Four Nigerian stowaways endured a treacherous 14-day journey across the Atlantic Ocean on a cargo ship before being rescued by Brazilian federal police in the port of Vitoria. The men survived for four days without food and water by drinking the sea water crashing just meters below them. The harrowing journey highlights the risks migrants are willing to take in search of a better life.

The stowaways, Thankgod Opemipo Matthew Yeye and Roman Ebimene Friday, had hoped to reach Europe but were shocked to learn they had actually ended up in Brazil. Two of the men have since been returned to Nigeria at their request, while Yeye and Friday have applied for asylum in Brazil.

Both men cited economic hardship, political instability, and crime as the reasons for leaving Nigeria. Friday's journey began on June 27 when a fisherman friend rowed him to the Liberian-flagged Ken Wave cargo ship docked in Lagos.

To his surprise, he found three other men already hiding near the rudder, waiting for the vessel to depart. The men took great precautions to avoid being discovered by the ship's crew, fearing they would be thrown into the water.

Father Paolo Parise, a priest at the Sao Paulo shelter where the Nigerian men are staying, described their journey as the most dangerous case of stowaways he has encountered. The men's resilience and determination to start anew serve as a testament to the extreme measures people are willing to take for a chance at a better life.