The freighter “Fremantle Highway” with 3,000 cars on board caught fire around 20 kilometers off the Dutch holiday island of Ameland. The fire is still not under control. One crew member died, several are injured, all survivors are now safe. At the same time, 2,000 children are in holiday camps run by the Diocese of Münster on Ameland. What the catastrophe means for them, we asked Pastor Karsten Weidisch, who looks after the camps on the island with a pastoral team.
Pastor Weidisch, what did you learn from the wrecked freighter off the island on Ameland?
From the beach we only saw a big block on the fairway yesterday, you couldn’t see the fire at first. In the meantime, everyone here knows about it from the news, it’s a big topic, and there are now many tourists on the beach watching the fire disaster from afar. The mayor here on Ameland has also spoken out in the Dutch media. We feel a great dismay and everyone hopes that things will go well. If the ship should really sink, it would be a huge catastrophe for the North Sea, for the Dutch islands like Ameland, but also for the German East Frisian Islands. Everyone is hoping that this can be sorted out.
Are any precautions being taken on the island?
So far I haven’t heard anything about it. At the moment everyone is pretty much holding on to the hope that things will go well.
Is it something of an issue in the summer camps?
The group leaders spoke about it last night because they heard about the fire and the drama about the occupation via social media. On the way we kept asking people if they knew more. But so far all this has been limited to what is known about the media. It’s definitely a topic! We are also having a camp service tonight where we will pray for the deceased crew member, for the injured and for the entire crew of the ship.
Basically: What is the atmosphere like in the holiday camps?
We are currently here with around 2,000 participants in 25 holiday camps. The pastoral team of five has just changed for the third time. Apart from the shipwreck, the mood is really good. Everyone enjoys finally being able to enjoy their holidays here freely again after the Corona crisis. There are many new children on the island who have been on their own for a long time and really need to find their way back into community life. There is also more homesickness than before. But overall everyone is happy and content. Now we hope all the more that the really big catastrophe out on the sea in front of the island can still be averted.
2023-07-28 08:05:20
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