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Apinya Tajit is a pastoral worker in the Sacred Heart parish and also assistant director of the Stella Maris Centre in the port of Sriracha on the Gulf of Thailand. Mrs Tajit, who is known as Jam, faces many challenges in offering pastoral care to visiting seafarers.
Rice is an important export commodity in Sriracha. Ships loading rice are often in port for some 45 to 70 days. Crews are of mixed nationality, a typical ship may have Iranian, Pakistani, Indian, Ukrainian and Bangladeshi seafarers onboard. Recently Jam has become concerned about the Iranian seafarers who visit the port of Sriracha and who complain of unfair treatment. There are cases of Iranian seafarers being paid less than their similarly qualified colleagues of other nationalities.
Another problem is the striking of deals between ships' captains and agents over food supplies. Jam reports cases of crews being given poor quality food and unclean water. In the case of one particular ship, she says,
“the food was fit for monkeys, not human beings”
However the seafarers onboard were too afraid to complain. The captain had told them that, if they did not like it, they could leave the ship.
There are also concerns about safety in port. Jam often visits the jetty to talk to seafarers. She reports seeing seafarers having to jump from the jetty to service boats to return to their ships because proper access facilities have not been arranged.
Many of the seafarers who come to Sriracha do not know about their human and labour rights. They are not usually members of trade unions and do not know where to find help. The situation is complicated because there is no seafarers’ union in Thailand. It is difficult for the ITF to intervene, as it can in other countries, and there is no ITF inspector in Sriracha. In addition, ships’ agents are sometimes hostile, even falsely telling seafarers that there is no Stella Maris Centre in Sriracha.
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The pastoral workers and volunteers at the Stella Maris Centre work hard to make it a home away from home. But not everyone can come to the centre. Fishers from Burma and Cambodia are sometimes arrested for illegally entering Thai waters. Jam visits them to offer pastoral care when they are held at the police station or in prison.
AOS is currently supporting a Filipino seafarer in prison in Bangkok. It is hoped that he will be released on the King’s birthday, according to Thai custom. Jam is planning to collect him and bring him back to the Sacred Heart Church in Sriracha where he can be cared for while transport home is arranged.
Jam also visits seafarers in hospital. Caring for sick seafarers can be difficult. There have been cases of captains being reluctant to let crew members seek medical treatment as it may be expensive. Again, ships’ agents may be hostile. Jam has even been chased out of hospital by an agent. But she returns because seafarers need her. She reports the case of a cadet suffering from dengue fever. In hospital, he told her
“I miss my mother, I miss my brother, I don’t like the seafaring life but I have no choice.”
Jam says,
“In this case, I have to be mother. I feed him and give him his medicine even if I have to hide from the ship’s agent.”
Jam is sustained by her faith. Mass is held regularly in the seafarers’ centre and, where possible, onboard ship.
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Thailand has ports on the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea and land borders with Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia. Between 1985 and 1996 the country enjoyed the world’s highest rate of economic growth which ended with the Asian Financial Crisis of the late 1990s. Since then, Thailand has shown strong signs of recovery. Exports include textiles, cars and electrical appliances. Thailand is the world’s largest exporter of rice
Census figures from 2000 show that 94.6% of Thais are Buddhists, 4.6% Muslims and 0.75% Christians of whom the majority are thought to be Catholic. The country was badly hit by the tsunami of 2004 and suffered massive loss of life. In September 2006, the Thai military orchestrated a coup d’état. Democracy was later restored and general elections held in December 2007.
The Stella Maris Centre in Sriracha, Thailand. Click on the image for contact details.
Mass is celebrated at the Stella Maris Centre, Sriracha