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Wherever the Esperanza goes there is hope in the hearts of m
2006-09-01 18:18:03
by Esperanza Garcia, mother of gouvernor Gwendolyn Garcia, currently visiting the Esperanza ©Greenpeace/Heike Dierbach When I was a little girl I asked my father why they called me Esperanza. And he said that Esperanza means hope, and that when I was born I was the hope of the family. So when I grew up I started using my name for that: I hoped to become a lawyer, to get married to a good and loving husband and to have beautiful children. And then I hoped to help improving the quality of life of all Filipinos.
More About: Arts , Hear , Heart , Hope , Here

Our memories of the Philippines
2006-09-01 06:18:02
by the crew of the Esperanza ©Gavin Newman/Greenpeace As we have reached Cebu, our final port of the Phil ippines , it is time to look back. Three very intensive weeks lie behind us, full of events and impressions, some negative, some positive, a lot of them very touching. What will we remember the most of our work in this beautiful country? We have made a little poll.
More About: Mori , Memories , Memo

The - Deckhand
2006-09-01 00:15:04
From: Fiji What do you like most about your work on the ship? Meeting different nationalities and being an active part of showing environmental problems to the public. I have always loved to travel and meet people. I am an active water sports man so when the Oceans Defenders started I became a member and was lucky enough to be able to be a part of it through the Pacific. I am Fijian born and from growing up in the islands I know the relationship between people and the ocean. The oceans are our playgrounds and livelihoods. And least? We have just come through the Philippines where there was a major oil spill by Petron Oil Company. Seeing this first hand and knowing the way in which it will affect the people for generations that rely on the ocean is a hard one to take. Other than the bigger issues working on the boat is great fun but cleaning is not really my cup-o-tea. What is your favourite place on the ship? It would have to be where ever we are having beers watchin...
More About: Khan , Hand , Deck

A heart lost in the heli hanger
2006-08-30 12:06:03
by Heike onboard the Esperanza ©Gavin Newman/Greenpeace Being on a ship on the high seas can be hard. Stuck together with so many people, the same faces every day... But sometimes it can also be romantic: Here is the true story of deckhand Miguel from Mexico and second mate Nadia from Canada who met on the Esperanza last summer and are now again sailing together into the sunset...
More About: Lost , Hear , Heart , Anger

Dauin, a community of ocean defenders
2006-08-30 12:06:03
by Heike onboard the Esperanza ©Gavin Newman/Greenpeace Today was one of the most beautiful days af our entire trip in the Philippines. We arrived in Dauin, municipal in the south of the Philippines that runs nine community managed marine reserves. It was a glimpse of how life in harmony with nature can be. We anchored some 500 meters from the shore and already from the ship we could see a crowd of people waiting on the beach.
More About: Community , Muni , Ocean , Defender , Unity

Into the blue
2006-08-30 12:06:03
by Mike and Remon onboard the Esperanza ©Gavin Newman/Greenpeace To hold a banner. That is what they told Remon and me yesterday during the meeting. We are both very enthusiastic about the underwater world and love to dive, but we had never yet held a banner in the liquid. Without really knowing what to expect we agreed, of course. At land it is not a big deal to hold a banner, so what would be so difficult underwater then? However, it turned out that it wasn’t so easy as we expected!
More About: Blue

Become an ocean defender!
2006-08-30 12:06:03
by Angel Aquino, famous Philippine Actress ©Newman/Greenpeace I am an Ocean Defender to learn, to find out how I can do my part. I love the earth, I love the place that I live in. The main reason why I became an ocean defender are my kids. I have two daughters and I would like them to enjoy some day the things I am enjoying now. I want to learn scuba diving with them and see what is there to see. When there is nothing left there would be no reason to learn scuba diving.
More About: Come , Ender , Fender

Musical welcome in the whale shark paradise
2006-08-28 12:03:03
by Heike onboard the Esperanza ©Newman/Greenpeace After all the marine pollution problems we have witnessed in the past two weeks we are now bound for the solutions. Meeting the people of the Philippines that are trying to make a difference and protect their ocean for future generations. Our first station today was Donsol, an area of whale shark ecotourism that is threatened by the Lafayette mine. Assistant engineer Rania tells more about the welcome ceremony and the amazing food in her blog (see below). What impressed me the most was a boy from the village, 12 years old, who sang for us a traditional song about his beautiful homeland. Listen to Gilbert Lopez from Donsol singing "Dakilang lahi"!
More About: Music , Musical , Welcome , Musica , Paradise

