Taiwan
 Father
Bruno Ciceri is the national director of AOS Taiwan and
chaplain to the port of Kaohsiung. Kaohsiung is a centre of
activity for the Taiwanese deep sea fishing industry which
employs many foreign fishers. At the Stella Maris
International Service Centre fishers are made welcome and
offered spiritual and practical care.
This article is about the harsh lives endured by foreign
fishers on Taiwanese fishing boats. Fr Bruno says:
The observations which I share with you here are the
result of nine years of working as a director of the Stella
Maris International Service Centre in Kaohsiung. I am no
longer surprised by the stories that fishers tell me when
they seek assistance from our centre. But I still get upset
and ask myself why these things are still happening.
The context
The Taiwanese deep sea fishing industry has being growing
steadily for many years. However, the number of Taiwanese
people willing to be employed in this sector has not
increased proportionally. Therefore, for more than a decade,
the industry has used foreign fishers on distant water
vessels.
Usually on a fishing vessel, the officers are Taiwanese.
The majority of the crew are from the Chinese mainland with
others of various nationalities: Filipinos, Indonesians or
Vietnamese. Foreign fishers are recruited in different ways
both legal and illegal. All it needs are people willing to
take the risk and agents looking for profit
The government recruitment system
Owners of fishing vessels must first obtain a permit from
the Council of Labor Affairs. Then a broker contacts an
agent in the Philippines, Indonesia or Vietnam who hires the
fishers. The fishers fly to Taiwan where they have a
standard government-approved contract; a minimum salary of
15,840 New Taiwan Dollars; and an Alien Residence
Certificate. But this is an expensive process for which the
fishers are charged. They either pay before flying or have
it deducted from their monthly salary in Taiwan.
Local recruitment in the Philippines
The Philippine government allows foreign fishing vessels
to hire local fishers when fishing along the Philippine
coast. Sometimes, for whatever reason, the captain decides
to leave Philippine waters and does not want to “waste time”
taking the fishers back home. They must ride along to other
ports in the region hoping that the vessel returns to the
Philippines. Often they come ashore in Taiwan where they
have no contract to work. Many seek help at the Stella Maris
International Service Centre.
Illegal recruitment by Singapore agents
Fishers pay between one and two thousand US dollars to
agents before they leave their own countries. Posing as
tourists, they fly out to join vessels in ports around Asia,
eg Singapore, Bangkok or Davao. At the airport, they are
given three year contracts with a monthly salary of around
US$120-150. Of this, US$100 is retained by the agent in
Singapore to be returned at the end of the contract. To
receive it, fishers must sign off in Singapore. These kind
of illegal contracts condemn fishers to conditions of
slavery.
 The
life of inexperienced foreign fishers
Generally fishers come from poor and undeveloped areas of
the country. They are young with little or no education. For
them any job, no matter how difficult or dangerous, is
better than no job at all.
Sometimes recent graduates of maritime schools accept
employment as fishers. They may prefer this option to
waiting indefinitely for a job in the merchant marine. Some
join fishing vessels to gain experience at sea.
Fishing vessels may spend some time in dry-dock for
repairs. The fishers must act as painters, carpenters in
rebuilding work. When a vessel is ready, it may leave at
short notice. Its destination and routes could change
suddenly depending on weather and fishing grounds. Once the
vessel leaves port, the captain is the absolute authority
and has power over the whole crew.
Onboard, the inexperienced fishers face the harsh
realities of life on a deep sea fishing vessel. On the
outside, the vessels look old and rusty. Inside, freezers
for fish occupy most of the space. Crew cabins are small and
without ventilation. Messrooms for eating and recreation
rooms are nonexistent. Kitchens and pantries are dirty,
water tanks rusted. Safety equipment such as radios, fire
extinguishers, lifeboats or life jackets are old and
sometimes unreliable.
For many of these new “fishers” it is their first time
that they see the sea. Even those who were fishers in their
home villages may not be familiar with the technology used
for deep sea fishing. They have to learn quickly if they
want to avoid shouting and harassment from the officers.
The time spent at sea ranges from a few days to over a
year without coming ashore. Not going into port saves money
and maximizes the time spent at the fishing ground. At sea,
fishers are unable to contact family and friends. They
cannot make telephone calls. Letters take weeks or months to
arrive. In emergencies, their families do not have the means
to contact the fishers.
Alone with their thoughts
Living in restricted space, unable to leave the vessel at
will, and without external contact, a fisher becomes a
prisoner of the vessel. Often he is also prisoner of his own
thoughts. If he cannot find anyone with whom to share his
feelings, soon he will have nothing to share with his fellow
fishers. Linguistic, cultural and religious differences
impede social interaction among the crew and may cause
tension.
These fishers often have very little religious education.
At sea, they lose the sense of the liturgical time:
festivals such as Christmas and Easter, even the notion of
Sunday as the “Day of the Lord”. On a deep sea fishing
vessel, every day is the same.
