Taitung Students Prepare Meal for Foreign Fishermen|學生備美食關懷外籍漁工 體會生活處境

A very heart warming story to look at : Around 15,000 foreign fishermen, including many from Southeast Asia, are currently employed in Taiwan. Most of them left their families behind. On May 11, 29 Junyi Experimental High School students prepared food from the Philippines and Indonesia, and brought them to the foreign fishermen working at Taitung's Fugang Fishery Harbor to express their care. They ate with the fishermen and learned about their lives.


On May 11, Junyi Experimental High School juniors had a special experience during their outdoor education class. They traveled to Taitung's Fugang Fishery Harbor carrying delicacies from the Philippines and Indonesia that they had prepared themselves, such as curry rice, spring rolls and pastries. They were accompanied by National Immigration Agency Taitung Service Station personnel. The food was destined for 55 foreign fishermen from Southeast Asia who work at the harbor.

There are pork and carrots wrapped inside.

Some fishermen thanked the students for this gesture by singing a traditional Indonesian love song. These fishermen left their families behind to come and work in Taiwan, and also face difficulties in their work and personal lives. Although their employers provide them with benefits, most of these fishermen spend all their time aboard ships during work and off work. They say they would like to have somewhere to live on land after their shifts end.

We don't place any limits on the number of meals they can have in a day, they can have three, four, five. If something runs out, we replenish it. We also pay them on time.

The boss is great, but we would like somewhere to sleep.

Meanwhile, the service station said it provides assistance to workers with problems related to daily living with the help of volunteer interpreters. However, some problems arise from disputes that involve employment contracts, which can only be resolved through negotiations between employers and fishermen.