Three of 12 Filipino seafarers who have been stranded in Greece since July 2009 returned to the country Wednesday and lamented that the Philippine government failed to help them. The other stranded seafarers from other countries were able to go home immediately.
The rest of the stranded Filipino seafarers are expected to arrive in Manila within the week.
The Filipinos were working as a crew of MV Aeta Sierra, which had been suspected of operating illegally and held for investigation by Greek authorities off the coast of Athens.
Fernandico, who worked as a 2nd Cook on MV Aeta Sierra, that compared to other seafarers from other countries, the Filipinos were the least cared for. For morethan eight months, Fernandico said that they were not paid appropriate wages and they lacked adequate food, water and medicines while onboard the ship. Ellene Sena of the Center for Migrants Advocacy said the seafarers had been seeking assistance from DFA since July but according to Sana " DFA simply had been unresponsive."
Fernandico also claimed that the Philippine Embassy in Greece failed to help them. He said that although they were ofered plane tickets home, they had to turn it down because they would not be able to get their back wages from their employers. With the help of a group of Filipino migrant workers in Greece, the seafarers filed a case before a court in Athens against the owners of MV Aeta Sierra.
The court ruled in their favor and ordered the ship owners to pay the seafarers' back wages. Sana said that on March 10, the 12 seafarers' received a partial payment of their back wages.
Source: Shiptalk
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