Zimbabweans were left alarmed after a notice by a cruise ship recruitment agency stated that it was not allowed to hire them.
Citizens of Zimbabwe have been making a bee line to cruise ships in search of greener pastures but it turns out that this option may not be available to them in the not-so-distant future.
Safe Cruise Agency announced on its website that it is not accepting new CVs from African countries as they do not have open positions at the moment. They reassured people that they would post new positions when they were available but not until 2024. However, what caught the attention of many was an important notice that they are not authorised to recruit Zimbabweans.
“At the moment, we are not considering new CVs as we do not have open positions for this year for African passports. We will post new positions as we have them, but not before 2024. We are not authorized to recruit citizens of Zimbabwe,” Safe Cruise Agency announced on its website.
Also Read: Border-Jumping Zimbabwean Cruise Ship Workers Barred From Stepping On US Soil
The decision to single out Zimbabwe, a country known for its hardworking citizens, left social media users puzzled. However, the reason behind this decision and potential future restrictions has now become clear.
Recently, a Zimbabwean cruise ship worker was detained after entering a guest’s room at 4 AM. The guest reported a rape incident, leading to the worker’s arrest and detention. A Facebook user named Mariah Danielle confirmed the incident, stating that the victim was her aunt and that the Zimbabwean committed the heinous crime while her aunt’s child was in the room.
“This man raped my aunt last night on the carnival cruise and is in jail on the ship… this is insane! You go on a cruise thinking you don’t have to worry about people like him. He bruised her all up and my 15-year-old little cousin was in the room! He can rot in jail,” she wrote on Facebook.
This incident is not the first time Zimbabweans have faced blacklisting due to the behaviour of their fellow citizens at sea. In February of this year, reports suggested that the United States government was considering deporting Zimbabwean cruise ship workers due to perceived “migration risk.”
According to a leaked internal human resources email dated February 20, Celebrity Cruises, a luxury ocean liner, informed its staff members about a directive from Miami Customs and Border Control officers. This directive stated that Zimbabwean workers would no longer be allowed to disembark from cruise ships in Miami, Florida, and they must return home on the same day.
The reason cited for this directive was that Zimbabweans were leaving the ships and not returning as expected after docking at various destinations.
