Maersk Dubai sailor reunited with family

[Ted Pritchard / Herald Photo]

Rudy Miguel holds his son Joshua, 5, after a separation of 3 1/2 years. He
was a crew member of the Maersk Dubai who claimed asylum in Canada and has
been waiting for his family to join him in Canada.

By Donna-Marie Sonnichsen / Staff Reporter

Rudy Miguel can finally rest easy.


As one of four Filipino sailors who accused Taiwanese officers on the Maersk Dubai of throwing stowaways overboard in 1996, Mr. Miguel has been separated from his family for 3 1/2 years.

But his difficulties in Canada and his family's troubles in the Philippines became a thing of the past on Friday, when the Halifax resident was reunited with his wife and three children.

"I'm the luckiest person in the world," he said, fiercely hugging his five-year-old son Joshua at Halifax International Airport on Friday morning.

Mr. Miguel is the last of the sailors to be joined by family left behind to face threats and persecution in the Philippines, but he has no regrets about his actions.

"No one could stand by and see somebody killed and do nothing - that's against my conscience. I've done the right thing, so I have no regrets and now all of my struggles and fears are gone when I look at my children and my wife," he said, smiling broadly as well-wishers hugged his relatives and put Canadian pins on their lapels.

"I'm speechless, I'm tired but I'm very, very happy," said his tiny wife, Maripaz, tears welling in her eyes.

"I thought it will be just a dream, but now it's a dream come true," she added, after the emotional reunion at the end of an 18-hour trip."

[Ted Pritchard / Herald photo]

Rudy Miguel holds his son Joshua, 5, by the hand as daughter April Rose, 14,
looks on during an emotional family reunion Friday at Halifax International
Airport. The family had been separated for 3 1/2 years.

She said the family put their faith in God for protection from the dangers they faced in the Philippines, and while they know it will take time to adjust, they look forward to starting a new life together in Canada.

Mr. Miguel, who has a full-time job as a stock clerk, already sounds like a Maritimer.

"I work only for the payment of bills, especially for the telephone conversations," he said laughing. "Now that we are five, that headache will be minimized but I must work double hard to give good education to my children."

"I am a new kid in town, but I am a simple man. I only want a simple life, the same as anybody. To work, go home, have good conditions for my family and see the children grow up and get a good education - that's all I want."

"Canada is one of a kind. So many good people."

But part of his heart is still in the Philippines, where two daughters remain. One, 28, is a teacher, and the other, 12, is needed by his mother.

The legal and immigration struggles faced by Mr. Miguel and the other three sailors may have left a legacy.

A Halifax support group, the Concern for Seafarers Witness Society, will soon release a report about the Maersk Dubai case, says society president Diane Noseworthy.

She said the group raised $97,000 and has completed its mission of reuniting the families.
In Taiwan, the ship's captain has been charged with manslaughter due to negligence in the deaths of two Romanian stowaways ordered off the Maersk Dubai in early 1996. The charges against the other officers were dropped.