[Op-Ed] The Week in Review: People Power

There were so many examples of people power in the news last week - examples of citizens doing good things in the world - that they deserve recognition.

The big news from Australia last week was that the nation now has a new Prime Minister, after the incumbent Tony Abbott was ousted.

He had lost so much favor with voters that his term was ended prematurely. Big business says it’s not good to change leaders so often. It damages investment. They are probably right, but it is a little reminder that ordinary citizens do have some power – and it’s a power that, judging by last week’s news, is being put to good use around the world.

One of the reasons why Abbott was unpopular was his policy of turning back migrant boats and keeping migrants and refugees in harsh conditions in offshore detention centers.

Australia, like the U.S., has a migrant heritage as well as an indigenous one, and on September 17 Barack Obama highlighted that when he said: “Today is the 228th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. By carrying on our unique history of welcoming and encouraging newcomers, we help ensure that we continue to form that “more perfect union” envisioned at the heart of our vibrant democracy.”

Obama is encouraging ordinary citizens to commit to making their hometowns a place that welcomes all residents. He believes that local communities play a critical role in advancing immigrant integration efforts.

That is, people have the power to make things work at a grass-roots level, regardless of what governments or corporations might decide.

Klaus Vogel, a German merchant navy captain, is exercising his personal power, and tapping into grass-roots crowd funding for Europe’s migrants. Last week, MarEx published an article on how he has established the humanitarian group SOS Mediterranee and is raising money to charter a rescue ship.

His ship will join the efforts of the Sea-Watch vessel that has been rescuing migrants for several months. The Sea-Watch project is the private initiative of several families from Brandenburg, Germany. All of the project participants are volunteers and work without remuneration.

Vogel’s ship will also join the MOAS vessel Phoenix, started by two people who were horrified to float past the clothing of a drowned person, probably a refugee, while they were enjoying a holiday cruise of the Med. 

That was an accidental achievement for the cruise industry, but, more and more, the industry is helping to harness people power towards achieving admirable goals. Most lines already boast about their environmental and educational achievements, and MarEx published an article last week on Carnival Cruises’ presentation of its 2020 sustainability goals. The firm noted its earlier donation via the Carnival Foundation, made in June 2014, of $2.5 million over a five-year period to The Nature Conservancy, one of the world's leading conservation organizations, to advance the preservation of the world's oceans and seas.

Less well known was Oceanwide Expeditions’ first “Cleaning the Shores of Svalbard” expedition cruise. During an eight day voyage to the remote northern part of Svalbard in the Arctic, paying guests on board an Oceanwide Expedition vessel picked an estimated 13 cubic meters of garbage from the region’s beaches. 

Oceanwide Expeditions is committed to sustainable tourism, and the company and its passengers are proud to have made a difference.

Carnival understands this desire for people to do good and is adding a dimension to its operations that supports the desire for people to help others as well as the environment. In June 2015, the company launched Fathom, its 10th brand, which christened a new travel category called social impact travel. “Fathom is a different kind of cruise that combines the love of travel with a desire to make a difference,” says Carnival.

The new brand seeks to develop lasting social impact partnerships that allow for meaningful enrichment of its passengers, while providing systematic, long-term educational, environmental and economic development benefits in its partner countries – starting with the Dominican Republic in April 2016 and Cuba in May 2016, pending Cuban approval. 

Because Fathom will regularly transport hundreds of passengers to its partner countries, the support will be significant and sustainable – allowing them to make long-lasting contributions.

In a way, the move reflects the words of David Hammond, CEO of the charity Human Rights at Sea, describing his goals for greater recognition of seafarer support charities by the IMO and shipping companies: “People first, not profit. Profit comes from people.”

Hammond called for the maritime industry, as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility goals, to commit to direct support for the charities that work to meet the welfare needs of seafarers and fishermen.

That leads in to more good news from last week: More than 2,000 fishermen have been rescued this year from brutal conditions at sea, their freedom prompted by an Associated Press investigation into seafood brought to the U.S. from a slave island in Indonesia. This week, many of these people are now heading home.