Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
 Elsa
Mireya Gómez Cubillos works in the Stella Maris Centre in
the port of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Centre is welcoming
place where staff are always willing to listen. Here Elsa
tells us about the visiting seafarers and their stories.
“I started work as secretary of the Stella Maris club in
Rio in March 2006. Working here very enjoyable. Everyday I
meet people from different parts of the world and different
cultures, men and women, each with their own story.
In conversation, seafarers may talk of their families, of
love, of daily work. But they always mention sadness and
loneliness and they talk of their home countries and the
day-to-day aspects of home life like meals and shopping
trips with the family. When they share these things, they
seem more relaxed, perhaps because they have found someone
with whom to share their experiences and concerns.
Not all seafarers who come to Rio de Janeiro have the
chance to visit this wonderful city. The lucky ones who do
come back full of energy, delighted to have seen the Cristo
Redentor, Sugar Loaf Hill and the most famous beaches in the
world: Copacabana and Ipanema.
Those seafarers who do not have time to explore the city
may come instead to the Stella Maris Club. We do everything
possible to offer them the best. Some read newspapers,
others watch television or write letters to their families
and friends. Some come simply for conversation over coffee
where they can share their experiences. These are typical of
the stories which we hear every day.”
In time of sorrow
A seafarer said that he had a wife, three sons and a
daughter. His daughter had married at the age of 17 because
she was expecting a baby. But when the baby was born, her
husband abandoned her. By the grace of God, this situation
was resolved. But one of the sons, living in Mexico and with
two children, was also unhappy in his marriage. His father
was worried that the children would suffer.
That seafarer said that, after a hard day’s work, he
always thought of his family. It caused him great pain that
he could not always be there to share these sadnesses. But
that was the life that he had chosen and he had been at sea
for 25 years.
In time of joy
Another seafarer was telling me that he missed his family
very much. He had not seen his children grow up and had not
been present at significant events such as weddings,
birthdays, Christmas and new year. Often he had been told
about the events some months later.
He said: “once I went home and my wife said that our
daughter had a boyfriend. I set sail again and months later
she got married. Time passed, I rang one day and they said
‘congratulations, you’re a grandfather’. I said ‘great! next
year I’ll go and meet my grandchild’". He had been a merchant seafarer for thirty years and was
looking forward to retirement.
Love and marriage
One day a young Brazilian woman paid us a visit. She
asked if she could come into the Stella Maris Centre and
wait for her husband. We started talking and she told us
that she had met a Filipino seafarer in the port of
Victoria. They fell in love and, after some time, got
married.
Her family was supportive and had welcomed her husband
into the family. They were very happy but still her husband
missed his family, friends and country. Since their marriage
he had been trying to get work in the Brazilian company
Petrobras but had not had much luck.
After several hours of waiting, her husband arrived and
they set out that day for the city of Victoria where they
live and where she works in a beauty salon.
Stories such as these we see every day. We know many
Filipino seafarers who have families here in Rio and other
Brazilian cities.
Photograph: Elsa meets sailors from the Brazilian
national navy |