This is a one of the easiest days at Seafarer Help,-no calls, no particularly complicated followups. Only big grey sky that is looking into a mirror of our office window and a murmuring of silver radio transmitter are left to fill the silence. There is also a little task for me,-I was asked to make a list of Russian speaking countries where we should start our upcoming e-mailing compain. Hopefully it will help us to make Seafarer Help more popular in this part of the world.
To start with my task seemed very strightforward and simple. But once I made a list of all the ex-soviet republicks and started searching through the relevant sites for some contacts there, the countries turned out to be a real web ghosts. Only biggest of them like Ukraine and Russia seemed to be fully present and in touch with the rest of the modern world. Smaller once had just a few contacts with the phone numbers and e-mails that didn't work, or were not mentioned at all.
Perheps these places are still recovering from the political and social disasters that shook them twenty years ago. That means that sea workers there most of the time have very limited, or no access to any professional advise or assistance. If fact, I don't need to guess, I know it for sure. I am Georgian. It's just that it is not always easy to face such a cruel reality. I remember quite a few months ago trying to get through to the only seafarer centre in Georgia. The phone kept calling, and calling, and calling...No one was there to pick up, my e-mail bounced back.
Unfortunately that isn't because seafarers are not in need of help there, or have nothing to be discontent with. Quite the opposite,-because their problems are too huge and money is too tight. It would seem like a real luxury there to build a good seafarer centre. The population is still too busy with pretty basic survival. Sometimes due to neccesity, but more often because people forgot about any other way of existance. However, Black Sea is still welcoming and beautiful and friendly dolphins are still greating approaching ships by performing their acrobatic tricks for amazed foreign visitors. But ugly reality desturbs the eturnal beauty of nature. Once foreign crew steps off the ship, unattractive daily routin creeps in.
I suddenly remembered far too well how city of my childhood got filled with bodies of dead people and trees. How dangerous it became to leave home after dark and how sound of a gunshot turned into something terribly familiar, even normal...Well, I better get on with my little list because who knows, maybe it will make a difference to the sea workers of those troubled places. There certanly everyone needs help, and paople who try to connect their countries with the rest of the world, perheps even more.
To start with my task seemed very strightforward and simple. But once I made a list of all the ex-soviet republicks and started searching through the relevant sites for some contacts there, the countries turned out to be a real web ghosts. Only biggest of them like Ukraine and Russia seemed to be fully present and in touch with the rest of the modern world. Smaller once had just a few contacts with the phone numbers and e-mails that didn't work, or were not mentioned at all.
Perheps these places are still recovering from the political and social disasters that shook them twenty years ago. That means that sea workers there most of the time have very limited, or no access to any professional advise or assistance. If fact, I don't need to guess, I know it for sure. I am Georgian. It's just that it is not always easy to face such a cruel reality. I remember quite a few months ago trying to get through to the only seafarer centre in Georgia. The phone kept calling, and calling, and calling...No one was there to pick up, my e-mail bounced back.
Unfortunately that isn't because seafarers are not in need of help there, or have nothing to be discontent with. Quite the opposite,-because their problems are too huge and money is too tight. It would seem like a real luxury there to build a good seafarer centre. The population is still too busy with pretty basic survival. Sometimes due to neccesity, but more often because people forgot about any other way of existance. However, Black Sea is still welcoming and beautiful and friendly dolphins are still greating approaching ships by performing their acrobatic tricks for amazed foreign visitors. But ugly reality desturbs the eturnal beauty of nature. Once foreign crew steps off the ship, unattractive daily routin creeps in.
I suddenly remembered far too well how city of my childhood got filled with bodies of dead people and trees. How dangerous it became to leave home after dark and how sound of a gunshot turned into something terribly familiar, even normal...Well, I better get on with my little list because who knows, maybe it will make a difference to the sea workers of those troubled places. There certanly everyone needs help, and paople who try to connect their countries with the rest of the world, perheps even more.
posted by Seafarerhelp at 8:45 AM
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