Four Nigerian stowaways recounted their fourteen-day ordeal during a perilous voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in a minuscule space above the ship's rudder.
The men disclosed that they ran out of food and water on the tenth day at sea and had to survive on sea water for four days prior to being rescued by the Brazilian police in the southeastern port of Victoria.
Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye, 38, stated in an interview with Reuters, "It was a horrible experience for me. On board, it is difficult. I was trembling with fear. However, I'm present."
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The four men were astounded to find themselves in Brazil, on the opposite side of the Atlantic from Europe, where they had been led to believe they were bound.
Two of the men were returned to Nigeria at their request, while Yeye and Roman Ebimene Friday, a 35-year-old from Bayelsa state, requested asylum in Brazil.
Supposedly a pastor from Lagos state, Yeye disclosed that his peanut and palm oil farm was destroyed by floods this year, rendering him and his family destitute. He expressed his desire for his family to join him in Brazil.
Friday stated that he began his voyage to Brazil on June 27, when a fisherman friend rowed him to the stern of the Liberian-flagged ship Ken Wave, which was docked in Lagos.
His friend dropped him off near the ship's tiller, where he discovered three other men already awaiting the ship's departure. He stated that he was terrified because he did not know the other men and feared they would toss him into the water at any moment.
As the ship set sail, the four men made every effort to remain undetected by the personnel for fear of being thrown overboard if they were discovered.
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"Perhaps if they capture you, they will toss you into the water," he suggested. Therefore, we instructed ourselves to never make noise.
Friday and the other men constructed a net around the ship's rudder and secured themselves to it with cords to prevent drowning during their two-week voyage.
When he peered down, he reported seeing "large fish such as whales and sharks."
They report that the noise of the engine and their lying position made it difficult and dangerous to slumber, and they were relieved to be rescued.
According to Reverend Father Paolo Parise, a Brazilian clergyman and cleric at the Sao Paulo shelter, he has previously encountered other stowaways, but the Nigerians' method was the most perilous he had ever witnessed.
“People do unimaginable and deeply dangerous things.” He said.
Watch their interview below,
Wisdom Nnebi 3 w
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