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The Greatest Survival Story | 438 दिन तक समुद्र में ज़िंदगी और मौत की जंग — Transcript

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0:00January 30, 2014, a small and
0:02completely deserted part of the
0:04Marshall Islands in the middle of the
0:07Pacific Ocean, known as Ebon Atoll. A
0:10local couple living there was going
0:12about their daily lives. Suddenly, they
0:15spotted a small, broken fiberglass boat
0:18approaching the shore. Just by looking
0:22at the condition of the boat, one could
0:23tell how brutally it had been battered
0:25by the sea. The boat was covered in a
0:28thick layer of barnacles and sea shells
0:30. It looked as if it had been drifting
0:33at sea for years. The next moment, the
0:35couple was stunned. When a human being
0:38emerged from that boat. A man whose
0:41beard and hair had grown long like a
0:44wild person, and he had no clothes on
0:46his body. He had a knife in his hand
0:50and was shouting loudly in Spanish in a
0:53strange voice. His condition was so
0:56poor that he could barely walk. After
0:59walking just a few steps, he collapsed
1:00on the ground. The couple present there
1:04had no idea that the man lying on the
1:06ground before them was the greatest
1:09survivor in history. This man was none
1:13other than José Salvador Alvarenga,
1:16who had been drifting completely alone
1:19in the ruthless and dangerous Pacific
1:21Ocean for the past 14 months, or about
1:24438 days. During this time, he had
1:29traveled nearly 6,700 miles without any
1:32direction or support, and most
1:35shockingly, he did it all in a small
1:39open boat with no hope of survival.
1:42Let’s find out how an ordinary
1:44fisherman stayed alive for so many days
1:47in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and
1:50why his small open boat didn't sink in
1:52the ocean's most dangerous storms.
1:56Let’s learn about the astonishing
1:58survival story of José Salvador
2:00Alvarenga. Costa Azul is a small
2:06fishing village in the Chiapas state of
2:08Mexico. This is considered one of the
2:11poorest regions in Mexico. Where life
2:13is not easy. This is where 36-year-old
2:16José Salvador Alvarenga lived.
2:18Alvarenga was originally from a small
2:21village called Garita Palmera in El
2:23Salvador. But in 2002, for some reason,
2:27he left his country and settled here.
2:30He had been playing with the ocean
2:32waves since he was 11 years old. After
2:35leaving school, Alvarenga started
2:36deep-sea fishing. This was an extremely
2:39dangerous and life-threatening job. It
2:41required living for days in the open
2:44sea among dangerous waves and hungry
2:47sharks. Alvarenga had only one goal:
2:49catching sharks. He was an extremely
2:53experienced fisherman who went out to
2:55sea every day, catching dangerous
2:57sharks and selling them for 50 cents a
3:00pound to make a living. Because of his
3:04commitment and sea knowledge, the
3:05locals called him Cirilo. His father
3:08used to say that the ocean ran through
3:10Alvarenga's veins. He was physically
3:13and mentally very strong. It was
3:15November 17, 2012. Alvarenga was
3:18supposed to set out on a routine shark
3:20fishing expedition. It was not a long
3:22journey. It was just a 30-hour trip
3:25where he would go a little way out into
3:27the sea, catch fish, and return. But
3:31that day, Alvarenga’s regular partner
3:33, who always accompanied him to sea,
3:35was absent. For some reason, he was not
3:37available that day. Instead of
3:39canceling the trip, Alvarenga decided
3:41he would take someone else along with
3:43him. He spotted a 23-year-old young man
3:46wandering on the shore named Ezequiel
3:49Cordoba. Cordoba did odd jobs around
3:52the seashore. He did not have any real
3:56experience with deep-sea fishing. He
4:01was just a day laborer who agreed to go
4:03with Alvarenga that day to earn a
4:05little extra money. Alvarenga felt that
4:09Cordoba's lack of experience wouldn't
4:11be an issue given his own expertise.
4:14The two boarded a 25-foot fiberglass
4:16boat. Because it was only a short trip.
