*Mansi Choksi * * Nov 19 2010, MUMBAI: Signing up for a life at sea can be a tempestuous commitment. With the thrill of exploring untouched waters and joining the cash-rich merchant navy come the confines of a deck with shrinking port turnarounds and the risk of being held hostage while negotiating piracy-prone passages like the Gulf of Aden. *
Over 45 seafarers ended their lives since 2008 because of depression, said officials of the Directorate General of Shipping. The data on sailor suicides spurred the maritime body to recently launch a helpline to tele-counsel seafarers on board. "A seafarer's career has its own moments of stress. Long voyages, loneliness, weather conditions, short turnaround at ports, being away from family and coping with multicultural environments are some of them," said director general of shipping (DGS) Dr Satish B Agnihotri, adding that suicide notes of two cases in 2009 were studied while training psychologists for the helpline. Staple newsfeeds about Indians being held hostage by pirates in the Gulf of Aden passage doesn't calm nerves either. "It is quite understandable for those in captivity, their friends and crew working on board ships passing through piracy prone areas," he said. The DGS has now roped in Vandrevala Foundation, which works in the field of mental health that also runs the official BMC student crisis helpline. The sailor helpline was launched on the 50th anniversary of the Shipping Corporation of India on October 2 and has already received 12 calls with typical symptoms of depression and anxiety stemming from being away from the family and extreme weather conditions. "We also got calls from family members of sailors who were worried about them passing through piracy zones," said Dr Arun John, executive vice-president of the Vandrevala Foundation. John says some mental health professionals from the organization were trained in the nuances of the maritime industry to deal with specific problems. There has also been a steady decline in the number of students wanting to join the merchant navy, said officials from the National Union of Seafarers. Much before the official DGS sailors' helpline was launched, Chennai-based ex-sailor MV Joy has been counselling distressed sailors and their families for no fees. Depression in sailors is now a subject Joy is exploring for a documentary film, in particular some ships that are categorised as 'floating prisons' because sailor documents are withheld and shore passes not allotted. "The film will be a tribute to those who are behind the curtains. The effort is to project merchant navy as a good career option. It will encourage seafarers to sail with well established shipping companies, not fly-by-night operators,''said Joy. The anguish of family members of seafarers on Jupiter 6, a bulk carrier which mysteriously went missing with 13 sailors off South Africa in 2005, inspired the film. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6956754.cms -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (News 'N Views) India" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/MhaNewsViewsIndia?hl=en ------------- Affiliated Groups : MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY INDIA [email protected] Discussions on mental health law / policy / plan monitoring / human rights etc [email protected] India-specific news and views related to mental health [email protected] Information and support to carers of people with mental health issues [email protected] Mutual support and sharing of experiential knowledge, skills and social learning amongst peers
