Tracy Stephen practically demonstrates how more than 48 migrants were squeezed like sardines into a vehicle meant for 8 on their three-day journey from the Nigeria-Niger border through the Sahara Desert to Sakha in Libya. (PRNewsFoto/Emmanuel TV)
Tales of deported migrants: Tracy Stephen practically demonstrates how more than 48 migrants were squeezed like sardines into a vehicle meant for eight on their three-day journey from the Nigeria-Niger border through the Sahara Desert to Sakha in Libya. (PRNewsFoto/Emmanuel TV)
Deported migrants, hitherto Europe-bound, have recounted distressing narratives of their journeys via the Sahara Desert, Libya and the perilous Mediterranean Sea.
They are among the lucky ones who remain alive to tell their stories. This year alone, over 3,600 Europe bound migrants have died, even though thousands of others were able to enter Europe.
The survivors recounted their stories live on TV at the Synagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN), a Lagos based church on 16 October.
The church led by Pastor T.B. Joshua has found itself continuously coming to the aid of deportees, who, after making these regrettable journeys, visit the church in need of financial and psychological support.
Deported Migrants: Precious Chioma cries as she recounts the ordeal she passed through with her two sons in their attempt to illegally travel to Europe from Nigeria. She sold all of her possessions to finance the trip but ended up in a Libyan prison after she was caught with her children hiding in suffocating conditions inside a watermelon truck. (PRNewsFoto/Emmanuel TV)
One of the deportees sheds tears after receiving her own portion of the N10,000,000 ($33,000) gift presented to the group after they came to The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations to seek refuge. They are the fourth group of deportees who have received help from the church in 2016. (PRNewsFoto/Emmanuel TV)
Tracy Stephen, a 23-year-old from Edo State, Nigeria, was one of the group of 52 deportees who spoke during the live broadcast on Emmanuel TV.
Osama Osifo, a student at the University of Benin, narrated how he was kidnapped during his journey in Libya on route to Europe from Nigeria. His elderly father died “because of the shock” during the period of his incarceration abroad. (PRNewsFoto/Emmanuel TV)
She recollected horrific details of torture, abuse and starvation which included
– drinking water from a well with a corpse inside, nearly suffocating while hiding in a truck covered with watermelons as camouflage and witnessing teenage girls raped at gunpoint by their traffickers.
Lucky to be alive, her attempt to reach Italy was almost fatal when the over-filled rubber dinghy she had boarded ran out of fuel.
“There were no life-jackets and none of us could swim,” she said, adding that children and babies were among the 140 crammed on-board.
Finally rescued by the Libyan Coast Guard, she was imprisoned for three months before being repatriated to Nigeria through the intervention of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), who subsequently provided a vehicle to bring the deportees to The SCOAN in recognition of the church’s humanitarian efforts.
The large group of deportees gratefully receive individual cash gifts of N150,000 ($500USD) and two bags of rice after sharing their sordid experiences at The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations (SCOAN). (PRNewsFoto/Emmanuel TV)
Stephen’s narrative was one of many disturbing stories recounted, including a lady whose two children had to drink her urine to survive.
While the congregants and viewers of Emmanuel TV were shocked to hear such horrific accounts, T.B. Joshua warned those who were on the verge of making similar journeys.
“It is where God wants you to make it that you will make it, not where you want to make it or where you admire,” he counselled.
In support of the downtrodden deportees, T.B. Joshua presented gifts amounting to N10,000,000 (US$33,000), each of the group receiving N150,000 (US$500) alongside two bags of rice to “start their lives afresh.”
SOURCE Emmanuel TV and PR Newswire