4:19Alvarenga had not prepared fully for
4:21the journey. This overconfidence led to
4:24a mistake that would become the biggest
4:26blunder of their lives. Their boat had
4:30no anchor, no oars, and no sail to
4:33navigate the vessel. They had no
4:37waterproof GPS, no flare gun for
4:40emergencies, and the radio they had was
4:42not fully charged. Alvarenga thought
4:47there was no need for all these things
4:49just to go 80 miles out and return. The
4:52sea was calm, and the two set off to do
4:55their job. They were completely unaware
4:58that the weather department had been
5:01issuing warnings that a massive storm
5:03was rapidly approaching that Mexican
5:06coast. Usually, Alvarenga took such
5:09storms very lightly. As they reached
5:12about 50 miles out into the open sea,
5:15the sun began to set. It was now
5:17nighttime. They were both 80 miles out
5:20in the deep sea. Suddenly, the weather
5:23started to change. The winds picked up
5:25speed and dark clouds covered the sky.
5:28This was no ordinary rain. A highly
5:31dangerous and powerful storm had
5:33surrounded their small boat. The ocean
5:36waves began to rise up to 5 meters, or
5:39about 16 feet high. For a small
5:42fiberglass boat, facing these waves was
5:45nearly impossible. The wind was tossing
5:47the boat here and there as if it were a
5:49toy. The ocean waves were now rising
5:52like tall mountains and crashing
5:54violently against their open boat.
5:57Water had started filling the boat, and
6:00the danger of sinking increased.
6:02Alvarenga's experience was coming in
6:04handy at that moment. He knew that if
6:06the boat came parallel to the massive
6:09waves, it would flip in an instant, and
6:11they would both drown and die there.
6:15That is why Alvarenga was using all his
6:18strength to control the steering,
6:20trying to align it directly against the
6:23waves so the boat could cut through
6:25them. On the other side, the 23-
6:28year-old inexperienced Cordoba had
6:30completely panicked. He was shivering
6:33with fear and was busy continuously
6:35bailing water out of the boat with a
6:37bucket. This storm showed no signs of
6:39stopping. Moving the boat forward
6:41against the storm was the most
6:43important thing. But then, amidst that
6:45terrifying roar of the sea, an accident
6:48occurred that pushed them into the jaws
6:50of death. Suddenly, a strange choking
6:53sound came from the small outboard
6:55motor. The engine sputtered for a few
6:58moments and then died forever. Amidst
7:02that pitch darkness, torrential rain,
7:04and terrifying storm, their boat was
7:06now completely helpless. Now they had
7:09no way to move forward, nor any hope of
7:12returning. They were completely forced
7:15to drift with the strong currents at
7:18the mercy of that unknown, dark sea. As
7:21soon as the engine stopped, a
7:23terrifying silence descended upon their
7:25boat. Every passing second was taking
7:27them closer to death. Groping in the
7:30dark, Alvarenga quickly pulled out his
7:33communication gear, his radio. This was
7:35their last hope. He began screaming
7:38into the radio with all his might. He
7:40pleaded for help. But the torrential
7:43rain and saltwater had already ruined
7:45the radio's circuits. Only the crackle
7:49of static came from the other side, and
7:51the next moment, the radio died for
7:53good. Now, all contact with the land
7:56and the rest of the world was
7:58completely severed. Water was filling
8:01up in the boat rapidly. The force of
8:03the waves was so intense that the boat
8:05could flip at any moment. Alvarenga
8:08understood that if the boat's weight
8:09wasn't reduced, they would sink
8:11straight into the depths of the ocean.
