Treatment of foreign seafarers ‘an embarrassment’

As if home affairs does not
already have a disagreeable
mix of ingredients in its pot
– what with multi-million
rand lawsuits over illegal
detentions and hordes of
foreigners seeking asylum –
a Cape High Court judge has
lambasted the department
for the totally unacceptable
manner in which it has
treated foreign seafarers.
FTW recently reported
how five Indian relief crew
due to board the 139 816dwt
bulk carrier, Cape Santa
Milagria, were unexpectedly
detained by immigration
authorities before High
Court judge Vincent
Saldanha put his foot down
by ordering their immediate
release in an urgent interdict
brought before the court
(FTW September 17, 2010).
His scathing comments
have only come to light now
that the relieved ‘Indian 5’
are safely back home. But
they raise a good measure
of disquiet over treatment
meted out to seafarers
from time to time and
immigration’s inflexibility
in handling situations
that can be more readily
resolved.
A “lack of empathy
and disrespect for human
dignity” is how maritime
law specialist Alan Goldberg
of Bo Kaap-based Rose
Street Chambers in Cape
Town describes this latest
incident, certainly not the
first he has had to deal with
in a 20-year maritime law
career.
As was to be expected,
immigration has risen to
defend itself.
“Unfortunately, when you
are working for immigration
it’s similar to being in the
police or the military,” says
a senior officer.
“When you have to detain
people there will be negative
comments in nine out of ten
cases. The question is how
are you going to handle it?”
As to how home affairs/
immigration “handled it”
in the Cape Santa Milagria
matter, there is unanimity
that the treatment accorded
the Indians, all senior crew
including a master, was
simply not cricket.
In court for the midnight
application by lawyer
Goldberg to have the men
set free was immigration
officer Bradley Solomons
who, knowing full well the
Indians were booked to fly
home the next morning and
with the authority to free
the men, declined to do so
on the grounds he could not
contact his superior.
To which the judge
responded: “You were more
worried about yourself. Isn’t
that so?” – to which witness
answered in the affirmative
only after the question had
been repeated.
Judge Saldanha said
Solomons had shown “no
diligence” in dealing with
the matter, that he “simply
did not care about them” (the
five detainees) and that his
evidence “leaves a lot to be
desired.”
The judge criticised
immigration’s totally
unacceptable manner in
dealing with the matter,
going on to say: “This is
not the way to treat foreign
nationals, people who come
to this country not to work
in this country but to work
on a ship.
“It is not their fault the
ship was arrested. If they
had foreseen the ship would
be arrested they would never
have come to this country
“It’s an embarrassment
when state officials have to
behave in this way to foreign
nationals and it is also an
embarrassment when we’re
dealing with international
shipping companies.”
Ordering the immediate
release of the five, the judge
said they should be able
to leave the country “in a
proper and in an orderly and
dignified manner”, not in the
way they had been treated.