By Julia Cooper, Director of Operations
This January, I got to travel to the Philippines for two weeks as part of an exchange project through the US Department of State. As the majority of the seafarers we work with are from the Philippines, I was really grateful for the opportunity to make connections with seafarer welfare organizations in the Philippines, as well as to gain a greater understanding of Philippine culture and the lives & experiences of seafarers.
Our connection with the Department of State began last Spring when a representative reached out asking if we would be interested in hosting a fellow from the Philippines at our Seafarers Center for a month. We got to meet Marville Cullen Espago, a former seafarer and current regional director of ISWAN Philippines (International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network). Marville was taking part in YSEALI PFP, the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Professional Fellows Program, which is a fully-funded exchange program sponsored by the US Department of State. Marville had the opportunity to travel to the US, spend some time in Washington DC with other Southeast Asian leaders, and then work with us in Seattle for the month of May. It was great for our team to get to know Marville and learn about his experience as a seafarer, the welfare work of ISWAN, and his thoughts on what our organization could do to better support the seafarers coming through Puget Sound. Marville also got to meet with the United 6 fishermen who had experienced labor trafficking on their fishing vessels, and talk with them about ways he could advocate for them and other fishing crews back in the Philippines.
YSEALI PFP includes a Reciprocal Exchange Program, where the Southeast Asian fellow can apply for funding for a US partner to collaborate on a project with them in their home country. Only a quarter of the exchange proposals are accepted, and so we were very excited when the State Department selected and granted funding to Marville’s proposal. Marville and I discussed the project plan over the next few months, and Marville crafted a full itinerary which included cultural experiences as well as meetings with seafarers welfare partners in multiple provinces of the Philippines. And then in mid January, I found myself on a flight to Manila!
For the first weekend of the trip, I was hosted by Marville’s family at their home in the province of Cavite, just south of Manila. We took a day trip to Tagaytay, where we visited the Pink Sisters Chapel and then ate at an outdoor restaurant overlooking Lake Taal. There is a volcano inside of this lake, with a crater lake of its own. And inside that crater lake is another island, which apparently is the world’s largest island-within-a-lake-within-an-island-within-a-lake-on-an-island (!). On our way home from dinner, we stopped to pick up a buko pie - the regional delicacy of Tagaytay, a sweet, custardy pie made with slices of young coconut meat (as a coconut lover, this was probably my favorite food of the whole trip).
The next day we drove into Manila, and got to explore Rizal Park, the National Museum of the Philippines, and Chinatown. We ended the evening at the Somo Night Market back in Cavite, where I got to try some classic street food - can you guess what’s on each skewer?
I’ll tell you. Left to right: barbequed pig’s blood (betamax), pig ear (tenga ng baboy), and chicken intestine (isaw)
The nights at Marville’s home included quality time with their nine dogs (I didn’t get around to meeting the four cats), and of course some obligatory karaoke.
We had an early flight the next morning to Iloilo City. The province of Iloilo has a rich maritime history and is home to two maritime universities, John B Lacson Foundation Maritime University and Iloilo Merchant Marine School. We got to visit both of these schools, speak with the school administrators, and give a presentation to about 1,000 maritime cadets. Marville presented about mental health at sea and the services offered by ISWAN, including their 24-hour multilingual phone support line. I then spoke about the Seattle Seafarers Center, the services offered by seafarer centers around the world, and how these students can find and contact these facilities and access port-based welfare services once they start taking shipping contracts. It was impactful to speak with so many students who had not heard of these services before - to let them know that once they go to sea, there will be people looking out for them in ports all around the world.
We then led a focus group discussion with selected students from each school. The students each shared why they decided to pursue maritime, what some of their concerns were in anticipation of going to sea, and what services they might want to see at a seafarers center. It was illuminating for me to meet this group of cadets-in-training and hear their stories. Some of the students said that becoming a seafarer was their dream and passion, they looked forward to traveling the world, defying expectations, becoming the first captain in their family. Others were encouraged to enter the maritime academy by a family member who is also a seafarer. Many of the students said this was not necessarily their first career choice, but that they were pursuing maritime out of practicality, in order to have a secure income and to make a better life for themselves and their families. It was amazing to see so many 18 and 20-year-olds already committed to a challenging career at sea because they want to support their families financially. The reality is that well-paying jobs can be very hard to come by in the Philippines, and seafaring abroad is a lucrative career in comparison to what is available locally.
There were several young women in our focus groups, who expressed worries about harassment onboard ships. Other students were worried about becoming homesick, missing loved ones, experiencing racism from crew of other nationalities, having to navigate language barriers with other crew, and getting enough rest time amidst busy work hours. These are all valid concerns, and issues that many seafarers do face. But it was a good sign that these students were considering in advance how they might handle the challenges they will face while at sea, and that we could provide them with several resources they can utilize regarding mental health and welfare concerns.
The next day Marville and I had the real treat of a full-day tour of Iloilo. We visited several museums in Iloilo City, including the Museum of Maritime History and others focused on Philippine art, culture, and history. Our guide took us through side streets where vendors were hand-making lumpia wrappers, to Roberto’s restaurant for their famous Siopao (steamed pork bun), and to a huge mural depicting the region’s Dinagyang Festival. After lunch at a seaside restaurant, we headed west of Iloilo City. We drove for around 45 minutes and then stopped at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Miagao Church, which is just one of the many grand churches in the region.
