22-year-old Nigerian woman who survived 10 days in Sahara Desert Speaks
22-year-old Nigerian woman who survived 10 days in Sahara Desert Speaks
-Odunayo Ajani
22-year-old Nigerian woman who survived 10 days in Sahara Desert Speaks
A 22-year-old Nigerian woman seeking to migrate into Europe through the harsh weather condition in Sahara Desert survived after being abandoned by traffickers for 10 days.
The 22-year-old woman was who was only identified as Adoara was said by the International Organisation for Migration to be the only female among the survivors of a rescue mission on May 28.
According to the International Organizations for Migration.
“She left Nigeria in early April hoping for a better future in Europe.
“There were 50 migrants on the pick-up truck when it left Agadez for Libya, but only six are still alive today,” Giuseppe Loprete, Niger Chief of Mission for IOM, said.
Telling the story of her ordeal, Adoara said: “We were in the desert for 10 days. After five days, the driver abandoned us.
“He left with all of our belongings, saying he was going to pick us up in a couple of hours, but he never did,” she said.
Six people were said to have left, seeking for help after 44 of the migrants died.
“We had to drink our own pee to survive,” said the woman now in an IOM camp in Niamey, Niger.
Adoara said she left Nigeria with two of her female friends who both died in the desert.
She sadly remembers.
“We buried a few, but there were just too many to bury and we didn’t have the strength to do it,”.
“I couldn’t walk anymore. I wanted to give up,” she recalls.
The International Organizations for Migration said. Two other migrants carried her until a truck driver picked them up and took them to local authorities who then alerted IOM staff in Dirkou in the Agadez Region of north-eastern Niger.
By the time the six survivors reached IOM’s transit centre in Dirkou, Adaora was unconscious. She received medical assistance, and once recovered, she gave a detailed account of her experience to both the authorities and IOM staff. Two of the other migrants from the group went back with IOM staff and the authorities to find the bodies and identify the victims.
After having received medical assistance at IOM’s transit centres in both Dirkou and Agadez, Adaora is currently recovering at IOM’s transit centre for migrants in Niamey, awaiting her imminent voluntary return to Nigeria.
Adaora says she had no idea what the route was going to be like, otherwise she would have never left Nigeria. Going back, she wants to continue her work as a nurse.
“I think it’s important we all assist each other when we are in need,” she said.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported that it rescued no fewer than 600 people since April 2017 through a new search and rescue operation that targeted migrants stranded in Sahara Desert.
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