A Roller Coaster: Seafarers, Vikings, Disease and War

The past weeks were a roller coaster. At some point, you were soaring high, happy to see the graduates of your school with their parents ready to start on a new journey, a job, or an international traineeship and an exciting opportunity to board a cruise ship of choice. At another moment, you feel exhilarated at the invitation to travel to Europe for free as a friendly favor from partners. Before you can even process that feeling of thrill, you are plummeting toward earth at breakneck speed with the sad news that a close friend caught a deadly disease and is critically unwell. You ask why, but no answers come. The reality hits you hard and fast.

Then, at another juncture, you engage in a noble project. You feel a bit heroic that you are making a significant contribution to your school’s alum group as a co-sponsor to the Block Screening of a blockbuster film, How to Train your Dragon, at the SM Naga Cinema 4 last June 21 for the benefit of its community reading hubs for children. Members -young and old - of the UP Alumni Association (UPAA), Camarines Sur chapter, came to fill the balcony with family and friends as emotions went high when Hiccup, the son of the ancient Viking chieftain on the island of Berk, with lady Astrid and their gang, showed the elder Vikings of old how to battle the giant dragons on a dazzling high action-packed drama, in animation, and thrilling 3-D sequences.

Wasn’t it Sun Tzu, the Chinese philosopher, who ably taught that to win the war, one must not cause significant losses, that “the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting” Sun Tzu’s principles manifested themselves at their max in the Vikings movie, with every ups and downs in the roller coaster of emotions. It was not Grimmel and the brutal battles, killings, and cursing that won the battle with the dragons, but the calm, more strategic ways of fighting that emerged victorious.

I was glad I accepted UPAA president Corix Navarro’s invitation for Mariners Canaman, the only accredited maritime school in Bicol, to co-sponsor the highly acclaimed movie. I immediately saw the relevance of the youth-oriented movie to the Mariners. With more research, I learned that the Vikings were the most significant and remarkable ancient seafarers, skilled sailors, shipbuilders, explorers, and warriors in the 8th and 11th centuries who navigated vast distances and engaged in trade, exploration, and raids. Mariners’ BS in Naval Architecture is a course program that can benefit greatly from learning the history of the ancient Vikings and their remarkable ability to build ships, navigate the seas, and launch big explorations through strategic rivers, making them a powerful force in medieval Europe. They were also skilled diplomats and negotiators, as seen in the establishment of the countries in Europe. Their vessels were some of the most advanced of their time, designed to withstand harsh sea conditions, making them formidable on the waters. At the Faculty Development meeting at Mariners, I had the opportunity to speak about the Vikings as they relate to the lives of the modern-day Mariners. I invited the Captains and officers of Mariners to watch the movie and support the fund-raising cause.

The day after the movie block screening, the US bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities, triggering heightened tensions between Israel, which the US openly supports against its war against Iran. Decades-long global tensions are linked to greed for economic control of resources, such as oil. The wear jitters escalated, and emotions like roller coasters peaked anew. Thousands of Filipinos working overseas near the conflict zones or living near US bases are clear targets of enemy fire. My emotions went on a roller coaster, a cliché but a real occurrence – thrilling at one point and terrifying at another. Our son and his family are among them. And we are again awakened at the realization that war, in this fragile world, is just right at our doorstep. The world remains unsafe and at the mercy of the war machine of greed and naked power.

As the maritime community came together to celebrate June 25 as International Seafarers’ Day, the issue of global safety and security, both at sea and on land, where millions of our workers and families live and work away from home, remained a shared concern. June 25, as declared by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), is a day to honor the contributions of seafarers worldwide and acknowledge their pivotal role in the global maritime industry. This sense of unity and shared purpose binds us together in these global challenges.

Reflecting on the movie How to Train Your Dragon, the Marineros would realize the historical and emotional relationship between the Vikings and the modern-day seafarers. Connecting them with the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran shows they intersect in interesting ways, like the desire for economic power in the region.

The current tensions between the US-backed Israel and Iran, if they persist, have the potential to disrupt shipping lanes, transportation, and the economy. If things were to escalate, there could be significant risks to the safety of seafarers operating in or around that region. While there are international conventions and laws of the sea to provide protection, they are notoriously difficult to enforce in conflict zones. This should be a cause for concern and a call to action for all of us in the maritime community. War is never a solution. The movie “How to Train Your Dragon” may provide tips on subduing the enemy and achieving peace.