Icon: enlarge
Sailor Kaumai Taneuaa Nak
Photo: Mikael Grunwaldt / DER SPIEGEL
His wife and child wear wreaths of flowers on their heads, red and yellow flowers, his wife smiles at the camera and holds their son on her arm.
It's his first birthday celebration.
All that Kaumai Taneuaa Nak, 25, has seen of his child so far are pictures like this on his mobile phone display.
"I've never seen my son, never kissed him, never held him in my arms, I miss him so much," says Nak.
He is a seafarer.
He set sail on April 21, 2019, left his home in the Pacific state of Kiribati and his wife when she was two months pregnant.
Nak wanted to stay on board for eleven months, he would have missed the birth anyway.
But for his son's first birthday, Nak thought, he would be back.
Nak was wrong.
He's been on the road for 20 months now, most of which he spent on board.
Actually, a maximum of eleven months of service at a time is allowed.
But because the borders with many countries are tight and air traffic is restricted, Nak is stuck - in a Hamburg youth hostel.
Read more with Spiegel Plus
More perspectives, more understanding.
Your advantages with SPIEGEL +
Icon: Check
SPIEGEL as a magazine
as an app, e-paper and on the e-reader
Icon: Check
All articles on SPIEGEL.de
Exclusive texts for SPIEGEL + readers
Icon: Check
Try one month for free
Cancel anytime online
A price
only € 19.99 per month
One month for € 0.00
Try now for 0.00 € Buy nowArrow to the right
Already have a digital subscription? Register here
Restore iTunes subscription
SPIEGEL + is processed via your iTunes account and paid for with a purchase confirmation.
24 hours before it expires, the subscription is automatically renewed by one month at the current price of € 19.99.
You can cancel the subscription at any time in the settings of your iTunes account.
In order to use SPIEGEL + outside of this app, you must link the subscription to a SPIEGEL ID account immediately after purchase.
With the purchase you accept our general terms and conditions and privacy policy.