The chapter that changed my perception the most is “Jail Without Borders.” Some of the paragraphs in the chapter that I saved in my notes shed a new light on the maritime industry and the hidden costs of exploiting the lives of people and animals. The people that are exploiting these workers are doing everything they can to prevent consumers from knowing what it took to put that can of tuna on the grocery shelf.

In this chapter, I saw the miserable fate of the people who are not only forced to work for the manning companies, but also tricked to unconsciously believe that it is something that will change their lives for the better. By digging deep into people’s personal stories, the chapter also introduced me to the types of tragedies that I had never even thought about. If I had read about these incidents in a headline of a story, they would not have felt as terribly tragic as they did after reading the personal stories. As Ian writes, headlines can often be a passive form of harm.

The chapter also broke down the psychological toll of working at sea. Isolation at sea combined with the love-hate relationship of working on the high seas caused workers to experience mental illness. Stories like these help me connect with some of the characters from each of the stories and understand their motivations.

I would like my music to combine the lack of stability with calmness. I hope my music will convey emotions of curiosity that folds into anxiety. From there, I hope to take the listener toward a feeling of hope and awareness.

Moo Latte