Yesterday there was no one for his burial. Only the earth, silent and welcoming like a mother’s womb, took him and kept him. He had arrived at some point last year claiming to be Liberian by nationality. Or rather, Liberian or Nigerian according to the perspectives, circumstances and above all the opportunities offered by destiny. He also claimed not to be in possession of any identity or travel documents. The only certain thing, clearly visible, was a tumor that had settled on the left side of his face which reduced his ability to speak and see correctly. First the Nigerian Red Cross and then the pastoral service of migrants accompanied the efforts of local medical services to ease the pain and attempt an unlikely recovery. Since his arrival in Niamey he claimed his name was Steven and that he was the bearer of a dual and ephemeral nationality. As the days passed and the proximity of some Liberian migrants, he showed a passport in which unpredictable details of his migratory path emerged. Packaged in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with one arrival stamp in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the other in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The one for entry into Niger where he had arrived was missing because they had told him that migrants are taken care of in Niamey. And this is how Steven later transformed into Godwin, the name written on the passport which attested to his Nigerian nationality. Godwin, God wins, was the name he carried with him like the 10/10 swelling on his face which showed no signs of diminishing until he began chemotherapy in the hospital in oncology of Niamey. Months passed, therapy and medication with little results because his body seemed tired from walking around the world so much. Godwin passed away the other day, a Thursday evening around 7pm and everything possible was done quickly to ensure that he had a worthy burial in the Christian cemetery of the capital. A short stay in the morgue of the Muslim cemetery and then, after cleaning the body, Godwin was placed in a light wooden coffin enriched by a cross carved in the upper part of the coffin. The transport on the back of a pick up to the cemetery and then the entrance for the last migration, the most challenging of all, after a short farewell prayer and the blessing of the tomb. The coffin was placed in the bare earth and then covered with sand. A couple of friends who accompanied him in these months and above all her, the land which in her maternal silence took him into itself. There was no member of the Nigerian embassy or the Association of Nigerians of Niamey near the grave, although they were informed of the death. Godwin, the God who conquers, had died abandoned by all. Only the womb of the earth reopened and preserved it for eternity.
