Three seamen who escaped from what they called hell-like working conditions on a Chinese fishing vessel returned to Bacolod on Tuesday, April 19.
The three are Edwin Ursula, 27, and Richard Amar, 25, of Bacolod City, and Nick Avelino, 24, of Murcia.
They thanked Bacolod mayoral candidate Alfredo “Albee” Benitez and his brother Rep. Francisco Benitez (Negros Occidental, 3rd District) for facilitating their return from Fiji.
They applied as crewmen of a fishing vessel at Britmark Shipping Services Inc. in Manila in November and were brought to Fiji Island in March, Amar said.
After a quarantine period they boarded a Chinese fishing vessel of “SeaFresh Fishing” where they were made to work 22 hours a day, with only two hours left to sleep, and were treated like animals, he said.
Their contract said they would only be working eight hours a day and would be paid $400 a month, Amar added.
They were at sea for a week and they prayed that the engine of their vessel would breakdown so they could return to the Suva Port on Fiji Island, he said.
When they reached the port they escaped and sought help from the Fiji immigration officials.
They were not paid for their work.
They posted their plight on Facebook and the Benitez brothers helped them return home, Amar said.
There were three other Filipinos from Zambales, Batangas and Manila on the vessel with them, he said, adding that they all left Fiji on Monday.*