So says a caption to a photo in the NY Post article, "4 migrants wind up in Brazil after 14 days on ship’s rudder, where they drank own urine after running out of supplies; 2 decide to just go home"
The migrants, who hoped to reach Europe, were shocked to find out they had actually arrived in Brazil after the roughly 3,500-mile journey sailing on the Liberian-flagged vessel.... The four men — who huddled in a tiny space above the giant rudder — said they ran out of food on the 10th day of the voyage and survived by drinking ocean water that splashed around them....
[One of them] said they rigged up a net around the rudder and tied themselves to it with a rope to prevent themselves from falling off when they dozed off.... and that they could see “big fish like whales and sharks” mere feet below them.
I thought drinking ocean water is well known to be worse than drinking no water at all. We can believe their story, that they did drink ocean water, and we know they survived, but you can't leap to the conclusion that they survived by drinking ocean water.
You might guess that going from Nigeria to Brazil is a much longer ride than from Nigeria to Europe, but look it up — it isn't. It's about the same.
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You can dilute ocean water with clean water or urine and stretch your hydration. Surely not pleasant. Also not hard to catch condensation using a plastic bag over the water - we teach boy scouts (I guess just scouts now) how to do this at summer camp.
One of the only war stories my father told was about flying over the Amazon and then over the Atlantic to Africa where he served the first part of his time in the war. It always seemed like a great adventure.
Ship rudders work better than jetliner landing gear wells.
These people apparently are white supremacists, by the way, heading for a white-ruled nation anywhere.
"we teach boy scouts (I guess just scouts now)"
Isn't it funny how the boy scouts are just scouts now but girl scouts is still girl scouts?
Everyone is welcome to a place in former male spaces, but not vice versa...unless of course you're willing to tuck your dick and wear dress. Come on in everyone!
"going from Nigeria to Brazil"
Flying pan to fire
"2 decide just to go home"
But having a great but stupid story to tell the grandkids
Of all the luck . . . Try to get to old cold racist Europe and end up in warm multi-cultural Brazil.
Not only does sea (salt) water dehydrate you, it acts as a swift laxative.
When their ancestors made the trip they put to work.
"Four Nigerian stowaways survived a grueling 14-day, 3,500-mile voyage across the Atlantic while perched atop a cargo ship’s rudder, where they survived by drinking ocean water and their own urine.”
Bet they would have preferred one of those relatively comfy slave ships they had in the good old days. I know I would.
I had a work colleague in college who would call railway freight companies to see where they were shipping. He'd find one going to the place he wanted to visit and then hop on a convenient boxcar to make the trip. To my knowledge, he was never apprehended. Modern day hobo!
@Mark:
Not only does sea (salt) water dehydrate you, it acts as a swift laxative.
Colonoscopy prep!
That was an unfortunate mistake in ship selection. Now they will have to work their way to the US or Canada to complete their social services arbitrage. No payoff in Brazil, just the barrios of Rio.
Narr said...
Of all the luck . . . Try to get to old cold racist Europe and end up in warm multi-cultural Brazil.
The difference between temperatures today in Europe and Brazil is about 10 degrees Fahrenheit (and Brazil is cooler than Texas). Only 15 million blacks now live in Brazil out of 231 million and most of the population is indigenous. Interestingly, blacks in European countries in the European Union plus the UK only add up to 11 million or so.
It also occurs to me that the two rudder riders who want to return to Nigeria would not do so if they had to ride back on the rudder.
Yeah, this did not occur. What amazing horse hockey.
Funny how Africans flee Africa for any majority white country, even endangering their lives in the process with such risky stunts as perching on a ship's rudder, yet none of the poor downtrodden well to do blacks in white countries never buy an airline ticket to travel back in comfort to Africa where they will be able to live in peace and not be discriminated against by the evil white majority.
I mean, it must be horrible for Oprah living every day in a country with people who don't look like her, who steer her towards less desirable neighborhoods when she wants to buy another mansion, and who snigger behind her back knowing she's rich and well to do only because of affirmative action and the desire to have a token black in entertainment.
Yet, she stays here instead of fleeing to Africa where she'll fit right in. Same with Obama.
If you wanted to travel from Africa to the United States, the shortest trip would land you in ... Maine.
If you wanted to travel from Africa to the United States, the shortest trip would land you in ... Maine.
Shorter still to go to Newfoundland, if your just looking to get to North America. West Africa to the easternmost tip of Brazil looks to be about the same as Boston to Florida.
Now send them back to Nigeria, Brazil.
Some enterprising Republican politician should offer to sponsor a visa for them to enter this country. People who make such sacrifices to escape the old country are not usually in the market for welfare cheese upon arrival to their destination. They deserve some kind of happy ending for their struggles.... I think if Trump put them on the maintenance team a Mar a Lago, he would acquire some loyal, hard workers. Or maybe he could hire them to yell insults at Jussie Smollett. They could wear MAGA hats whilst doing so. That would be really cool and ironic.
They lucked out the ship didn't take on ballast and fully submerge that rudder.
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