Seafood festival!
2006-08-28 12:03:03
by Rania onboard the Esperanza ©Gavin Newman/Greenpeace Finally I will get to spend a sunday ashore away from the ship. I woke up at 8.30 AM, which is a very early hour to wake up at on a sunday morning! I went out on the poop deck to see that everyone was in a rush to go ashore. We were taken ashore to the town of Donsol on board traditional fishermen boats. The minute I set foot on the beach I just closed my eyes and wished they would forget me here in Donsol. I must have wished that out loud because after I opened my eyes, Heike was staring at me and laughing…
More About: Food , Seafood , Festival , Fest , Koban

An elegy for you, my friend whale shark
2006-08-28 12:03:03
by Tess Avisado, environmental consultant from Donsol ©Gavin Newman/Greenpeace You are here with us in Donsol since time immememorial... You have played with my grandparents, my parents, my brothers and sisters and friends... Your are big... But, you are harmless, sometimes... my grandfather got mad at you coz you accidentally got into his fish pens, yet he never hurt you. Many times my father scolded you, coz, you are interrupting his trip to the sea and his propeller broke coz you are there in the pathways not his own but yours, You have wounds and get hurt because of this, but you never cried and complained.
More About: Friend , Shark , Whale , Hale

Memory of Legazpi
2006-08-27 12:03:02
by Sabine onboard the Esperanza ©Greenpeace/Mike Harms Sometimes, being in countries like the Phillippines, doing actions or demonstrations, I get this sudden feeling of standing beside myself, watching myself and trying to tell what is going on to my friends and family back home in Germany. And I have this feeling, no matter how much I talk and how many pictures I show, it will be hard for them to understand - not only with their brains, but also with their hearts. It was like this yesterday, when the crew of the Esperanza took part in that march against the mining here in Rapu Rapu.
More About: Memory , Memo

Operation Goldfinger
2006-08-25 12:00:18
by Tom onboard the Esperanza ©Gavin Newman/Greenpeace 10.30 A.M.: On the bridge preparing the climbing gear for my comrade climber and myself, the usual kit and a banner. The plan is simple, go to the dock of Lafayette mine, climb the conveyor belt and hang the banner under it...
More About: Gold , Opera , Finger , Goldfinger , Operation

Wärtsilädy
2006-08-24 12:00:14
by Heike onboard the Esperanza ©Newman/Greenpeace Now as it is getting a bit quieter after the work on the oil slick it is time for another part of our little series "mysteries of the engine room". This time something very exceptional is going on down there. The engineers have been talking about it for weeks. You heard comments like "tomorrow we will start it" or "we are getting there". As the first part of the opus was done, the whole crew - seldom privilege - was invited into the engine room. The codeword to get in was: "Wärtsilä"...

Flotilla power
2006-08-24 12:00:14
by Heike onboard the Esperanza ©Gavin Newman/Greenpeace There are 67 of them. Wooden outriggers in light blue, pink, green and yellow circle around the Esperanza, flags at their stern: "No to Lafayette! No to Marine Pollution!" Men and women are standing on the ships roofs, dancing, waving to us. We all watch from the poop deck, and no matter who you meet this morning of the Esperanza crew, everybody is smiling. We are leading a flotilla against the destructive Lafayette gold- and silvermine on the island of Rapu Rapu. And we all feel we are on the right side.
More About: Power

A cleaner, greener and safer world!
2006-08-22 11:57:03
by Janet, scientist onboard the Esperanza ©Green peace/Baconguis After delivering our cargo of relief goods last night, we arrived this morning at Taklong Island, the marine protected area affected by the oil slick to conduct a visual assessment of the oil slick. We drove one of the small inflatable boats along the coastline, noting the presence of oil. The island is a beautiful place, hills of bamboo forests reaching down limestone escarpments. Everything you imagine of a tropical paradise. But a grim black line along the shoreline told us of the oil slick’s menacing presence that extended along several kilometres of coast.
More About: World , Lean , Clean , Cleaner

