Heroes of Costa Concordia: Pinoy Crewmen

While many of the Filipino crewmembers of Costa Concordia came home on Thursday with nothing but the clothes on their backs, one of them, Reyson Cartago, had with him a video showing the hospitality crew’s resilience and bayanihan amid the chaos in the tipping ship reportedly left by its captain.

The video footage—which Cartago shared with GMA News—showed fragments of the incident, including rows of passengers putting on life vests and a messy kitchen that seemed to be shaking in real time.

As he helped out, Cartago also videotaped his Filipino colleagues—mostly cooks, dishwashers, and waiters—as they ran around, searching every nook and cranny to make sure that nobody was left behind the ship.

Some of the poignant moments in the video include a Filipino cook running to the altar and making a sign of the cross, two Filipinos helping a limping colleague walk, and Filipinos letting the foreign passengers get out of the ship first.



One can also overhear bits like a Filipino consoling a female passenger who was afraid of jumping off the ship. He said: “If something happens, it’s my responsibility, so I hope you understand. You’re going to have to, Madame.”

Panic was evident in the middle of the video, where a Filipino could be heard yelling at a colleague: “Kailangan na natin ibaba, lalo tayong tumatagilid! Lalo tayong sasabit ‘pag lalong tumagilid ‘to!”

By the end of the footage, calm was evident in the dark, where Cartago spoke: “Awa ng Diyos, naka-separate na kami sa mother ship, Concordia.”

Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/245184/pinoyabroad/pinoy-crewmen-of-costa-concordia-praised-for-heroism