8:15To save their lives and lighten the
8:17boat, they tossed their ice cooler and
8:20even their meager food and drinking
8:23water supplies into the sea. At that
8:27moment, there was only one thing on his
8:28mind. To see the next morning's sunrise
8:31by any means necessary. But nature had
8:33other intentions. This storm wasn't
8:36just for a day or two. For five
8:39consecutive days, they drifted through
8:42that terrifying oceanic onslaught
8:44without sleep, food, or water. A
8:47five-day storm is enough to break the
8:50spirit of any ordinary person. On the
8:53other side, when November 19th and 20th
8:55arrived, chaos erupted in their village
8:58, Costa Azul, in the Mexican state of
9:00Chiapas. Their trip was only supposed
9:02to last 30 hours. But more than 48
9:05hours had passed, and there was no sign
9:08of them. Rescue officials and the Coast
9:11Guard began searching the sea for them.
9:13Helicopters and large boats were
9:15dispatched to find them. But the sea
9:18was so vast and deep, and the storm had
9:21pushed them so far off course, that no
9:24one found any trace of them. After a
9:27few days of unsuccessful searching, the
9:29boat was officially declared missing.
9:33In the eyes of the world, Alvarenga and
9:36Cordoba were dead, and no one knew that
9:39they were fighting a never-ending
9:41battle against death in that unknown
9:44sea. Five days later, when the storm
9:47stopped and the sky cleared, they
9:49finally breathed a sigh of relief. But
9:52this relief lasted only for a few
9:54moments. As the mist cleared and they
9:56looked all around, the ground seemed to
9:58slip from beneath their feet. As far as
10:01their eyes could see, there was only
10:04vast, salty blue water. Not even a
10:08small piece of land or the smoke of
10:10another ship was visible. They were
10:13drifting thousands of miles from land
10:15in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
10:18Without any direction. The sun was now
10:21shining brightly, and the sea salt
10:23burned like fire on their cracked lips
10:26and wounds. But the biggest trouble was
10:30just about to begin: hunger and thirst.
10:34Driven by thirst, their throats were
10:35parched and felt like they were being
10:37scraped with sand from the inside. At
10:40such a time, Alvarenga's years of
10:42experience and his passion for survival
10:44kicked in. He knew that if they didn't
10:47get water, their kidneys would fail
10:50within the next few hours. Just then,
10:53he spotted a sea turtle swimming near
10:55the boat. Without a second thought,
10:58Alvarenga grabbed the turtle with his
11:00bare hands. Alvarenga pulled out his
11:03knife. He cut the turtle and poured its
11:07warm blood down his parched throat. He
11:10also gave the blood to Cordoba to drink
11:13so he could quench his thirst. In the
11:15sea, they would sometimes find small
11:18sharks. He would cut the raw shark,
11:21pull out its liver, and chew it up raw.
11:24Saltwater and raw meat were their diet
11:28now. But as their boat drifted deeper
11:31into the ocean, turtles and sharks
11:34became scarce. Now, they had only one
11:37source of food left. The seabirds
11:40flying in the sky, but catching a
11:42flying bird on an open boat with bare
11:44hands was nearly impossible. Here,
11:47Alvarenga devised a strange and clever
11:50trick. He stuck a piece of wood into a
11:53part of the boat and lay down on the
11:56floor, perfectly still like a dead man.
12:01When exhausted birds in the middle of
12:03the ocean landed on that wood to rest,
12:05Alvarenga would reach out in a flash
12:07and grab them by their feet. He would
12:11break one leg of the captured live
12:13birds so they couldn't fly away and
12:15would just flutter on the boat. By
12:18doing this, he had collected 20 to 30
12:21live birds on his boat, which were
12:23fresh food for them for many days. Days
12:27passed burning in the sun, and nights
12:30in bone-chilling cold; nearly 2 months
12:32had gone by. The boat had now lost its
12:36way into a part of the Pacific Ocean
12:38from where there was no way back. On
12:42this tiny boat, two different worlds
12:44now existed. On one side was Alvarenga,
12:48who had completely surrendered to the
12:50circumstances to survive. But on the
12:53other side, 23-year-old Ezequiel
12:55Cordoba's condition was getting worse
12:57by the day. He could not digest the raw
13:00food. He had started vomiting
13:02continuously. Because of which, his
13:05body was dehydrating even faster. Due
13:09to the saltwater, large sores had
13:11formed on both of their lips and hands.
