Augustine receives best ever birthday present, still being alive and onboard Aquarius

Record ID: 1144982

  • Title: Augustine receives best ever birthday present, still being alive and onboard Aquarius
  • Date: 14th August 2018
  • Summary: AT SEA (RECENT - AUGUST 11, 2018) (REUTERS) MIGRANTS SINGING HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO AUGUSTINE ANYAORAH ONBOARD AQUARIUS
  • Embargoed: 28th August 2018 15:41
  • Keywords: SOS Mediterranee Mediterranean NGO Resche ship Aquarius
  • Location: AT SEA
  • City: AT SEA
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0018T5TEMF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Joyous laughter and singing erupted from the charity ship Aquarius over the weekend as Augustine Anyaorah celebrated his 23rd birthday but his best present was simply to still be alive.
    Born on August 11, 1995 in the Anambra state of Nigeria, Anyaorah very nearly didn't make it to his birthday.
    On August 8 he was packed on board a wooden vessel with 24 other migrants and sent out from the Libyan coast at Sabrata towards Italy. They soon drifted for some 60 miles and ended up near the oil platform area where they asked for help but were turned away and teased. After running out of food and water the migrants agreed they should consider returning to Libya in order to survive. With no means of navigation the boat drifted for several days before being intercepted by rescuers from the Aquarius on Friday (August 10).
    Anyaorah says he is determined to make a new life in Europe where he hopes one day to become a teacher and be able to take care of his ageing father and his siblings.
    The 141 migrants who helped celebrate Anyaorah's birthday have been on board the Aquarius since Friday (August 10) waiting for a European port to agree to their disembarkation. Finally on Tuesday (August 14) Malta said it agreed to let the Aquarius humanitarian ship dock ending a European stand-off over who should accept the ship.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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