I am alive to tell my story...onboard the Reva Nui Catamaran..
Autor: Mracia Santos | Publicado: 2011-09-07T07:24:00-07:00



I'm sharing this story of my life for people who travel a lot, especially for other skippers. In  November 2009 I was aboard the Reva Nui Catamaran with the rest of our crew. We left the Cabo Verde Mindelo Island to sail for some days to our  final destination Saint Martin in the Caribbean. We arrived on this island  after having sailed for one whole week. I was not in good  health and so I spoke to Captain Graham Harris about my situation. I wanted to go back to Brazil. I felt very weak after all the sailing. He did not accept my wish to return to Brazil. Here is where the problems started... He did not want to  pay for my flight home despite this was the agreement at the start of the contract. There were immigration police at the marina, so I went to speak to them and ask for their help. I told  them about everything that had happened and asked if they could help me, as all I wanted to do was go home to Brazil.
They  came with me to the yacht in order to pick up my bags and to talk  to Captain Harris to fulfill his obligations as stated in the contract. 
He bought a flight out of Saint Martin via a stopover in Paris to Brazil. So, I  went to a hotel on the island to await my flight which was scheduled to leave 2 days later. When I arrived at the gate to board my flight to Paris, I was prohibited from leaving the island. The flight from Paris to brazil had not been confirmed meaning I had to stay in Saint  Martin. On hearing this news I was in despair. I went to  the immigration police at the airport in Saint Martin to ask for their assistance and to explain what had happened. They contacted the immigration office at the marina who confirmed the problem with my flight from Paris to Brazil. I was escorted back to the marina by the police and they attempted to locate the whereabouts of Captain Harris. He was not at the marina and I stayed with the police waiting for a solution to be found.  They finally interviewed Captain Harris who gave his account of the events to the police. I was not present at the time of this interview. 
When I attempted to leave the hotel the next day, I was approached  by the Municipal Police where they led me to the state police who interoggated me for 2 hours.
I told them everything that had happened and I was informed that I was to stay on the island until my flight  back to Brazil had been confirmed. I was then arrested for being on the island illegally. I was in  complete shock, I was lost for words and my legs just froze. The police said I had to sign some papers, but I could not even move, I was paralyzed. The shouted at me, grabbed me by the arm and threw me in prison. I was in prison for a week. During the period of incarceration, I was beaten both physically and mentally, it was utter torture.
As I lay on the cold floor, I thought I was going to die. I shared a cell with a prostitute. I was&nbsp;accused of not wanting to leave the island for asking for money from  Captain Harris - this was his version  of his story.
If I had money I would have bought my flight back to  Brazil myself so I would not have to deal with the Captain and this situation. I had tried to buy the flight myself but my international visa credit  card did not work at Saint  Martin airport. Till this day I do not know why my credit card did not work at the airport, even although I had cleared all the papers with my bank to use the card internationally before  leaving Brazil.
Whilst I was trapped in prison for a week, I could not bring myself to drink, and I could barely breathe because of the stench. It was difficult for me to move I was in so much pain, I seriously thought I was going to die. Finally, after a week the police took to the airport and put me on board the flight to Paris without even getting a chance to take a shower, I was treated was worse than an animal.
A man from immigration escorted me onto the plane. He told me that on my arrival in Paris, that I would have to reschedule my flight to Brazil. He apologised for the inconvenience and told me that it would be US$300. I could not respond and I just started cry. When I arrived in Paris that day, I discovered that all of the  flights were full because it was Christmas-time so I could not take a flight. I was absolutely desperate. The following day I found out that to reschedule my flight, I was going to have to pay double the price.
 I did not have this amount of money, I only had US$300. I did not know what to do. Eventually, I went to an internet cafe in the airport to send an email to a friend who lives in Switzerland asking for God's sake  help me, that I was in Paris and had no money to pay for my flight home. He bought me a ticket to his hometown and sent me the e-ticket so that I could find another cheaper flight back to Brazil. It was a terrible experience and to this day I still have horrible  nightmares about it. I would not wish this upon anybody. Luckily, I am alive and well  to tell this story and the fight for my life. The most important thing now is to move on, to be thankful I am alive and have found peace of mind so I can pass on my story to others.