There are currently 200,000 seafarers stuck working on vessels across the globe and unable to be relieved of their duties. These are the men and women responsible for transporting 90% of the world's trade, from the food we eat to the clothes we wear. While goods are still flowing, the people transporting these goods are struggling. Every month, 100,000 seafarers leave their ships and are replaced by others. But due to covid-19, most of these crew changes have been cancelled for several months. Seafarers are in effect prisoners unable to leave the ship. Maritime unions and ships owners are warning that covid-19 restrictions could lead to a “humanitarian crisis” as seafarers’ mental health and performance worsen in the face of increasing fatigue – in a profession, which already had a high prevalence of accidents, depression and suicide pre-pandemic. What will it take to bring seafarers home? Assignment hears from the men and women stuck on board and those trying to help them; offering a unique insight into the often-forgotten human story of the global sea trade. Presented and produced by Estelle Doyle (Image: Seafarer looking out to sea. Credit: Artem Radchenko)
FeatureKultur & Gesellschaft
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Hear the voices at the heart of global stories. Where curious minds can uncover hidden truths and make sense of the world. The best of documentary storytelling from the BBC World Service. From China’s state-backed overseas spending, to on the road with Canada’s Sikh truckers, to the front line of the climate emergency, we go beyond the headlines. Each week we dive into the minds of the world’s most creative people, take personal journeys into spirituality and connect people from across the globe to share how news stories are shaping their lives.
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Folge vom 11.06.2020The seafarers stranded on the high seas
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Folge vom 09.06.2020Lockdown: Tales from Panama and BrazilThere is a sense of fatigue around the lockdown. Ray Gillenwater owns a gym, and explains that if he’s ordered to close down again – he will civilly resist. Kody Siegal explains how the tight restrictions of Panama are not quite as tough as you would expect, and Luiza Marchiori from Florianopolis returns to explain how the worst case scenario predicted by many in Brazil appears to be coming true.
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Folge vom 07.06.2020Killer Mike - The rapper turned speech makerRiots and protests have broken out in cities across the USA following the death of George Floyd after his arrest by white police officers in Minneapolis. But one black American’s impassioned plea for calm has gone viral in the midst of the violence. Atlanta-based rapper Killer Mike made an impromptu speech calling on his fellow citizens not to burn their city but to organise and mobilise and to use their votes to bring about change. Mark Coles has been speaking to people who know Killer Mike well, and finding out more about his past, his music and his life in Atlanta.
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Folge vom 06.06.2020In my present isolationSix authors on different continents, write across distances, to convey thoughts and preoccupations, during their present isolation. While the world is held in the grip of this pandemic, there's nowhere to go, no escape, all the exterior space has been taken. The only refuge is inside, a home, a room.. in the interior of the psyche, surfing the seas and landscapes of the mind. In this moment of social distancing and reliance on social media, a group of writers are reverting to an earlier form of communication – to letter writing.