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NEWS & LETTERS, June - July 2008
World in View
Typhoon Fengshen
At least 1,300 are believed to be dead after Typhoon Fengshen hit the central Philippines June 21, capsizing a passenger ferry resulting in the deaths of 809 of the 865 passengers and crew who were aboard. Many bodies are still trapped inside the sunken boat's hull. While early reports focused on the fact that the Philippine coast guard had cleared the ferry for sailing despite the typhoon's proximity, as we go to press the BBC and others are reporting that rescue and salvage efforts of 100 divers have been hampered because the ferry was illicitly carrying ten tons of endosulfan, a highly toxic pesticide bound for Dole Corporation pineapple plantations. Exposure (including of the rescue workers) to endosulfan can cause mental and genetic disorders, skin diseases, nervous disorders and even death.
In a recent "public eye award" short list announcement, the Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research in the Philippines cited Dole, "where workers, particularly women, are only temporarily hired, earn starvation wages, and received no company benefits...children [who work on the plantations] suffer from health problems due to the strenuous work and to toxic chemicals such as endolsulfan that are used on the plantations...the firm with the sunny logo is taking drastic measures against the unionists who recently exposed unsafe waste disposal in the canning plant...the local union secretary was temporarily suspended from his work at Dole after he uncovered [violations] of health and safety standards."
As relatives desperate for information about missing loved ones gathered at the corporate headquarters of Sulpicio Lines, owner of the capsized "Princess of the Skies," the shipping line has posted on its website an offer to pay the equivalent of about $4,500 to the family of each victim. But its offer to "cast aside legal technicalities and waive the waiting period of one year with which missing passengers will be compensated" is not likely to enhance the company's or capitalism's image much among Filipinos.
--Russell Rockwell
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