13:14Which felt like they were burning with
13:15fire all the time. But Cordoba was no
13:18longer in a condition to bear this pain
13:21. He had completely stopped eating.
13:24Alvarenga would fold his hands before
13:26him, crying and explaining that if he
13:28wanted to live, he should eat that raw,
13:31blood-soaked meat like medicine. He
13:34tried to cut the meat into small pieces
13:37and feed it to Cordoba. But that young
13:41man had already given up. He had
13:44mentally accepted his death and was now
13:46just waiting for his final moments.
13:50About 10 weeks had passed. The month of
13:54January 2013 had arrived, and
13:56Cordoba’s breathing was now failing.
13:59His body had withered away into a
14:02living corpse. Whose bones could be
14:04clearly counted. Due to hunger, thirst,
14:08and loss of hope, that young man
14:10breathed his last in the middle of the
14:12sea. Before Alvarenga, his only
14:15companion had fallen into an eternal
14:17sleep. Now he was alone in that vast
14:20ocean. Completely alone. But what
14:23Alvarenga did after Cordoba’s death
14:26is enough to give anyone goosebumps. He
14:30carefully placed Cordoba’s body in
14:32the front part of the boat, known as
14:34the bow. He would talk to the corpse
14:37every morning. He behaved as if Cordoba
14:40were still alive. This was a terrifying
14:44and painful way for a living person to
14:47keep their mind from going completely
14:50insane. He was living his life
14:53alongside death. For 6 days, he drifted
14:56in that small boat with the corpse.
14:59After 6 days, the situation started to
15:00become even more horrific. The body had
15:03started to decompose and was emitting a
15:05stench that was impossible to endure in
15:08such a small boat. With a heavy heart,
15:11he picked up Cordoba’s body and threw
15:13it into the depths of the sea. Now, on
15:16that 25-foot fiberglass skiff,
15:18Alvarenga’s loneliness was nothing
15:21less than a major blow to him.
15:24Isolation completely erases any
15:26person's sense of time. He had stopped
15:29understanding how many days had passed.
15:31What month it was, or if the year was
15:34still the same or had changed. But
15:37amidst this madness, he created a
15:38strict routine to keep himself alive.
15:42He made it his ritual to collect
15:44rainwater, catch birds with the help of
15:46a stick, and cut fish with his old
15:48knife. His real and toughest test was
15:52yet to come. Many times during that
15:55endless journey, large cargo ships
15:57would pass by in the distance before
15:59his eyes. Whenever he saw the smoke or
16:02the silhouette of a distant ship, a
16:05spark of his extinguished hope would
16:07reignite. He would wave his clothes in
16:10the air with all his might. He would
16:12scream until his throat went hoarse and
16:14wave his hands. But the sea was so vast
16:17and his boat so small that he couldn't
16:20be detected by the ship's captain or
16:23their radar. Those massive ships would
16:26just sail on. Without ever knowing that
16:29just a short distance away, a helpless
16:31human was fighting for his life. Every
16:35time a ship passed by, his hope would
16:37shatter into pieces all over again. It
16:41was a cruel game of nature. His mental
16:44state had deteriorated to the point
16:47where he couldn't even trust if the
16:49ship he saw was actually on the water
16:51or just an illusion of his starved and
16:54sick mind. Months were passing by, and
16:57his strength was truly starting to fade
17:00. The scorching sun by day and freezing
17:03cold by night had broken every inch of
17:06his body. His skin had cracked open.
