Floating hell aboard MS Isabelle, Tallinn: Families in tiny windowless cabins, sick kids, noise, fights... even prisoners are better treated
THE MS Isabelle sits serenely in the idyllic Baltic port of Tallinn, docked among the many ships which ply busy routes to neighbouring Scandinavia.
However, for those onboard the vessel, with cabins designed for little more than a few hours’ sleep during the usual overnight trip to Sweden, this is no pleasure cruise or holiday journey.
The Isabelle has been hired on a semipermanent basis to accommodate refugees fleeing Ukraine – and 2,000 people now call it ‘home’.
But with their futures no less certain now than when they arrived in Estonia, those living on the ferry, many of whom have been there since April, tell of the reality of their new lives – stacked in bunk beds, in cramped, windowless rooms, with little idea whether it’s day or night.
Their plight has also been condemned by the country’s leading refugee campaign group, who have questioned if the set-up, which could be replicated within weeks in Scotland, would be tolerated for prisoners.
For Olesya, 41, and her two children – who have now been in their cabin for weeks
The ship is not meant for so many to live in it. Its systems cannot cope
while her husband lives with a relative elsewhere on the vessel – conditions are tough onboard the Isabelle.
She said: ‘The air is dry, although at least I’m lucky enough to have a cabin with a window. For kids, the cabins without windows are very uncomfortable.
‘I’m in a two-bed cabin and sleep together with my little one. It’s uncomfortable, because the bed is narrow. I’m also looking after the smaller children on the ship. No one is watching the older ones and there are constant fights.
‘We are constantly turning to the guards, but they can’t do anything for us. There is water, but there are problems with the plumbing. The smell is often unpleasant but they are trying to fix it.
‘The ship is not meant for so many people to live in it for a long time. Its systems cannot cope.’
She added: ‘I have to work at nights because there is nowhere to put children during the daytime. We would like the children to be able to play outside in nature. We are living in a port, it’s all concrete.’
Another resident of the Isabelle, Svetlana, a pharmacist, and salesman husband Jury, from Odessa, have been living onboard in a single, windowless cabin for three months with their children Alexei and Katya.
Svetlana said that the children have often found it difficult to gauge when it is day and when it is night from inside the cramped cabin.
She added: ‘There are public spaces and there are playrooms for children. The main downside for us is ventilation. Sometimes it makes a lot of noise, sometimes it gets very cold. Children on the ship are often sick.’
Maxim, an engineer from the city of Mariupol – who is searching for work and who has been on the ship for the past two weeks – said: ‘I live in a cabin with two other people. This is the first time for me to be on a ship.
‘It reminds me of being on a train. There is only space for sleeping and showering and there is no window, so I try to spend as much time outside as I can. Otherwise, I won’t know if it’s day or night.
‘I am trying to look for work just now but it is difficult for me. I just
don’t know how long I will be here.’ The plight of the Ukrainian refugees has been highlighted by campaigners, who emphasise that the situation is unacceptable for any prolonged period.
Eero Janson, head of the Estonian Refugee Council, said: ‘I have spoken to colleagues from the Scottish Refugee Council about this issue and they wanted to know what our experiences are from accommodating refugees on the ship.
‘It’s a quick solution to a very acute need. However, this space is designed for a one-night stay to cross the sea, and not for a long term. Aren’t even prisoners required to have bigger space?
‘It’s not a place to live a long time, especially the cabins that are under the water without a window. Imagine the people who spent a long time in bunkers. For a long-term stay, it must affect mental health.
‘There are other more hidden concerns too – for example, the ship doesn’t have an address, so people can’t register themselves anywhere. This makes finding a job harder, or using certain services.
‘Having that many people crammed together also brings out conflicts. If you already accept a person as a refugee, you should assure decent living conditions.’
The Isabelle, built in 1989 in the former Yugoslavia, has spent a long part of its life ferrying passengers around the seas of north-eastern Europe, most recently serving the route between the Latvian capital, Riga, and Stockholm in Sweden. It’s understood around 2,000 people are currently living aboard, about 600 of them children.
Officials try to help the refugees, and provide what reassurance they can. And residents on the ship also speak of their gratitude for the safe haven they have been afforded as they flee the chaos prevailing in their homeland.
They are offered three meals a day on the Isabelle and their environment now is safer than remaining in their home country where Vladimir Putin’s relentless pounding of the former Soviet state continues.
However, they add that the ferry accommodation can only be feasible in the short term, with any longer stay likely to affect the mental and physical wellbeing of those onboard, affording no opportunity for them to try to get their lives back on track.
Alexandr, 19, from the Harkiv region, has been on the ship for a week and is already planning to move on.
He said: ‘Five members of my family are here – my mother, two brothers and a sister-in-law. I am staying in another cabin with three other men. The cabins are small, with a shower, toilet, four bunk beds, and that’s it.
‘There is not much personal space, but the ship is big, so there are places where I can spend time.
‘I have a room without a window but I am OK with that. I just go to the seventh floor where I spend
That many people crammed together brings out conflicts
For a long term stay, it must affect their mental health
time on my laptop playing games. Other family members try to spend time outside as much as possible. They need daylight, but not me.
‘You need to swipe your card on the way out, so security knows how many people are on the ship in case of emergency.
‘It’s also not allowed to drink alcohol on the ship.’
In addition to the challenging physical conditions on board, the uncertainty over their future is adding to the refugees’ worries, with a similar situation feared in Scotland, where no one has been able to say how long it will last.
Katya, who lives in a two-bed cabin on the Isabelle with her young son, said: ‘The air is dry, so I bought a humidifier.
‘At first, there were no limitations on when children could play, but later, it was forbidden after 10pm as they are making a lot of noise. There were also complaints about noisy grown-ups.
‘There are a lot of people on the ship and everybody feels uncomfortable about that.
‘But what can we do? We don’t know exactly how long we will be here or what is going to happen. All we can do is try to get used to it and see what the future brings.’