Four Nigerians Rescued in Brazil After 14 Days on Ship's Rudder
After spending ten days at sea, the four Nigerian stowaways traversing the Atlantic in a cramped space above a cargo ship's rudder depleted their food and drink supplies. Struggling to survive, they managed to endure another four days by consuming seawater from the waves crashing just a few meters below them. Eventually, they were rescued by Brazilian federal police in the southeastern port of Vitoria.
Their awe-inspiring and perilous journey spanning approximately 5,600 kilometers (3,500 miles) across the ocean highlights the extraordinary risks that certain migrants are willing to endure in pursuit of a better life.
"It was a harrowing experience for me," expressed 38-year-old Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye, one of the four Nigerians, during an interview at a Sao Paulo church shelter.
"I was trembling with fear on board; it was not easy. But I'm grateful to be here."
Their relief at being rescued was soon met with astonishment when they discovered they had not reached Europe as intended but had, in fact, landed on the other side of the Atlantic in Brazil.
Upon their request, two of the men have been repatriated to Nigeria, while Yeye and Roman Ebimene Friday, a 35-year-old from Bayelsa state, have sought asylum in Brazil.
"I pray that the government of Brazil will show mercy," said Friday, who had attempted to escape Nigeria by ship before, but was apprehended by authorities there.
Both men explained that economic hardship, political instability, and rampant crime left them with little choice but to flee their homeland, Nigeria.
The continent's most populous nation has long been grappling with persistent challenges of violence and poverty, with kidnappings being a prevalent and recurring issue.
Yeye, a Pentecostal minister from Lagos state, shared the heart-wrenching tale of how floods devastated his peanut and palm oil farm this year, rendering him and his family homeless.
He holds on to hope that they can reunite in Brazil soon.
For Friday, his journey to Brazil commenced on June 27 when a fisherman friend rowed him to the stern of the Liberian-flagged Ken Wave, which was docked in Lagos, and left him by the rudder.
To his astonishment, he discovered three other men already there, patiently awaiting the ship's departure. Friday recalled being filled with terror during those moments.
Having never met his newfound shipmates, Friday's anxiety was fueled by the constant fear that they might cast him overboard at any moment.
Once the ship set in motion, the four men strived to remain hidden from the ship's crew, dreading the possibility of meeting a watery demise.
"We believed they might throw us into the water if they caught us," Friday recounted, emphasizing that they learned to keep silent.
Enduring two weeks with the vast Atlantic Ocean just within reach was a perilous ordeal.
To safeguard themselves from falling into the water, Friday and the others ingeniously constructed a net around the rudder, securing themselves to it with a rope.
Glancing downward, he recounted seeing "big fish like whales and sharks" in the water below.
Sleep was a rare and perilous luxury amid the confined space and the deafening noise of the engine.
"When we were finally rescued, I felt immense relief and joy," he expressed.
Father Paolo Parise, a priest at the Sao Paulo shelter, disclosed that he had encountered other stowaway cases before, but none as treacherous as this.
He asserted that their journey bore witness to the extraordinary lengths individuals will traverse in pursuit of a fresh beginning.
He remarked, "People engage in unimaginable and profoundly perilous acts."
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