17:09His legs were so swollen that he
17:11couldn't even stand up. His mental
17:15exhaustion had reached a point where
17:18embracing death felt easier than trying
17:21to live. He later mentioned in an
17:24interview that at that moment, he truly
17:25wanted to commit suicide. But at the
17:29last moment, he looked up at the sky
17:31and prayed to God, crying for Him to
17:33either take him out of this agony or
17:35give him the strength. He had decided
17:39that as long as he had his last breath,
17:41he would not kneel before this tyranny
17:44of the sea. This was the turning point
17:48that laid the very foundation of his
17:50psychological survival. Now, every day
17:53was no longer about waiting for death,
17:56but a new, stubborn attempt to stay
17:58alive. Months started to fly by. He had
18:02been drifting on the open ocean for
18:04over a year now. The journey of death
18:08that began on that dark night in 2012
18:11had now crossed the entire year of 2013
18:14and entered 2014. Alvarenga's body and
18:17appearance had changed completely. He
18:20was unrecognizable. His hair had grown
18:23thick and tangled together like a rope.
18:26His beard had reached his chest.
18:29Saltwater, sun, and rain had completely
18:32rotted away his clothes. And now, he
18:35moved about the boat completely naked.
18:38A thick white layer of sea salt had
18:41settled on his skin, and the sun had
18:43scorched his flesh like hardened stone.
18:47His ankles were severely swollen. To
18:50the extent that he couldn't even stand
18:52properly on the boat. But despite all
18:55these hardships, the most surprising
18:57thing was that he was alive. Alvarenga
19:00had trained his stomach, his habits,
19:03and his soul like a wild animal. This
19:07was the biggest and most effective
19:10secret to his 438 days of survival. His
19:13sense of time and place had vanished
19:16from his mind long ago. But the final
19:19days of January 2014 brought a ray of
19:21light into his life that he had stopped
19:24dreaming of. One day, while watching
19:27the clouds in the sky, he spotted a new
19:30flock of birds. As an experienced
19:32fisherman, Alvarenga immediately
19:35realized these weren't common seabirds
19:38found in the deep ocean. These were
19:41birds that only fly near a shore or
19:44land. Gradually, the color of the
19:47seawater began to change. It started
19:49shifting from deep blue to a light
19:51green. He suddenly began to see
19:53floating wood, leaves, and coconuts on
19:55the water's surface. His heartbeat
19:58suddenly began to pound loudly. He
20:00braced his numb legs and, with
20:02difficulty, stood up to look toward the
20:04distant horizon. There, in the endless
20:08circle of blue sea and sky, he spotted
20:11a small green speck. This speck was not
20:14like a cloud or smoke; it was land. For
20:18the first time after 14 months and 438
20:21days of terrifying silence, he saw
20:24something other than water. Countless
20:27tears filled his eyes, but it was not
20:30the time to celebrate. His boat was
20:32moving rapidly toward that land,
20:34carried by the ocean waves. That place
20:37was far from the shores of Mexico where
20:39he had started his journey. It was
20:42about 6,700 miles away, the
20:44southernmost part of the Marshall
20:46Islands, called Ebon Atoll. But this
20:50final path to the shore was not going
20:52to be easy. The tiny shore of Ebon
20:56Atoll, called Tile Island, was
20:58surrounded by dangerous, sharp rocks
21:01known as coral reefs. As soon as his
21:05small, dilapidated boat neared the reef
21:07, a powerful wave lifted it and smashed
21:10it hard against the rocks. As the boat
21:13hit, it began taking on more water and
21:16got wedged into the reef. Alvarenga had
21:19no option left to stay behind. He
21:21leaped into the open sea. He gathered
21:25all his remaining physical strength,
21:28the power of his broken muscles and
21:30swollen legs. Cutting through the
21:34saltwater and sharp rocks, he began to
21:36swim against the waves toward the shore
21:38. After moving a little further into
21:42the water, he reached down, and finally
21:45, his hands and feet touched the soft
21:48mud and sand that he had been dying to
21:51feel every day for so many months. He
21:55had officially made it out of the water
21:57. He was finally on land. As soon as he
22:00got out of the water, he rolled onto
22:02the sand. There, on Ebon Atoll, a local
