After spending ten days at sea, four Nigerian stowaways survived a remarkable and perilous journey across the Atlantic Ocean on a cargo ship. Running out of food and drink, they resorted to drinking sea water to stay alive. Eventually, Brazilian federal police rescued them in the port of Vitoria, Brazil.
The four men had intended to reach Europe but were surprised to learn they had landed in Brazil. Two of them have returned to Nigeria, while the other two, Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye and Roman Ebimene Friday, applied for asylum in Brazil.
Yeye, a 38-year-old pentecostal minister, had to leave Nigeria after his peanut and palm oil farm was destroyed by floods, leaving his family homeless. Friday, a 35-year-old from Bayelsa state, also faced economic hardship and sought a better life in Brazil.
Their journey was filled with fear and uncertainty as they hid above the rudder of the cargo ship, trying to evade detection by the crew. They tied themselves to a net to avoid falling into the water and endured two weeks of cramped conditions and little sleep.
Father Paolo Parise, a priest at the Sao Paulo shelter where they are staying, emphasized the extreme risks people are willing to take in search of a new life. The stowaways’ ordeal highlights the lengths some migrants are prepared to go to improve their circumstances, even if it means risking their lives at sea.
Source – myjoyonline.com
