“I work on cargo ships. I’m usually at sea for nine months at a...

“I work on cargo ships. I’m usually at sea for nine months at a time, but sometimes it can go past a year. My last trip was 25 months. It’s tough out there. You’re so far from your family. It’s been easier since we got Internet last year. But before that you could only make phone calls when you got to a port. And you’d only get a letter once every two months. My mother died during a recent trip and I couldn’t even go home for the funeral. She was fine when I left, but somewhere off the coast of South Africa, the captain came into the engine room and told me she’d passed away. I was so weak I couldn’t work. The other guys volunteered to take over my shifts. Everyone chipped in some money and gave me a gift. We do that every time someone loses a family member. Your crew mates are all you have out there. All of us are going through the same thing. And if you don’t share your problems, you’ll go crazy.”

(Manila, Philippines)