22:06couple named Emi Libokmeto and Russell
22:09Laikedrik lived in their small wooden
22:12hut. On that morning of January 30,
22:152014, they suddenly heard a strange
22:17sound on their deserted shore—the
22:19sound of someone shouting. When they
22:22both reached the shore, they were met
22:25with one of the most incredible and
22:27bizarre sights in human history. Their
22:30eyes first fell upon that broken
22:31fiberglass boat. It was covered in a
22:34thick layer of barnacles, shells, and
22:37moss, and inside, there was a pile of
22:40fish bones and dead turtles. But they
22:43were stunned when they saw a person on
22:45the sand a short distance from the boat
22:47. Standing before them was that wild
22:51man who had been mentioned at the
22:52beginning of the story. He was
22:55completely naked. In his hand, he held
22:58that same rusty, old knife. The one he
23:01had been using to cut up animals for
23:04the last 438 days. Seeing them, he was
23:06shouting continuously. But his language
23:09was Spanish. Which the couple from the
23:11Marshall Islands could not understand
23:13at all. His swollen legs were trembling
23:16violently. Emi immediately understood
23:18the situation. She realized that this
23:20person was not a threat, but had
23:23emerged from some terrible ordeal. From
23:26a distance, she signaled with her hands
23:28to calm Alvarenga down and asked him to
23:31put his knife on the ground. He slowly
23:34let go of all his strength and dropped
23:36the knife onto the sand. As soon as he
23:39let go of the knife, his trembling
23:41knees and his body gave out, unable to
23:43stand on the ground for even another
23:45second. And he collapsed, unconscious,
23:48right there on the warm and quiet sand
23:50of Ebon Atoll. But the world was yet to
23:54face the biggest truth of his entire
23:56story and the new legal and
23:58psychological storm that would follow
24:01it. After falling unconscious on the
24:04sand, Alvarenga had no awareness of
24:06what was happening to him. Emi and
24:09Russell immediately gathered a crowd
24:10and provided him with the necessary
24:12support. At that time, a Norwegian
24:14research student named Ola Fjeldstad
24:17was present on Ebon Atoll. When he
24:20examined Alvarenga’s boat, every
24:22truth of the story that had kept this
24:25man alive for 14 months was laid bare
24:27before him. Inside the boat, a live
24:31seabird was still tethered. A dead
24:34turtle lay there, and a large pile of
24:36fish bones provided evidence of his
24:39survival. Ola was the first to tell the
24:42world that this man had broken down to
24:45his absolute limit, both mentally and
24:47physically. There was no major hospital
24:50on Ebon Atoll. Therefore, on February 3
24:53, 2014, Alvarenga was taken by a large
24:56boat to Majuro, the capital of the
24:59Marshall Islands. This alone was a 22-
25:02hour journey. As soon as he reached the
25:05hospital in Majuro, a large team of
25:07doctors surrounded him and began his
25:09tests. His medical results shook
25:12several established rules in medical
25:14science textbooks. Doctors found that
25:18his ankles were so badly swollen that
25:20he could not even walk like a normal
25:23person. He had severe anemia. His blood
25:27pressure was dangerously low, and his
25:30body was completely dehydrated. But
25:33greater than these physical wounds was
25:35another wound that the sea had left on
25:37his mind. In the hospital, when a nurse
25:41brought him a glass of water, Alvarenga
25:43began to tremble violently out of fear.
25:46He had developed hydrophobia. Meaning,
25:49an intense fear of water. Seeing his
25:52condition, doctors understood that it
25:54could take years for Alvarenga to
25:55recover. As soon as the news of his
25:58survival spread from Majuro to the
26:00outside world, a massive stir erupted
26:02among news channels and journalists
26:05worldwide. Everyone wanted to cover
26:07this miracle. But while on one hand
26:11people were trying to believe this
26:13astonishing story, on the other hand, a
26:16new storm of doubt and controversy
26:18arose. Some high-ranking Marshall
26:21Islands officials, including Secretary
26:23of Foreign Affairs Gee Bing, were
26:25involved. They came out to the media
26:27and stated directly that they did not
26:30believe this story. Their argument was
26:33that in the past, those who survived
26:35after being lost at sea had been
26:37reduced to nothing but skin and bones.