Fear of mockery may force them to compromise and hide
their faith and commitment to God. Nature, the sea, the sky,
the wind and the fish, no longer represent beauty and the
chance to contemplate and discover God. Nature becomes a
force to fight against.
Tensions onboard
After a few months, when the crew is at its busiest, the
food supplies are low. Fishers work long hours without
breaks in order to process the fish. Often they are exposed
to rain or icy seawater without warm or protective clothing.
This is when adequate provision of food and sufficient water
for drinking and bathing are most necessary.
The combined effects of intensive work in poor conditions
and insufficient sustenance cause fishers to slow down their
work. This may be a motive for the officers to verbally
abuse and physically maltreat the crew. There is tension
that quite often lead to fights. Although often unreported,
there are also cases of sexual harassment and abuse,
especially by officers taking advantage of the lower ranking
crew.
Fishing is one of the deadliest profession: this is as
true for Taiwan as anywhere else. Underreporting of
fatalities, especially of foreigners, means that we cannot
know the real figures. It seems that most fishing vessel
casualties are the result of human error. Long hours of work
mean that the fishers become tired and less attentive. We
are also aware that a certain number of fishers disappear at
sea for unknown reasons.
For the victims’ families, claiming death benefits is an
impossible task. They may not know the terms of the
contract; they are ignorant of the laws and regulations; and
they live in different country. A husband, father, brother,
son, or friend has died. Sometimes there is not even a grave
on which to lay flowers because their beloved was lost at
sea. Relatives are left only with anger and tears.
Some fishers have occupational accidents and survive with
permanent injuries. Taiwanese Labor Law stipulates that
owners who employ fewer than five crew members are not
obliged to pay Labor Insurance. Consequently, injured
fishers are sent home without assistance or compensation.
On board fishing vessels there are crew members with some
knowledge of first aid but these are not trained for medical
emergencies. Furthermore, after a few months, even basic
medicines for headache or toothache are in short supply. The
most common pain killer and anaesthetic is alcohol.
A risk of imprisonment
A lack of fish stocks in international waters sometimes
drives the captain to take a chance. He may take the vessel
into the territorial waters of another country. If they are
caught, the fishing vessel is put under arrest, the catch
seized and the crew put in jail.
It can take months for the judicial process to be
completed or for the governments of both countries to reach
an agreement over the fishers. In the meantime the fishers
cannot work or send money to their families. The owner may
be more concerned about the vessel, abandoning the crew and
refusing to pay back wages or the cost of repatriation.
Contract violations
It should also be said that having a legal, government
approved, contract does not guarantee better protection or
more rights. Contract violations or substitution are
widespread. Fishers are forced to sign blank cheques or
receipts which are used to deduct brokers’ fees. Some must
also sign blank papers which are used as an excuse for
forced repatriation if the fishers give trouble.
Non payment or under payment of salaries has prompted
many fishers to leave the fishing vessels. Sometimes they
find themselves stranded in strange places without money or
identification documents. Salaries paid may not be
commensurate to the hours worked; overtime is not paid and
holiday pay does not exist.
The bonus system included in the contract is almost never
honoured. It is used only as an inducement to fishers to
work harder but the company or the Captain keep the profit.
Sometimes part of the salary is kept by the agent until the
end of the contract. This forces fishers to keep quiet and
not risk losing this money by complaining to the
authorities.
A call to action
My predecessor, Fr. Gilberto Orioli together with Fr.
Carlos Oda, then port chaplain in Manila, brought the
situation to the attention of the mass media. These called
on the government to pay attention. But little or nothing
has changed.
We need stronger lobbying and advocacy. Taiwan is not
member of any international organisation and as such is not
bound by any convention. However there should be pressure on
governments in countries where Taiwanese fishing vessels
dock for repair or bunkering. They must take responsibility
in intervening and protecting the human rights and labour
rights of fishers.
We should insist that the countries of origin of these
fishers, namely the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam,
pursue illegal recruiting agents. They need to adopt better
recruitment policies which include training programmes.
These would develop skilled fishers who are technically
prepared and ready for the different cultural and social
environment in which they will work.
The Taiwanese government should be more attentive to the
human rights and labour rights of these fishers. Their hard
work and sacrifices contribute substantially to the economy
of Taiwan.
Together with our ICMA partners, we should continue
lobbying for the interests of fishers with the international
organizations such as the ITF, IMO, ILO, and FAO.
Finally we should welcome the fishers in our centres and
missions as if we were welcoming Christ in our midst.
Fishers need the friendship of the chaplain, the smile of
the volunteer, a quiet corner to write a letter or send a
postcard, a room to be alone with their God. If we are able
to offer these simple things even for a few hours, then
fishers will feel welcome and at home among us. For fishers
we should offer “a safe harbour”, a place to rest, to unload
their burdens and regain spiritual strength for another
fishing trip. |