“Survival Against All Odds: Four Nigerian Stowaways Brave Two-Week Ordeal in Cramped Space above Cargo Ship’s Rudder”
In a tale of unparalleled resilience, four Nigerian stowaways managed to endure a grueling two-week trial within a confined space situated above the rudder of a cargo ship. This remarkable journey spanned a staggering 3,500 miles across the ocean, carrying them from their home country to the shores of Brazil.
The stowaways’ initial relief upon surviving their life-threatening voyage was swiftly replaced by astonishment. Their anticipation that the ship’s destination was Europe proved incorrect, as they soon realized that the vessel had ferried them all the way to Brazil.
Deprived of sustenance by their tenth day, the men ingeniously survived by resorting to the consumption of sea water from the crashing waves just meters beneath them.
Among the stowaways, Roman Ebimeme Friday recounted their extraordinary view of marine life from the ship’s vantage point, including the awe-inspiring sight of “big fish like whales and sharks.”
Hailing from Bayelsa state in Nigeria, the 35-year-old Friday revealed the challenges they faced during the journey. The cramped conditions and the incessant engine noise left little room for sleep, and what sleep they managed to get was fraught with risk.
To prevent themselves from being swept into the ocean, the men ingeniously rigged a net around the rudder and tethered themselves to it with a rope.
Mr. Friday’s journey to Brazil commenced on June 27 when a fisherman acquaintance rowed him to the stern of the Liberian-flagged Ken Wave, docked in Lagos, and left him near the rudder.
To his surprise, he discovered three others already present, awaiting the ship’s departure. These unfamiliar shipmates gave rise to apprehension that they might be tossed into the sea at any moment.
With the ship underway, the four stowaways took every possible measure to evade detection by the ship’s crew, fearing potential ejection into the ocean.
In the words of Mr. Friday, “Maybe if they catch you they will throw you in the water… So we taught ourselves never to make a noise.”
For Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye, a 38-year-old stowaway, the journey was a test of endurance. “It was a terrible experience for me,” he shared during an interview at a Sao Paulo church shelter. “On board it is not easy. I was shaking, so scared. But I’m here.”
Both Mr. Yeye and Mr. Friday have now sought asylum in Brazil, aiming for a fresh start. However, the other two men have been repatriated to Nigeria based on their request.
Their astonishing voyage, encompassing around 5,600 kilometers (3,500 miles) of oceanic expanse, underscores the extreme risks some migrants are willing to undertake in pursuit of a better life.
For Mr. Yeye, who served as a pentecostal minister in Lagos state, economic hardships, political instability, and personal losses, including the destruction of his peanut and palm oil farm by floods, left him with little choice but to seek refuge in a new land. He aspires to reunite with his family in Brazil.
The stowaways’ story, as recounted by Father Paolo Parise, a priest at the Sao Paulo shelter, exemplifies the lengths to which individuals will go for a fresh start: “People do unimaginable and deeply dangerous things.”