26:40But Alvarenga did not look as thin or
26:43helpless to them as a person who had
26:45been starving for 14 months should have
26:47looked. They suspected that this man
26:50was lying. But nature and science
26:52themselves proved this suspicion false.
26:56Dr. Yerles Ramirez, a hospital director
26:58in El Salvador, reviewed his test
27:00results and clearly stated that
27:02Alvarenga’s frame was naturally heavy
27:04and broad. His skin, which appeared
27:08robust, was actually swelling caused by
27:11the sun and salt of the sea. Inside,
27:15his kidneys, his blood, and his
27:17intestines had been ruined due to
27:19malnutrition. Doctors made it clear
27:22that Alvarenga was not making up any
27:24excuses. His story was breaking every
27:27rule of human physiology and revealing
27:29a new truth. After this, the matter did
27:31not just stop at medical reports. A
27:34team of oceanographers from the
27:35University of Hawaii began a full
27:37investigation of this case. They fed
27:41data on the winds and sea waves from
27:43the storm that hit the Mexican coast in
27:45November 2012 into their computers.
27:49When they created a 14-month drift path
27:52, everyone was stunned to see their
27:53model. Science proved that if an open
27:57boat drifts from Mexico, it will
28:00inevitably collide within a 120-mile
28:02radius of Ebon Atoll along the ocean
28:04currents. In other words, every single
28:08word of Alvarenga was true. After that,
28:11in April 2014, he also passed a
28:13polygraph test, and every doubt was
28:16gone forever. When everything was
28:19proven, arrangements were finally made
28:22to send Alvarenga to his home country,
28:25El Salvador, on February 10, 2014. This
28:28was the same country, the same home
28:31that he had left behind 8 years ago.
28:34His family, his elderly parents, and
28:36his daughter had already accepted that
28:39Alvarenga had died years ago. When they
28:42found out at the airport that their son
28:44was returning alive, their tears would
28:46not stop. But when Alvarenga stepped
28:50onto the airport in El Salvador, the
28:52crowd, thousands of cameras, and the
28:54shouting voices of reporters scared him
28:56to his core. He was not prepared for
28:59all of this. Coming out of the silence
29:01of the ocean and suddenly being in this
29:04chaos, he started crying right there.
29:06His mind went into a severe depression.
29:09He did not talk to anyone for many days
29:11and completely isolated himself from
29:13the world. This truth of the world came
29:17before him in an even uglier form in
29:19December 2015. Renowned journalist
29:22Jonathan Franklin published a book
29:25after interviewing Alvarenga for hours,
29:28titled "438 Days." This book became a
29:31topic of discussion all over the world.
29:33As soon as people felt that Alvarenga
29:35was becoming famous and earning money
29:38from the book, Ezequiel Córdoba's
29:40family took a drastic step. They filed
29:43a $ 1 million lawsuit against Alvarenga
29:46. Their accusation was extremely
29:48serious and heart-wrenching. They
29:50claimed that Córdoba did not die of
29:52hunger, but rather that Alvarenga had
29:55killed and eaten the young man to stay
29:57alive. They filed a case of cannibalism
30:00against him and demanded their share of
30:02the book's earnings. Alvarenga and his
30:04lawyer, Ricardo Cucalon, completely
30:06denied these claims. They made it clear
30:10to both the court and the media that
30:12these allegations were entirely false
30:15and motivated solely by greed. Cordoba
30:18had refused to eat raw food, which led
30:21to his death, and his body was buried
30:23at sea. Cordoba's family did not have
30:27any concrete legal evidence. This
30:30proved that even in the silence of
30:32death, people see only their own gain
30:34rather than the suffering of a survivor
30:36. Even after this horrific tragedy,
30:40legal battle, and mental trauma, the
30:42journey of José Salvador Alvarenga has
30:44become a page in human history that no
30:47one can erase. He is the first and only
30:52person in recorded history to have
30:55spent more than a year alone in a small
30:58, open boat in the middle of the ocean
31:01and returned alive.

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