The spoils of oil
2006-08-22 11:57:03
by Matthew onboard the Esperanza ©Gavin Newman/Greenpeace It took two hours to clean the oil from the inflatables this afternoon. Lots of soap and muscle. But we got them clean - I have my doubts about the estuaries and beaches at La Paz in the Philippines. We have been out for two days now , documenting the spill, ferrying journalists and helping test locally made oil booms. Today the oil was so much thicker than yesterday. The brown slick it was everywhere. On the beach, on the outriggers, on the locals feet and hands, in their back yards.
More About: Oils

Diving the slick
2006-08-22 11:57:03
by Danny, campaigner and diver onboard the Esperanza ©Gavin Newman/Greenpeace We left the port of IloIlo just before sunrise this morning and, even though there was no need for me to wake up early I got out of bed and went outside. A feeling of dread seems to surround us and, as people would say, it felt like the calm before the storm. Around 2 hours after leaving port and as I was getting my camera and dive gear ready, Al told us that there were signs of oil on the port side of the Esperanza. I went out and saw the surface of the sea tainted by a multi-coloured slick producing all sorts of patterns.
More About: Diving , Ving

A struggle for survival
2006-08-21 11:54:02
by Heike onboard the Esperanza ©Gavin Newman/Greenpeace "The arrival of the Esperanza means the same to us as the name of the ship: hope. You give us hope that we are able to overcome this disaster." It was this sentence we heard the most upon our arrival this afternoon in Iloilo, the nearest port to the island of Guimaras. I think all of us onboard had sensed that already. As we were approaching Iloilo we were all up on the front deck (except those busy of course). It was a bit like the silence before the storm: Everybody just watching the beautiful coastline, worried of how much damage we will witness in the next days.
More About: Survival , Viva

"I have no other place to go"
2006-08-21 11:54:02
by Rodolfo Galuna, fisherman from Guimaras ©Greenpeace/Heike Dierbach My name is Rodolfo Galuna and I am 52 years old. I am a fisherman and live in the village of Citio Alman Sur in the south of Guimaras that was affected badly by the oil. I came here 12 years ago and built this house right on the shore. My wife Susana and I have six children, they all go to school, the eldest is in second grade high school. I have three boats. I built them myself, I need 15 days to make an outrigger boat.
More About: Other , Have , Place , Lace

"I started crying when I saw the mangrove tree"
2006-08-21 11:54:02
by Dr. Resurreccion Sadaba, Mangrove-Specialist from the University of the Philippines ©Greenpeace/Heike Dierbach When I heard about the sunken tanker on the radio I instantly feared for the marine reserve in Guimaras we are taking care of. I rang up my collegues to put a team together. I was espacially worried about one mangrove tree from the species rhizophoro lamanckii. It is a very rare species, there is only this single tree on the whole island! I have been taking care of it for years, it is really my baby. When I arrived here my worst fears turned reality: My mangrove tree was covered with oil. I started crying when I saw it.
More About: Arte , Start , Star , Tree

Preparing myself to see something worse
2006-08-19 11:51:03
by Danny, campaigner and diver onboard the Esperanza ©Greenpeace/Heike Dierbach We left port a few minutes ago heading towards Guimaras, the site of what is now considered the worst oil spill in Philippine history. It is my first time to be on the Esperanza and I have joined the Rainbow Warrior and the Arctic Sunrise several times. A while ago I sat on the port side of the ship watching floating plastics and other garbage on the waters of Manila Bay, I could not help but feel anxious about what awaits us in the waters of Guimaras. It is depressing enough to see synthetic flotsam on the water’s surface as well as taking pictures of corals and other marine life smothered by plastics and other garbage. However, I do not think I am quite prepared to witness an oil spill first hand after seeing several documentaries of other oil spills and pictures of this recent and ongoing disaster.
More About: Self , Methi , Myself , Ring , Something

"The most important equipment is the Esperanza herself"
2006-08-18 11:51:01
by Heike onboard the Esperanza ©Greenpeace/Heike Dierbach Al Baker (42) is our logistics coordinator onboard and has some experience with oil spills. I have asked him how the Esperanza can support the help in Guimaras.
More About: Men , Equipment , Port , Self , Most