Next we headed to Garin Farm, which is a farm, pilgrimage site, and resort all in one. I was warned earlier by Marville that I might want to bring a change of shirt for this portion of the tour, as the pilgrimage involves walking up many flights of stairs in the heat of the day (although it was winter and the coolest month of the year in the Philippines, it was still in the mid-high 80s with high humidity most of the trip). Thankfully, it was starting to cool down by the time we arrived at Garin Farm in the late afternoon. We started the trek up the long staircase towards a large white cross at the top. At each landing along the way, there were life-size renderings of important Bible scenes – Noah’s Ark, the Baptism of Jesus, the Last Supper. Once we reached the top, we entered a dark “meditation” tunnel, meant to signify our time on Earth. At the end of the tunnel there is a lit-up image of the risen Jesus, and then you come back outside to what is supposed to represent heaven - a stunning scene of angels and people praising Jesus on his throne that makes you feel like you are really in the clouds, whilst the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah blasts on repeat. Once you’re ready to leave the clouds, you follow the sign “Back to Earth” and start your trek back down the stairs, with an amazing view of the water.
The next day, we returned on an early flight to Manila and jumped back into meetings with seafarers and maritime organizations. Over the next few days, we met with the Marshall Islands Flag Registry, Marville’s team at ISWAN, representatives from AMOSUP Seafarers Union, and the local chapters of Mission to Seafarers and Stella Maris. We visited AIMS Museo Maritimo, another museum that is focused on maritime and seafarers in the Philippines, and walked around Intramuros, a historic walled neighborhood of Manila which is home to many seafarer unions and welfare organizations. Marville’s colleague, Rona, accompanied me between some of the meetings via Jeepney and tricycle (a motorcycle with a sidecar attached).
It was a highlight to meet with fellow MtS and Stella Maris colleagues and learn about the work they do in Manila, which differs somewhat from our work in Seattle due to differing needs. Mission to Seafarers Manila has a Family Support Network which facilitates events and seminars for seafarers’ family members year-round, and provides welfare services to seafarers while they are home in the Philippines. At Stella Maris, one of the major services they provide for seafarers is lodging - many crew must travel to Manila in order to process their paperwork ahead of a contract, and might need to stay in the city for days or weeks. Stella Maris and local seafarers unions provide free or low-cost housing for crew while they are in Manila. Unfortunately, the security protocols at the ports in the Philippines are very strict and it has become increasingly difficult for chaplains to visit ships in person. While this obstacle is a source of frustration for the teams in Manila, they are still able to make a huge impact through the services they provide to seafarers and their families on land.
As part of the YSEALI program, we also had the opportunity to meet with the US Embassy in Manila. This outpost is one of the largest of the US Department of State, due to the strong partnership between the US and the Philippines. We met with a couple of representatives of the embassy, who spoke with us more about YSEALI’s goal of strengthening ties and building mutual understanding between the US and the Philippines.
Our final meetings were with a local shipping company, Intership Navigation, Manila. We met with their President and CFO to learn more about the company, which operates dozens of cargo ships. It was refreshing to speak with company officials who seemed concerned about the welfare of their crews, as from my experience, not all shipping companies seem to care about their employees’ wellbeing. We then led a focus group discussion with a dozen seafarers, similar to the discussions we ran at the universities in Iloilo. The participants were a group of experienced seafarers who were hired by Intership Navigation and about to board the same ship together. Whereas the young maritime cadets we spoke with earlier that week were energetic and curious, this group of seafarers just seemed tired. The excitement of going to sea had clearly worn off, and their upcoming journey was just another shipping contract.
We started by asking the same question we had asked the cadets – why did they pursue maritime? The vast majority of this group answered that they chose seafaring in order to support their family. We also asked how long they each planned to continue taking shipping contracts. For some, they were waiting until their children finished studying at university, which required financial support from their work as seamen. Others had goals of taking a new career or starting a business on land so they could spend more time at home with their families, but they didn’t know when that would be a viable option for them financially. This is the stark reality for many seafarers worldwide, that although seafaring is lucrative career that helps them financially support their family, it comes with the tradeoff that they must sacrifice so much time away from home - often 6-10 months at a time of missing their family, being absent for holidays and key milestones like the birth of a child or the death of a parent, and watching their kids grow up through a phone screen.
We also asked these seafarers about which services they had utilized at seafarer centers around the world, and which new services they would like to see. Many of them had visited centers, used their free WiFi, purchased SIM cards, and availed of transportation to the city or a shopping mall. They were frustrated though by how difficult it was to find time for shore leave these days, in the face of short port stays and lots of shipboard inspections. They started brainstorming various services that they would like seafarer centers like ours in Seattle to provide - hard drives with movies they could watch, a catalogue of items they could purchase in port from a business person, a chaplain onboard who can officiate mass, recreational games at the Center. They got more animated as they kept brainstorming - “Free clothing,” one man said. “Free Adidas!” another added, amidst chuckles from the others. More chimed in - Free jackets! Winter clothes! Hats, socks, shoes... Gifts during the holidays. Donuts! Pie! One guy had the great idea of a massage chair at the Center, a suggestion which was met with cheers from the rest of the group.
