With the truth I fight the giant
Most of you who read my blog know the story of my brother Jason. For those that don’t here is a brief recap.
Jason and his wife went on a cruise aboard Holland America’s Eurodam in November of 2012. Halfway through the trip I received a call that changed my life. My big brother somehow went overboard and was never found. I have spent much of the last year working towards creating transparency on cruise ships as I feel a great deal of information in Jason’s case is being hidden for some reason. I also know that the industry is failing miserably when it comes to following current laws. For example there is a law that states they are required to have man overboard systems. These systems should have been in place at the time of my brothers cruise but were not. Sadly, they still are not.
I have made trips to Washington to lobby for new stronger laws and repercussions for not following them. I have traveled to New York to do press interviews to spread the word. Each time I do something to create change I am met with road blocks. The interview I did for 20/20 said they had time limitations that would not allow them to show my interview, but they had plenty of time to do a fluff piece that left the cruise industry looking fairly innocent and the one victim they did show looking like a money hungry drunk.
I attended many meetings in DC to discuss new laws. Yesterday, Rep. Connie Brown from Florida effectively blocked that legislation from moving forward. It is by no means over, but this past travel agent turned politician was able to get a large enough “contribution” from the industry to at least delay it.
Needless to say I am growing more frustrated by the day. At this point I really have only two options. Give up or Ramp up. I promised my brother I would not allow his voice to die, and so giving up in no longer an option. That leaves me with only one choice. Ramp it up. Work harder. Do more. Fight until my metaphorical knuckles are bleeding. That is what I plan to do. Here is the tough part. Money.
I can not do this alone. I need people to email their Reps and let them know that they need to make changes to the cruise industry. I need people to share posts like this one and help spread the word. Sadly, I also need money. There is a lot of cost that goes into things like this. Flights and hotels. Web page costs. Promotions to spread the word, and even child care when I have to be away from home. I am planning some fundraisers but I have also started a page on Gofundme.com. If you can please donate and/or share this site on your twitter pages or Facebook or anywhere else you can. http://www.gofundme.com/6uc0uc
The cruise industry is huge. It is a billion dollar industry that is not afraid to use its money in order to keep these laws from being passed. I can’t afford to pay off our politicians, but with your help, I can at least put my face in front of them. I can tell my brothers story. I can tell them that if they vote against this legislation, the loss of life that continues will be partially on their hands. Thank you to anyone who can help me in any way. Only if we stand together 4J can we hope to gain victory and save lives.
Please take a look at and “like” my new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/together4j
