Eduardo Bustamante: Conquering Christmas blues at sea

Conquering Christmas blues at sea
Yashika F. Torib December 16, 2020 https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/12/16/business/maritime-business/conque...

Seafarers are tough and strong on the exterior with all their boisterous talks of adventures, booming voices, and burliness. At times, it is difficult to picture a downcast man who, based on our perspective, is on a globe-trotting, dollar-earning quest. Such perception is emphasized by seafaring families whom we have observed to celebrate a bountiful Christmas and all other holiday festivities.

Seafarers seem to be a cheerful lot.

But much like a diamond, they too have so many sides, one of which is usually obscured from the observing eye of an outsider. Mariners, whenever at sea, are constantly tired and lonely. Such is the normal state that they’ve learned to attune their emotions the moment they step inside the airport and leave their families behind. Seamen have learned to numb themselves of the filial sentiments especially brought on by Christmas.

Eduardo Bustamante, an offshore vessel captain for 14 years, describes this emotion in raw and most painful Filipino terms, “Malungkot, masakit. Puro hinagpis ang inaabot namin kapag ganitong panahon,” he lamented of the isolating, and often unforgiving job they have to endure.

“What can we do, anyway? This is what we came and signed up for, this is our duty. Abutin man ng kalungkutan ay titiisin na lang talaga,” he said.

It is this season when most families come together under the red, blue, greens, and glitters of Christmas when seafarers like Bustamante go the other way — towards the gloomy emptiness of a vast blue-gray ocean spreading towards the horizon, their only family for that day — the handful of crew members on the ship.

Bustamante is among the almost 400,000 Filipino seafarers who suffer from Christmas Blues whenever they are deployed onboard a ship until after the yuletide season. Unlike other seafaring nationalities, Filipinos are the most traditionally tightly knit with their families, thus, the emotional struggle during the season.

“It is a miserable time for us, but we have no other choice but to get used to it. As the master of the ship, I must be strong for my men. Any signs of weakness on my part will start a domino effect among my crew. I may be responsible for our vessel, but mostly, I am responsible for the well being of my mates – I have to keep their morale high by constantly reminding them of why and for who we are doing this,” the Bicolano captain explained.

Blessings under the pandemic

Mentally and physically strong as they are, Bustamante and many other seafarers who are recently deployed for a shipboard duty see this not as another gloomy season, but a Christmas blessing.

“I was jobless for five months when the COVID-19 pandemic hit us. While our company has been giving us some monthly financial assistance, we still had to face the reality that it is not enough for our basic needs as a family. I came to a point when I doubted if I could ever board a ship anytime soon given the lockdowns on countries and travel restrictions here on ours. I was primarily anxious about how I can provide for my family’s needs. I was thinking of survival,” Bustamante said.

For over 30 years of working as a seafarer, Bustamante has been used to strict pre-deployment documentation requirements in compliance with international maritime standards. The pandemic-induced restrictions, however, were different.

“It was normally a tedious process, but when COVID-19 hit us, many of the countries where crew change are held because very, very strict. Each one has its own protocols. We are fortunate that our company is very supportive in securing our required pre-deployment documents for each of these countries regardless of the expenses they would incur for it.

“I may still be on board until after the holidays are over but it is good that I have a job in the midst of a pandemic, despite the crew change difficulties, and border lockdowns. I see this as a blessing,” he said.

Stopping a moment to reflect on his fate, Bustamante thought back on the days when COVID-19 was at its peak.

“I had no income then; I had no job. But whatever meager resources I had, I chose to give away to those who are more in need,” Bustamante recalled. He is a volunteer for the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary, the uniformed civilian-volunteer arm of the Coast Guard.

“I am able to share my maritime expertise in PCGA, but mostly, I am simply happy to be of service to my countrymen. There are times, however, when I would really have to witness the extremely sorry state of our fellowmen. Mapapaluha ka na lang talaga,” he shared.

Bustamante attributes his current blessings to this voluntary service to the nation. “I was never expecting any reward for helping people out. I just wanted to share my blessings with others. I guess, it was divine providence that brought me back to the sea where my livelihood is, not just to provide for my family but to continue channeling these blessings to those in need,” he concluded.