I saw this article in INQ7 and I just wanted to share this to you. Nakakainspire at the same time
nakakalungkot. I really admire this "young blood" kasi talagang desidido sila. I also realize that I still have some "Fears" that I need to conquer so I can call myself as "BraveHeart". I just hope it should be sooner than expected......
By Franco Emman Von M.
They’re up and lively before the crack of dawn despite the inviting comfort of their beds and the chilly morning air. They dress hastily, their uniforms piled up all around the room. At this early hour, they chat animatedly over what they’re going to do in this new day.
Under one humble roof, seven aspiring seamen share their longtime dream – boarding a ship that could bring fortune to their families in the province.
First timers in the city, they found a house in Pio del Pilar, Makati. The small place, which they rent for P2000-bedspace each, accommodates four double decks good enough for these hopeful teenagers from Iloilo and Guimaras provinces.
Staying together
Unlike teenagers who nowadays flock to Manila seeking call center jobs, they braved the city to try their luck in a maritime agency that sends out aspiring seamen.
Ian Salcedo, Desmond Caro, Noel Bilbao, Rionel Las Piñas, Avito Castillo and Roniel Seguisa completed a three-year certificate program in Marine Transportation at the John B. Lacson College Foundation in Arevalo town, Iloilo; Mark Joseph Gallo earned his certificate in Marine Engineering in the town of Molo
After completing the course in Lacson, where they were enrolled in the star sections, they tried for the tests given by a maritime agency in Makati. Among the graduating students in their respective schools, seven hopefuls aced the exams, the ticket to the city and a step closer to fulfilling their dreams.
“It’s better that we live together,” said 20-year old Bilbao. “We wake up at the same time. And there’s someone who would drag you to school everyday.”
Study now, pay later
Living in one house made things easier to cope with and handle Having housemates going through the same things one is going through is like having your very own support group. They go to training together everyday; at the end of the day, they wait up for each other and go home together. Waiting for the time when they can board their respective ships is also easier since they have each other as company in a supposedly boring and disheartening wait.
To these aspiring teen-aged seamen, it’s fortunate that the agency handling them pays the lodging and emergency expenses while waiting for their boarding.
“It’s like a ‘study-now, pay-later scheme,’” Caro of Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo said. “Once we get into the ship, the company will be getting a portion of what we earn. It’s like payback time.”
Under the contract, the agency gets P50,000 from their earnings on an installment basis while on board. It will get a portion from the seamen’s monthly income for 10 years.
Apart from lodging expenses, the agency gives them an allowance of P5,000 monthly. It also shoulders their expenses incurred during medical examinations and visa processing. Still, the amount is not enough to sustain their living in the Manila, one of them adds, so he still asks for monthly support from his family in Lambunao, Iloilo.
Deck and engine cadets
Most of them are financially supported either by close relatives or siblings in the province.
Close to shedding tears, Castillo said that his family in Estancia, Iloilo had to sell their piece of farm to support his education while in Lacson Foundation. His family owns a sari-sari store – from time to time, his mother asks the help of “Bombay’s 5-6” lending scheme to send nine children to school.
Called deck and engine cadets, the entry level for aspiring seamen, they could earn an average of $400 (roughly P20,000) to as much as $900 (roughly P45,000) while on board, depending on the carrier flag they’re assigned to.
Lured by the fat money awaiting them, these teeners say they’re more than willing to brave the risks and homesickness.
Like father, like son
Bilbao’s father was once a seaman who was kicked out because of vices, he said.
Seguisa of Calinog, Iloilo said that a number of college students in their hometown have enrolled in marine courses since they knew that their future seems brighter on this side. “Mabilis ang asenso ng buhay,” he added.
Eighteen-year-old Gallo of Buenavista, Guimaras shared that he was inspired by his relatives who are mostly in the same line of job. “My father and most of my relatives are seamen. I have cousins who are, in their brood of ten, are all seamen.”
Saying goodbye to the country, to their friends, families, and girlfriends would definitely be a major hurdle, but they’re more than ready to do even that.
“I don’t see a bright future for me here in the country, so I am determined to give it a shot,” Bilbao said.
Castillo’s girlfriend, meanwhile, is also training for a domestic passenger ship.
Life at sea
Being a seaman is no joke, they said. Despite the good money they would earn overseas, the job carries with it the likelihood of say, getting fingers cut or even losing one’s life. They could even be hostaged like the 20 Pinoy seamen held in Somalia recently.
“Once you step on the ship, it’s like one of your feet is in the grave,” Seguisa said.
“You’re not allowed to commit a mistake because it can cost a life,” they add.
As deck cadets, they will be tasked to do the menial jobs of greasing machines, scraping rust that accumulate on the ship’s walls, and painting the ship’s interior –“as big as a cathedral,” according to them, usually with only six people sharing the job.
“Many have died by falling off from high elevations while painting or scraping and a number have lost their fingers during ‘mooring operations’ when thigh-sized ropes suddenly break,” they said. “There’s no escaping these ropes once they hit your back.”
Good, bad weather
They also have to adapt to seasickness since work doesn’t stop even in bad weather. “Operations are 24/7 so this is not a so-so job,” added Seguisa.
Work aside, the temptation of paying for sexual services is common to seamen. In fact, they’re commonly tagged “womanizers.”
“I will try hard not to be tempted. It’s hard-earned money,” Seguisa said. He observed that some seamen do not know how to handle money and end up spending extravagantly for “their girls.”
While waiting for the chance to finally go onboard, aspiring seamen go through the usual training process. They’re asked to go to the office for some lecture refresher courses.
“We’re up as early as 5 a.m to report to the office. They basically train and expose us to the life on board since work there usually starts at 6 in the morning,” Seguisa said.
Asked about their future plans, they said that they would not want any of their children to become a seaman because of the harsh realities of the life at sea.
“I would rather ask them to look for other jobs,” Las Piñas said.
One by one, they go
At this time, these teenagers are leaving the boarding house and the country one by one. They started as a group of seven; two have already left.
After grueling months of waiting, Salcedo, a native of Leon, Iloilo and a cum laude graduate of Lacson, has been sent to a Panama flagship after two months of training. He could earn there $900, Bilbao said, citing that a Panama carrier is among the highest paying.
Caro, 19, who also graduated cum laude in Lacson, was sent to a US flag carrier a week after Salcedo’s boarding.
The one-year apprenticeship program they will complete on board will finally earn them a bachelor’s degree in Marine Transportation. After a year, they will take another exam for promotion to the next rank, hopefully closer to becoming a captain which pays $6,000 on the average.
The noise and laughter have diminished with the clutter. Though the ones left behind should be relieved with more space to move around in, they find it “depressing.” Soon, all of them will leave.
Saying goodbye
Breaking away from the group is difficult, they say.
They know they will be assigned to different ships and leave the house at different times. But, they said, the friendship that they have made during their stay doesn’t end there. They agreed to meet after a year of being apprentices and once more share a house during their review for promotions.
They promised to meet again to tell stories of how they have finally realized their dreams. They’ll be back, they promised. And with their return, once more they will support each other in the fulfillment of more dreams and the comfort in their friendship.
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