16-year-old travels 5,000 kilometres across 7 countries to find a better life

This teenage migrant crossed seven countries, two continents and the ocean in search of a better life after mistreatment in his home country of Cameroon. Footage from January 8 shows then 16-year-old Yvan Fotso in a dinghy somewhere in the ocean between Morocco and Spain with other migrants. Fotso also shows parts of his journey across Morocco and the Sahara Desert. He told Newsflare: "I crossed the sea to arrive in Spain, I had practically three days on the water without food and water to drink." His journey started in Cameroon where he lived with his auntie and uncle. But after mistreatment, he decided to leave that situation and make a better life for himself. "I left my country because of the mistreatment by my uncle's wife, I am an orphan," he said. The 5,000-kilometre cross-continental journey took around eight months crossing land, sea and other terrains. "The most difficult parts were: the Sahara desert, the forest of Algeria and the sea. "I spent a week in the desert without shelter and I lost two friends who died of thirst." Fotso crossed Nigeria, Niger, Algeria, Morocco, Spain and France but is now living in the German capital of Berlin, where he is starting a new life. Now in Germany, he says: "I want to learn the language well, have a good training and a good job in the long run, and I want to take care of my big brother, who is currently in prison in Cameroon." Fotso is now enrolled in education due to him being a minor and is a blue belt in Shotokan Karate. Yvan says in his selfie video: "My name is Yvan, I am from Cameroon, I am 17 and I live in Germany." "You see, see my scar after I was mistreated." He explains about significant parts of his journey where he encountered abuse and torment. "I arrived in a city called Rabat (Morocco), there I met some Arabic people and since I was small a man took me and kept me in his home, he tried to make do things, drugs and when I refused he hit me because I was in his home. "Sometimes he would take out the knife [and] I could have died. "One night I got up and left." After being told he would be able to leave Morocco for Europe on a proper boat, he recalls what happened when it turned out to be a dinghy. "A Senegalese man and his friends, they started using the pump. "It was not a boat, it was a dinghy. "If you are out at sea and the boat is pierced, everyone dies if no emergency crews arrive. "We then got on board, there were 86 people...In this small boat, we were 86 people. "At this moment I took out my phone, I took a video and I smiled and I thought if I die today someone will see this video. "That's my story, I am proud. I lived, I crossed seas, and I am proud to have arrived here. I am in Germany today."