Indian family seeks return of mariner stranded in West Asia amid war (IMAGE: X)
INDIAN MARINER STUCK AMID WAR: The serene Haripad town, Kerala has turned out to be a place of agonizing wait as the family of Jerin George, a young Indian mariner, demands intervention by the government to take him out of a difficult scenario. George is already in a trap in an Iranian ship in the midst of the growing turmoil in the West Asian war. His anxious parents, who are experiencing the anxiety of war abroad and confronted with the vagaries of a foreign war, have already publicly requested that their son may be safely repatriated, whose coming has been indefinitely postponed by the crisis affecting the region.
George left his home eight months ago to go on an Iranian vessel to follow his career, and the family is looking forward to see him back before March. But the balance of power changed drastically as the great enmities broke out in February.
This unexpected eruption of violence caused his ship to withdraw to the waters of Iran, virtually sealing off his home route. Since then, the young man has been languishing in the ship, never getting a chance to get back to India, as the war continues to shake up the area.
The physical and emotional burden of the stranded is becoming more apparent. The family is not yet able to see his face because communication is still intermittent and confined to short voice calls. The bleak picture of his present living conditions was revealed through his mother who was devastated by the situation.
His mother said George was scraping by somehow, even though food was running out on the ship. They’ve managed to talk to him on the phone a few times, but that’s about it.
Not seeing him has been even harder. “We haven’t been able to video call,” she said, tearing up. Then she got quiet, just a parent in pain, and spoke from the heart: “I just want my son to come back to me.”
Turning to politicians for help, George’s father started reaching out to powerful political leaders to get their attention. The family sent written appeals to Congress general secretary KC Venugopal and the well-known leader Ramesh Chennithala.
They’re hoping that with these officials involved, the Indian government will step in, coordinate internationally, and get George out safely. His father hasn’t wavered, repeating what matters most to them: “We want him to be returned to us.”
With the West Asian war hanging over families like theirs, George’s family keeps waiting, hoping, praying—anything for the authorities to act quickly and bring him home from that ship, before supplies are gone and the risks along the Iranian coast get any worse.
Amid an imminent blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, on Monday, a labor union revealed that thousands of crew members were still stuck on vessels in and around the Strait. It also included the fact that the crew is in short supply of basic needs and they are becoming desperate.
Milind Kandalgaonkar, the general secretary of the National Union of Seafarers of India, estimates that an Indian crew numbering almost 20,000 has been grounded in the area.
He wrote in a letter to the national shipping board of India, many of these seafarers are said to be in acute shortage of food, drinkable water and medical supplies. He also encouraged the authorities to make sure that supplies are delivered to the vessels, safeguard the well-being of seafarers, and make evacuation arrangements in case of necessity.
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