Early on Friday morning I received the WhatsApp message. Six seamen had died in an accident in the Durban harbour.
I had no idea of what had happened and checked Google to find out what I could. I was shocked to realise that I knew the vessel well.
On Monday 26 March, this seafarer had a very bad fall on his ship in Richards Bay and injured his hip and spine. Loffie made sure he got a brand new Cebuano Bible to read. Thank you to our donors for making it possible!
Donations: sms cso to 42030 to donate R30 or click here for other options.
Enrico is from the Philippines and it was his first visit to South Africa. He is a young man, full of joy and energy. For him the time spent on board the ship was a huge adventure. It was his maiden voyage and according to him, it was the beginning of a very promising career at sea.
It becomes your entire existence - You are a citizen of this world, but your being is locked into the four iron-clad walls of the cabin. Week upon week you briefly meet a new part of the world only to return to isolation, en route to the next country, the next city, the next country.
Nico described him as the frailest seaman he ever met. His eyes tell stories of not wanting to live this life that had been chosen for him without his approval. Something in his body tells of sorrow, a mad roller-coaster of existence, a life where the dice fell inappropriately.