruises. Sometimes, I really wanted to receive the Eucharist when I was at sea."

I passed them my card, and told them that AOS-USA was very interested in networking with the USMMA's Newman Club, and I would greatly appreciate it if they could pass my information to the Newman Club leaders. In addition, I suggested that if they wanted more information about AOS-USA, to please email me, and I would provide it.

After the dinner, I took the subway back. When I got in the car, a young Eastern European got up from his seat, and insisted that I sit. I was embarrassed by his kindness, which was completely unnecessary. In addition, he was significantly thinner than I was, and the lady sitting next to him did not give up any ground when I sat down.

I rode two stops, and had to change to the Lexington line, but before I left the train, I shook his hand, thanked him, and asked his name. He said it was Valentine, and he asked if I could pray for he and his wife. I assured him that I would, and gave him a blessing on the fore head.

In a couple of hours, I encountered folks who blessed me by their faith, warmth and joy in he Lord. God's grace is being poured out in the Big Apple.               

Fr. Sinclair K. Oubre, JCL
AOS - Diocese of Beaumont, TX            

 

 OSLO, Nov 16 - The 32 crew of a Danish cargo vessel on fire in the North Sea off Norway were trapped on board on Saturday night as a storm prevented rescue helicopters lifting sailors off.

Three helicopters were scrambled from Norway to assist the Britannia Seaways, operated by the Danish firm DFDS, about 80 miles (130 km) off the town of Floroe, said Per Fjeld, a spokesman for Norway's Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.

 

"The first helicopter made an attempt to lift 12 of them but the attempt was abandoned because of bad weather," he said. "They are not in immediate danger."

 

The fire was confined to the rear of the ship and, while it was not spreading, attempts to put it out failed.

 

Nevertheless, the 11,000 deadweight tonne ship, carrying military equipment from northern Norway to Bergen, was still running under its own power.

 

"The weather is bad and that limits our options," Fjeld said.

A severe storm, with winds gusting up to 180 km per hour (110 mph) and waves up to 15 metres (50 feet) high, was moving across the Norwegian Sea on Saturday night, also creating rough conditions further south in the North Sea.

 

Posted Nov 1, 2013 3:20 AM CST
By Siobhan Morrissey

The little girl with the Shirley Temple curls clung to her father,
too frightened to cry.

She and her parents were aboard the cruise ship Costa Concordia,
which began listing badly and taking on water shortly after scraping
along a rocky reef off Italy's Tuscan coast and gouging a bus-size
hole in the port side just below the water line.

A year and half later, the silent child still makes a lasting impression
on Georgia and Dean Ananias, a Downey, Calif., couple aboard the
ship when it capsized on the night of Jan. 13, 2012. They were
traveling with their adult daughters, Valerie and Cindy.

After trying to escape the ship for nearly five hours, the Ananiases
believed they had only minutes left to live. They said their goodbyes
and steeled themselves for the inevitable. "We knew we were going
to die," says Georgia.

The Ananias family describes being indelibly scarred by the thought of impending death and the screams of horror
all around them. They are also haunted by the fact that they survived and at least 32 others didn't.

Click to read the rest of the article

  

From the Vatican , November 13th, 2013

   

Prot. n. 7423/2013/AM

 

Re: AOS special Fund for the Philippines

   

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

 

Once again, we have witnessed the catastrophic power of the nature that in less than one month hit the same area twice (Central - Southern Visayas) in the Philippines . On October 15th, a devastating earthquake and then on November 7th, the Typhoon Haiyan hit the Nation, sweeping away people and property in its course. The death toll is in the thousands, while the survivors struggle to put together what is left of their lives.

 

Our prayers and solidarity go to all the Filipino seafarers miles away from their loved ones, not knowing their fate. We praise many of our AOS Centers around the world that have provided free telephone cards and internet access to allow Filipino seafarers to contact their families. Many of our AOS chaplains have celebrated Masses for the deceased, and have helped the seafarers make sense of such devastation and turmoil.

 

We appreciate that Carnival Cruise has requested AOS deploy Catholic chaplains on board of several of their ships to support Filipino crews.  

 

The great family of AOS would like to show its closeness and manifest its solidarity to the Filipino people. Therefore, as it was done for the tsunami that struck the coast of Japan in 2011, the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, which is responsible for the overall direction of the Apostleship of the Sea, has decided to set up a special fund with an initial contribution 10,000 (ten thousands) US dollars. The fund will support long-term reconstruction projects, to be realized in cooperation with AOS - Philippines , benefiting the people of the sea in the affected areas when, after the initial weeks of emergency, people will have to return to their "normal" life.

 

Attached, you will find the instructions for your donations in US$ or in Euros (enclosure).  

Bank Transfer Document 

 

Please be kind enough to inform our office (aosinternational@migrants.va) of any transfer of funds.

We would also be grateful if you could share this initiative, giving it all the exposure that you deem fits. In advance, we express our sincere thanks for your support and generosity, asking Mary, Star of the Sea, to bless this initiative.

 

 Antonio Maria Card. Vegliņ

 President

                                                                                                            X Joseph Kalathiparambil

 Secretary