It is over a week that merchant seamen manifest day and night outside their headquarters to obtain the right to work in the autonomous port of Douala in Cameroon.
They were about 300 initially, but Tuesday they were more than a hundred on the premises. Dressed in their blue and white uniforms, they settled on the edge of the road and sang songs relentlessly.
Despite the incessant rain, the merchant seamen ensured that they will not leave and that they will spend the night on the spot.
Officials at the port infrastructure did not wish to take a decision on their claims.
However, the sous-préfet of Douala 5th, one of the districts of the city, said that the issue of access to the port was sensitive enough and that a verification process was underway.
