Sao Paulo: Four days without food and water in the middle of the sea.. The young people who fled Nigeria by ship were stuck at sea for fourteen days. When they left Nigeria on a cargo ship through 5,600 km (3,500 miles) of sea, the goal of these four young people was to have a better life anyway. Although it was a death-defying journey, they had hope that a better life awaited them.
“It was a horrible experience,” says 38-year-old Thankgod Opemipo Mathew Ye. “It was not an easy journey on the ship, we were shaking with fear. But we escaped…Peace”; Matthew said.
Despite being saved, the fear has not gone away for the youth. They were on their way to Europe. He was stuck at sea for fourteen days. On the tenth day, food and water ran out. However, he held on for four more days. Finally landed on the other side of the Atlantic in Brazil. The two men were repatriated to Nigeria at their own request.
Two others sought asylum in Brazil. The request was for the Brazilian government to show mercy. The youths also revealed that they had tried to escape by boat from Nigeria before but were arrested.
The youths said they decided to leave their native Nigeria because of economic hardship, political instability and crime. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is plagued by violence and poverty. Kidnapping of people is a local phenomenon, the youths said.
One of the youths, a Pentecostal minister Ye, said his groundnut and palm oil farm had been destroyed by this year’s floods, leaving him and his family homeless. He said that he hopes to bring his family to Brazil as well.
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2023-08-01 15:14:05