"As artists we get our inspiration from nature"
2006-08-18 11:51:01
by Heike onboard the Esperanza ©Danny Ocampo/Greenpeace I promised to reveal today what is going to happen with the garbage we collected in Manila bay: Five Manilan artists are going to create ART out of it! Of course it will take some time. But one of them, painter and installator Ed Manaloh can already give us a glimpse of what he is planning with the garbage from Manila bay - and how art can help to protect the environment!
More About: Nature , Inspiration , Artist , Artists , Natur

Rania - Assistant Engineer
2006-08-18 11:51:01
From: Lebanon My name is Rani a and I am originally from Lebanon, travelling with a turkish passport since I have lived and worked in Turkey for a couple of years. I work in the Engine Room Department. I am an assistant engineer on board, which consists mainly on helping the engineers with their work. It is a good opportunity for me to learn more about the subject, since I am studying it during winter. The best of being on a greenpeace ship is the interaction between the different nationalities on board. I meet people who have different interests and different backgrounds, and the nice thing about it is that I am not the only female on board (which was my case on a commercial ship).
More About: Engineer , Assist , Assistant

Manila harbour slideshow
2006-08-18 11:51:01
These pictures cannot leave anybody indifferent. A bay where you can hardly see the water because there is so much rubbish floating on it. Mangroves, strangled under torn plastic bags, some still struggling to survive. And in between a handfull of dedicated activists trying to make a difference... Greenpeace photographer Gavin Newman has captured how marine pollution has already destroyed what was once alive and beautiful. His slides are an appeal to stop this - and to start caring for our sea, because we need it.
More About: Show , Mani , Slide , Manila , Slideshow

Esperanza mabuhay!
2006-08-16 11:48:01
by Heike onboard the Esperanza ©Greenpeace/Combemorel How does a poop deck sound? Well, the one of the Esperanza is perfectly tuned for Philippinan gamelans: When the members of the band "Kontra Gapi" set their traditional instruments onto the steel floor of the poop deck this morning the whole Esperanza - just having been docked at 8 am - swung in an irresistible rythm. And that was what the bunch of young Manilan musicians came to: give us a nice welcome - and encourage everybody to get going, move their bodies and protect the biodiversity of the Philippines!

Slideshow - Underwater Beauty
2006-08-15 11:45:01
A serious-looking Hawksbill turtle staring at the observer, two friendly shining-orange clown fish swimming by, local fishermen bringing out their traditional "sudsud" nets in the evening dusk - the sea of the Philippines is a paradise you just want to dive in and never return to the surface. To show what we lose when we allow marine pollution to continue Greenpeace photographers have documented it in their slideshow "Underwater Beauty ". The pictures urge us to try and protect this biodiversity for future generations. Have a look, dream - and act!        
More About: Show , Water , Slide , Slideshow

Crew poll: How did you happen to become a Greenpeacer?
2006-08-15 11:45:01
by Heike onboard the Esperanza ©Green peace/Heike Dierbach What brings reasonable people onto a 72 meter-long steel-vessel in the middle of the South China Sea, rolling from one side to the other every ten seconds, putting up with long hours, limited space, cleaning duties? All this often for less money than they could earn in other places, some for none at all - and still being proud of it, even sometimes having FUN? Well, there are as many stories as men and women on the Esperanza! I managed to get a few of them to answer one of the most important questions of their lives: How did you happen to become a Greenpeacer?
More About: Peace , Poll , Acer , Come

"The environmental problems of the Philippines are as big as
2006-08-12 11:39:01
by Mary Ann and Heike onboard the Esperanza ©Greenpeace/Heike Dierbach No matter where and when you meet her - our deckhand Mary Ann always has a nice word for you. "Sailing with Greenpeace is a dream that has become true", she says. The 28-year-old from Manila is an activist from the very beginning in the Philippines . It was actually through Greenpeace that she rediscovered the beauty of her home country for herself. I have asked her why she thinks for the Philippinos caring about the oceans is in their best interest.
More About: Environment , Mental , Environmental , Men

Greenpeace Employee Arrested In Philippines
2006-08-07 11:30:05
by Slade, onboard the Esperanza As we sail the high seas towards South East Asia and eventually onto the Philippines , we hear of a very interesting story coming out of our South East Asian office in the Philippines. A Green peace employee who was taking some water samples near a mining operation has been detained by Police and what appears to be no official charge.
More About: Peace , Arrested , Arrest