Coronavirus: "We are suspended deaths", the plight of the French stranded on board the Zaandam

The approximately 1,800 passengers confined for six days on board the Zaandam, a liner currently blocked off the coast of Panama, are drawn from their torpor by the spitting of a small loudspeaker. It was the captain of the ship in person who announced to them, this Friday, March 27, that four passengers had died, and that at least two other people had tested positive for the new coronavirus.

“It was a terrible shock. My friend and I, who are confined to the same cabin, could not eat anything. It cut our appetite clean, ”says Florence Foyatier, 68, who joined this Saturday by phone. "If the situation does not change, and quickly ... We are dead on the brink", is alarmed by this retired executive from a large packaging manufacturer from Lyon.

"Morale has taken a small plunge," euphemize for their part Lucie and Michel Cayouette, a couple of Franco-Ontarians married for 44 years, also confined on board. “Especially since Wednesday, the passengers were able to leave their cabin for half an hour. But nobody really respected the barrier gestures at that time, ”laments Michel.

"I'm losing track of time"

After the fatal announcement by the captain, confinement in a 17 m2 cabin with window (which does not open) became suffocating. "We have no air. At times, we start to cough. It's very hard, I'm starting to lose track of time, ”admits Florence.

Last Sunday, 53 passengers and 85 crew members of the Dutch-flagged liner - with many Europeans on board - had flu-like symptoms. Due to the lack of available tests, it is impossible to know whether these are Covid-19 cases. As a precaution, the passengers were all asked to seal in their cabin.

“My mother and her friend have no contact, even visual, with the outside. They are as if out of time, ”attests Aurélia, Florence's daughter. “For meals, the crew places the meal trays on the ground, then knocks on the door. They then have to wait a minute before taking the trays, ”reports the 40-year-old mother.

"This way of acting is anti-humanitarian! "

For the Zaandam, operated by Holland America (Carnival group), the troubles started shortly after its departure, on March 7, from Buenos Aires (Argentina). His circuit, which should have ended on March 21 at the Chilean port of San Antonio, after a journey via Cape Horn, was brutally cut short by the global coronavirus crisis. In Punta Arenas, Chile has simply forbidden the blue and white ocean liner to dock. "Since then, we have been a drifting ship," regrets Florence.

One by one, the other South American ports which should have welcomed the Zaandam prevented it from anchoring. Friday, the coup de grace was delivered by the Panamanian government, which refused for "health reasons" the crossing of the Panama Canal to the liner, which wanted to reach Florida, in the hope of disembarking its passengers there on March 30 . A decision which the government finally reversed overnight.

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But “this way of acting is anti-humanitarian! "Denounces Olivier Gérard, the brother of Eve-Marie Gerbier, an 86-year-old passenger living in Les Lilas (Seine-Saint-Denis). Every day, the nonagenarian calls his sister pianist, to make sure she doesn't falter. "To console her a little, I tell her that she is a hero of Jules Verne," he says. "The hardest part is not knowing where you are going," concedes Florence Foyatier. "How is it going to end?" What will be the outcome? "

France "must organize repatriation"

The daughter of the sexagenarian, she feels a little neglected by France. "I have had the Ministry of Foreign Affairs three times since Monday. Each time, I was explained that everything was done to get the French out of this situation, but I have the impression that nothing is moving ”.

France "must organize a repatriation", implores Olivier Gérard. Solicited by the Parisian, a diplomatic source assures us that "the situation on board the Zaandam is well known". "The embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are mobilized, with their partners, on the file," she adds.

This Saturday, good news finally fell: passengers who do not show symptoms will start to be transferred to the Rotterdam, another liner, after a health check. "I hope we can finally go home," comes to life Florence. “But the situation remains very confused. For the moment, we don't even know which direction the liner is going to take… ”.