is a series of dispatches exploring how the coronavirus is affecting people’s lives. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Fadi El Seddik, a career seafaring engineer. The conversation has been transcribed, condensed, and edited by Rachael Allen.
In October 2019, I joined a cargo ship. The ship traveled from Africa to Brazil. At the time, nobody had heard of COVID-19. In January 2020, we came to Charleston, South Carolina. The U.S. Marshals detained the ship because the owner had a U.S. court judgment against him for damaged goods. The ship was anchored, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not allow anyone to go ashore because we did not have visas—I live in Lebanon—and because of coronavirus.