P. C. T. Seamen’s / Fishermen’s Service Center ~ News Letter 2016 JAN
The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan Seamen’s/Fishermen’s Service Center No.2, 1F Yukang Chung 1st Rd., Chien-chen District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan Tel:886 7 8227296
Fax:886 7 8416870
Website: http://www.pctsfsc.org.tw/
Bank: CATHAY UNITED BANK, KUTING BRANCH Account No: 030501340525 Name: THE JURIDICAL PERSON OF THE PEACE SOCIAL WELFARE AND CHARITY FOUNDATION Address: NO. 149, SEC.3, ROOSEVELT RD., TAIPEI, TAIWAN R.O.C. SWT：UWCBTWTP
If you want to receive our newsletter online in the future, please mail to pctsfsc@yahoo.com.tw 1
0BP. C. T. Seamen’s / Fishermen’s Service Center ~ News Letter
2016 JAN
In Lord Jesus Director / Rev. Chen Ping-Hsun
There is a hymn that goes like this: we’ve become a family in Lord Jesus, in Lord Jesus we are God’s Children. We’ve become a family in lord Jesus, in Lord Jesus enter into the kingdom of God… such a warmful feeling just by listening to this, especially during the Christmas season.
Do you ever wonder the reason that seemingly everyone in the world cheers for Christmas? That everywhere we go, we can always feel the joy from people? It is all because of Jesus, and the grace Jesus brings upon the world that plants the infinite hope in all of us. The whole world celebrates this wonderful day in the cold, even snowy wintertime, for the grace Jesus brings, especially from all the miracles and the great our fellow Christians tell, we profoundly feel the love, the protection, and the appreciation of Jesus. The Christians know too well that it is their mission, their privilege to deliver God’s word to people and to guide them to Jesus.
Adhering to such an amazing privilege, we at the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan Seamen’s/Fishermen’s Service Centre hosts the Christmas Dinner Party every year to bring together the seamen/fishermen. We use this event as a way to care for them and to accommodate their needs. The Christmas dinner party is such an important event and it is easy for one to see our commitment and our sincerity just by looking at the number of people who willingly help making it happen every year. Take last year’s party for example, on top of all the staff at the service centre and our great Samaritan from all over the world, we receive help from the local volunteers, the security guards and the janitors of the building where the event takes place, the people from the Marine Bureau of Kaohsiung, and even the people who are on their deferred indictments. So many people voluntarily joined us in organizing and prepping the event. Moreover, we were honoured to see so many wonderful guests participating the dinner: the fishermen and the immigrant families from Philippines and Indonesia, government representatives, such as Director Wu at the Deep Sea Fishery Research and Development Centre, and the director general, Mr. Tuan-Jeng Wang, of the Marine Bureau of Kaohsiung City. Also, for the first time ever, we had the director of the Manila
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0BP. C. T. Seamen’s / Fishermen’s Service Center ~ News Letter
2016 JAN
Economic and Cultural office in Kaohsiung, Mr. Mario I. Molina, along with his colleges joining us in last year’s event. Most importantly, we were so graceful to have Mr. Cheng Ming-Tang sharing his life stories with Jesus and singing many wonderful carols at the night. The heart touching stories and the ever warming melody truly shined the entire evening.
By highlighting this experience, and acknowledging everyone who participated, we want to illustrate the fact that the sole reason so many people willingly to lent their help is because of the common love for Jesus that we all share. It is Jesus’ love that got us convene together and celebrate. May the God bless everyone!
Lubricant Social worker / Huang Chung-tse Lubricants are such a common substance we see or use in many different occasions in our daily lives. Whether it’s the machineries, the rails, or the latches, a simple application of lubricants is all it takes to make our machines or tools work much smoother. Often times, a “lubricant” is also what it takes to ease the arguments between people.
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0BP. C. T. Seamen’s / Fishermen’s Service Center ~ News Letter
2016 JAN
Recently we came across 7 filipino fishermen who sought assistance with their labour dispute problems. After speaking with them, we knew that the fishermen seemed to be enraged and refused to go back to work because the employer was delaying their paychecks. However, we were not able to piece together the whole story due to the language barrier. Thus, we hired an interpreter to help and also invited the fishermen recruiter who was the representative of the employer to meet with the fishermen at our service centre to sort out the dispute. The recruiter explained that the paychecks were never delayed; the fishermen neglected the checks because of the deductions. On top of that, there were also some disputes regarding the debts they owe to the captain. The debts were already deducted from their paychecks before they were able to clarify the confusions with the captain. We weren’t able to validate these debts since the ship captain was out of town at the time; we figured we’d sort out the paycheck issue first. The recruiter was kind enough to obtain the copies of the lists of deductions and to explain item by item to the frustrated fishermen. One of the biggest arguments was the snacks, drinks, and the instant noodles the crew consumed on the ship; the crew members felt that cost was inflated and that they were being ripped off. We found after the calculation, factoring the exchange rates, that the price charged on the commodities were in fact the same as they were in Taiwan. Thankfully we were able to have the fishermen realize the numbers to calm their resentment. As for the crew’s debts to the captain, the recruiter promised to speak with the captain in resolving the confusions after the captain’s back in town. Once the confusions got clarified and sorted, the company would then issue the payments with every dollar the crew members were entitled to. It’s rather appalling to see just how easy the distrust or even hostility could rise against people when one was in a foreign environment, and was exhausted both physically and mentally by the intensive work. What makes the matter worse is the miscommunication due to the language barrier. When we spoke with the recruiter after the meeting, he also expressed his frustration as he found it quite hard to understand these fishermen’s animosity as he felt he’s already explained everything they needed answered. This is exactly what we, the fishermen service centre, are here for. We act as the lubricant between the two parties. The fishermen did not trust the recruiter’s words simply for the fact that he represents the company and he certainly would put the company’s interest on priority. Nonetheless, through an individual, credible outsider who they trust, us in this case, they were willing to listen and to clarify the miscommunications. I am proud of what we do at the Fishermen Service Centre. And we will continue to reach further to more people who are in need of our help. Translated by Lin Hsueh-Li
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