They were having fun throwing out ideas by the end of the discussion, and the mood in the room was lighter. It was good to see the group laughing together and to imagine them carrying a similar spirit and attitude once they embark their ship. It was also great to hear their honest thoughts on what they would like to see at a seafarers center. Some of their suggestions are things we already provide (ex. warm clothing, gifts at the holidays), and so that was great feedback that we should keep up these services. While we won’t be able to respond to all of their requests (such as Adidas shoes for every seafarer!), others are definitely things we can look into incorporating (does anyone have a massage chair they’d like to donate for a charitable cause…?).
With our seafarer-focused portion of the trip concluded, I had one final adventure awaiting me - a trip to the mountainous region of Ifugao. In addition to being the Philippine regional director of ISWAN, Marville is also the cofounder of PASSION Projects, described as a “youth-led advocacy focused on assisting indigenous groups residing in far-flung areas.” I had the opportunity to accompany a group of about 30 volunteers, mostly in their 20s or 30s, on a weekend trip to Mayoyao, Ifugao. The project involved providing school supplies, computer kits, and hygiene kits to elementary and high school students in a rural region of Ifugao, facilitating workshops to inspire the students in their career dreams, and building connections and relationships with the local community.
I’ll admit, I anticipated that this part of the trip would be a challenge for me, and it was. Mainly, the road to Ifugao was a challenge. We left Manila in the afternoon on Friday and headed for the meeting place for all the volunteers, who were coming from many neighboring provinces. After several hours in slow-moving Manila & Quezon City traffic, and a side stop to pick up more volunteers, we arrived at a McDonalds in Pampanga and I got to meet everyone who was participating in the project. Around 11pm, following the volunteer debrief, we packed into 15-passenger vans for the long overnight drive to Ifugao.
I’ve driven through mountains, but I’ve never driven through mountains like these before. Our driver went at top-speed up steep hills, through hairpin turns, weaving around other traffic and narrowly avoiding motorbikes and jeepneys. I wasn’t the only one in the van who got sick. The hours of winding roads stretched on and on, and I didn’t sleep the whole night. It was a relief 8 hours later when the sun came up and we neared our final destination in Mayoyao. In the light of the morning, I was finally able to see where we were - smack in the middle of the most beautiful green mountains.
While the journey there was challenging, the project in Ifugao was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip, and by far the most memorable. It was really great to connect with the other volunteers, many of them around my age, and many of them seafarers or otherwise connected to the maritime industry. Ifugao is such a beautiful province, and it was amazing to spend the week in the mountains and to see the region’s world famous rice terraces. I loved meeting the school children and teens and getting to interact with them. As a taller-than-average white woman with red hair, I stood out pretty much everywhere in the Philippines, but especially here, where I was the only foreigner. Some of the kids wanted to know where I was from, and if I had ever been to New York City. The teachers at the school were interested to hear about what brought me here, and expressed so much gratitude for my participation, even though all I did was show up.
On Saturday evening, we got to stay the night with local host families in Mayoyao. I was paired with two other volunteers to stay with one family, who lived a 15-minute trek up from the road. We spent the evening getting to know the family and playing some games together. They cooked us dinner and heated up water so we could take a tabo shower, and then the three of us slept in a traditional Ifugao house, which is pyramid-shaped and sits on stilts a few feet above the ground. We all slept so well, and it was fun to be woken up by the chickens in the morning.
On Sunday we worked with another set of school kids, and then packed up in the afternoon for the long trek back to Manila. This time we took a less windy route, and I was thankfully placed in one of the cars instead of the big van, which was a smoother ride. We stopped along the way for dinner and had a debrief of the trip, and then proceeded down the mountains. It was 5am by the time we made it back to Manila, after a long mountain drive and dropping off volunteers in Pampanga and Quezon City.
At the tail end of my trip, I got to see a familiar face from Seattle – our Senior Port Chaplain, Deacon Joey! Joey and his wife Imelda travelled to the Philippines in late January, and we got to overlap for a couple of days. Marville and I were invited to Imelda’s birthday party buffet lunch, and it was great for Marville to see them again – Deacon Joey and Imelda hosted Marville at their house for the majority of his stay in Seattle last Spring. After lunch, Joey took me on a final shopping adventure to get some souvenirs - and he even bartered on my behalf to get me the premium local prices.
Two weeks went by so quickly, and I was able to experience so much in that short timespan. I am so grateful for this immersive experience, and how it has helped me make new connections and new friends, and build a greater understanding of Philippine culture, the lives of Filipino seafarers, and the welfare services available in the Philippines. I am very thankful for the US Department of State’s YSEALI program which funded this project and made the trip possible, and of course to Marville for hosting me and developing such a great itinerary for the trip.
Many people I met in the Philippines asked when I would be back – I don’t know yet, but I do hope to come back and experience even more of the Philippines!
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