‘I’m starving!’ - Food options dwindling as ship workers ponder legal action
Published:Monday | April 27, 2020 | 12:00 AM
Damion Mitchell, Integration Editor
Food options for the Jamaican ship workers stuck on the Marella Discovery 2 in England are dwindling, and the pain of the uncertainty of their return home is worsening.
“I’m starving!” one of the ship workers among the 43 Jamaicans on board told The Gleaner yesterday.
For her, in recent days, the most popular choice on the menu has been fries and beef.
Another Jamaican who previously reported that he was fine remaining on the vessel said that all that has now changed.
In the meantime, attorney-at-law Jennifer Housen has responded to Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson Smith, giving her 14 days to arrange the return of the Jamaicans she represents.
“Failure of which, I am instructed by my clients to bring proceedings against you to afford their return,” Housen wrote.
A week ago, Housen first wrote to Johnson Smith demanding that the Government move expeditiously to secure the return of the Jamaicans.
Amid a ban on incoming passengers, the 43 Jamaican workers on the Marella Discovery 2 were not granted landing when they were docked south of Port Royal in Kingston from April 2 to 3.
The captain, after waiting for more than 24 hours without word from the Government, left for the Dominican Republic, where its nationals disembarked, then headed to Portugal but was denied landing there.
The ship was later granted landing in Southampton and remains in the United Kingdom maritime space.
In her response last week, Johnson Smith said that the Jamaican High Commission, through the Jamaica Tourist Board and the United Kingdom office, had been in contact with the Marella operators, TUI Group, regarding the 43 Jamaicans.
But Housen now says that although the Marella Discovery 2 has been in Southampton since April 14, the Jamaican High Commission in the UK did not contact the Jamaicans until April 23 to enquire about their well-being.
The attorney reiterated that amid the anxiety, her clients have been considering legal action to force the Government’s hand.
The Holness administration has indicated that the ship workers will be part of a programme for the controlled re-entry of Jamaicans.
However, it said that all people coming back will have to go into mandatory state quarantine and that the necessary preparations will have to be made.
According to Prime Minister Andrew Holness, the Jamaicans should also be prepared to contribute to the bills for the facilities where they will be held.