Interview on the Topic: The Sea Examination

Work connected with the sea was always significant for Latvia. So, the choice of the topic and participants for this interview were not accidental. The fact that Latvia is situated near the sea plays an important role for the state. Since many years, a great amount of Latvians have been seamen by profession. The leadership in the volume of transported cargo in the Eastern Europe belongs to Latvia. Nowadays, transit of cargoes through the territory of Latvia is provided by the advanced and branched out transport infrastructure and sea is one of these branches. The most considerable transit points are ports in Riga, Liepaja and Ventspils. With the ships sailing to different parts of the world, the profession of Latvian seamen goes far beyond Latvia. These men are in big demand worldwide - beginning from Japan and Philippines and finishing on Cuba. Before the interview, we familiarized with the present situation in this field in Latvia. Later, we chose two persons connected with this profession. The basic criterion for drawing up questions was the will to learn as much as possible about these people, their human and honest relation to the work at the sea. In order to make this interview interesting, we chose two persons knowing this work the best - seamen. This interview is constructed upon the comparison of opinions of two seamen; the "old" and "new" sight at this profession is presented. One of them has already spent in this profession more than 30 years, the second one is still a beginner. We have tried to get into these people, to get known what occurs inside of them, their relation to other people, close environment. What is more we tried to analyze them from the point of view of a character, relation to their occupation, their feelings while being there, at the sea, far from families. Thus, the interview with each of them was conducted in the oral form, informal atmosphere and lasted approximately an hour. Having taken into account that people of this profession are not used to listen long and complicated stuff, questions prepared were accurate and rather laconic. Direct and indirect questions were asked. As this work is tough and rigid, 4 earmarked especially for men it practically always leaves a mark on the character and behavior of a person.