THE MENTAL HEALTH OF SAILORS
Your Seamen's club takes action!
Issues of psychological suffering, management of acute emotional stress due to cultural or linguistic isolation due to the diversity of nationalities embarked, (« 8 months on board is not the exception, it’s the habit« ) promiscuity on board, the dangerousness,may be the most in the world, of the job, traumatic events as well as post- traumatic have been mentioned. The announced figure 250 sailors in difficulty is quite low compared to the 40,000 embarked, or 0.05% but the fact remains that their suffering is very real. If life on board can sometimes be violent in many forms, home care is always the place of non-hierarchical relationships, a moment of decompression, rest, in a calm, neutral and warm environment
The Seamen's Club in partnership with CRAPEM*
CRAPEM (Centre Ressource d’Aide Psychologique En Mer)
Contact: Par téléphone: 02 40 90 75 01 ou 06 11 21 40 30 par mail: crapem@ch-saintnazaire.fr
Wednesday, May 3 was a morning access day on prevention and risks within the home concerning the safety of personnel. A presentation was given in the presence of the volunteers. The afternoon was reserved for a visit to the ENSM (marine nationale high school) and a presentation by a psychologist specialized in psychiatry concerning the disorders of sailors during life on board. Indeed a psychological help exists for 2 years, the CRAPEM, even if it is not yet well known.
IT'S MOVING IN THE PORT
The 200 meters maneuver
Many bulk carriers, such as the « KIM OLDENDORFF », the « MYRTO », the « KYPROS LOYALTY », the « SOCRATIS » or the « SARITA NAREE » often approaching or exceeding two hundred meters long, come to load at the bottom of the river, in Rouen, from the estuary of Le Havre located more than a hundred kilometers away. As the sinuosity of the river gives the impression that it meanders, some sailors have nicknamed it « Snake river » … indeed, it takes more than 6 hours of navigation in the meanders of the Seine to return to the mouth and the sea.
THE NICO-PHILO MINUTE
What do we need ?
The french philosopher Simone Weil offers a reflection on what she calls the « needs of the soul ». Certainly, our body has needs (food, sleep, heat) but there are also needs of the soul. These needs of the soul are not met, for example, when one lives in constant fear. Fear of losing one’s job or fear of not having enough to live until the end of the month, diffuse fear of someone apprehended as a threat, or fear for someone’s life. Fear is a disease that paralyzes the soul. Some security is necessary to live. Security is an essential need of the soul. Security means that the soul is not permanently under the weight of fear or terror. The needs of the soul are « vital needs of the human being », « analogous to food », « that is, if they are not satisfied, man gradually falls into a state more or less close to a purely vegetative life ». Among these needs, the list of which can always be revised or supplemented, there is freedom but also obedience (to those who exercise authority and to the common law – as long as its legitimacy is recognized), equality but also hierarchy, security but also risk, freedom of expression but also truth, For truth is a need of the soul and our time is sick of no longer feeding on truth. Among the needs of the soul, there is also the recognition of personal dignity but also the punishment following a crime or misdemeanour, private property but also participation in collective goods, solitude and silence but also participation in a common task.
Simone weil, the rooting.
