Compassion at Sea
By Anne Marshall
Page 2
Bringing the experience full circle
Before they set sail, maritime studies professor Mary Malloy exposed C-197 to the history of the Caribbean and its people, preparing them for their journey in ways unimagined.
"With this class we looked at the five centuries from Columbus to today. We were trying to track population statistics, the environmental impact, and political structure over five centuries," Malloy explained. "Throughout all of this, we tried to look at the strand of native people in the region and how one can rediscover their story."
The third week of class focused on the Haitian Revolution of 1804. With 2004 marking its bicentennial, C-197 found themselves immersed in the historical hardships and present-day plight of these people. Students learned the events that lead the Haitians to revolt in the nineteenth century and the continuing despair that causes them to flee their country today.
Abject poverty, starvation, and environmental destruction persist. "In fact, in the past year, estimates suggest a dramatic increase in the number of people attempting to flee Haiti in small, overcrowded wooden boats and rafts," Herard noted.
Haitians boat is pulled along side of Cramer.
"Students knew what was going on from the stuff that we talked about. They knew what was happening in Haiti that would actually make people, in these very desperate circumstances, leave their home," Malloy said.
Herard emphasized, "But not until we actually came across the 51 Haitian refugees… stranded between Haiti and Jamaica, did we finally witness and just begin to understand the culmination of political, social, and environmental devastation in the Caribbean."
Rescued, but not saved
After the Corwith Cramer departed Jamaica, it was unclear what would become of the men, women and children who'd left Haiti in search of work. With conviction and commitment, the SEA community began the daunting task of locating them.
Within days of the rescue, SEA President John Bullard contacted Congressman William D. Delahunt's Chief of Staff, Steve Schwadron, with a plea to find more information on the refugees' status. On behalf of SEA, Mr. Schwadron met with Ambassador Gordon Shirley of the Jamaican Embassy to determine what had become of the 51 Haitians.
Following the meeting, Congressman Delahunt wrote to Ambassador Shirley, reinforcing the importance of this request, "I seek your assistance to help clarify what has happened to these people....The students of Sea Education Association...are deeply concerned about the Haitians, and anxious for detail about their status, location, and condition."
Despite great intentions and effort, SEA received a disappointing answer from the Embassy of Jamaica on June 24. Ambassador Shirley wrote:
"I wish to advise that all Haitian refugees arriving on Jamaican soil are provided immediate medical attention, followed by registration, after which they are transferred to either the Montpelier Camp Facility in Montego Bay or the Winnifred Rest Home in Portland…Currently, there are 471 Haitians in Jamaica…Given the procedure for handling undocumented Haitians, it would be almost impossible to provide specifics on the whereabouts of the [51] rescued by the Corwith Cramer. I can however, assure you that these persons would be in various stages of the process described above."
Meanwhile, SEA reached out to its constituents who responded by making donations to the Haitian relief effort in honor of the crew and students of C-197.
After researching appropriate recipients for these funds, Captain Tarrant suggested the funds be directed to The Haitian Health Foundation (HHF), through AmeriCares. HHF is an organization in Norwich, Connecticut that has spent 24 years bringing improved health and hope to over 200,000 people in rural southern Haiti.
The funds, made possible by SEA donors and supplemented personally by Captain Tarrant, purchased two Sonacaid fetal heart dopplers for the Center of Hope facility to be used in the 104 rural Haitian villages that they serve.
HHF's Center of Hope cares for pregnant women with complications, offering pre-natal and delivery services as well as inpatient stays, and a supplementary nutrition center.
We're all in the same boat
That distant dot on the horizon, first spotted by a C-197 student, could be analogous to the way many view the world's problems – far off and seemingly insignificant. But the sea connects us, and that connection creates responsibility.
SEA crew and students accepted this responsibility on March 9 with resolution and a powerful desire to help their fellow man – a mother, a son, a husband, a sister – stranded in open waters, seeking refuge outside their country.
"Those 51 people out there in the middle of the ocean needed us. It is quite likely that they would have perished in the salty abyss if we hadn't run into them," Kasch said.
The entire event is a testament to how very real an SEA experience can be. C-197 utilized the skills that SEA fosters: teamwork, decision-making, self-confidence and a greater respect for others. They gained the deepest insight into our ocean planet, and were deeply moved by the plight of the people they helped.
Some students were even inspired to action. Herard, for example, returned to school in Ann Arbor, Michigan and produced a radio segment for BlackBox Radio, based on her experience and research. "The experience cannot be described as less than life-changing, even though the phrase ‘life-changing' seems so easily applicable to SEA in general," she said.
"The goal of my radio piece was first and foremost to gain a better understanding of the issues that surround Haitian boat people, the history behind the exodus from the impoverished country, and how the US plays a role in the state of affairs in Haiti."
The incident on March 9 received great local and national exposure including NBC Nightly News and Associated Press reprints in over 60 outlets. At its core, though, lies a powerful message, one that SEA hopes people have learned: We are ONE world, land and sea, connected to our past and to each other.
"What we have in our curriculum is the study of oceanography, and the history and literature of the sea and skills like navigation and weather forecasting," President John Bullard told MSNBC news. "One thing you learn that is not in the curriculum is that we're all in the same boat."