A man draped in a Ghana flag stands among other Ghanaians as Ghana repatriates hundreds of its citizens from South Africa following instances of violence against migrants from other sub-Saharan African countries, amid a wave of protests against illegal immigration, at O.R. Tambo International.
By Reuters
Almost 300 Ghanaian nationals returned home on Wednesday after waves of anti-immigrant protests in South Africa heightened safety concerns.
The group, which included children, boarded a flight from Johannesburg to Accra in what authorities described as a voluntary repatriation process for Ghanaian citizens who say they no longer feel safe.
South African authorities have been working with Ghanaian officials on a list of around 800 people who have indicated they want to leave.
A South African immigration official, who was not identified on screen, told local television station eNCA: “What we found is that of the 300, only 10 of them are legal in the country, so quite a number of them are in non-compliance to our immigration act.”
The Ghanaian Embassy in South Africa issued emergency travel certificates that allowed citizens who had overstayed their permitted time in the country to return home.
Ghana’s foreign minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, welcomed the returnees at the Accra airport and said they will be able to receive psychosocial support and allowances that should help them get their lives back on track.
“Wherever Ghanaians are, we will make sure you are protected, your dignity is respected, and we will go to the length of this world to bring you back home,” Ablakwa told the group after their landing.
He added that 26 of the returnees had been detained in South Africa for visa issues and that Ghanaian authorities had negotiated to bring them back.
VIOLENCE AGAINST MIGRANTS PROMPTS DEPARTURES
The repatriation followed a wave of anti-immigration protests in South Africa in recent weeks, with campaigners demanding tighter controls on what they described as undocumented migrants, and accusing foreigners of contributing to crime and unemployment.
The protests have been accompanied by instances of violence against migrants from other sub-Saharan African countries.
Earlier on Wednesday, one Ghanaian preparing to leave said repeated harassment had driven the decision.
“I’m happy that I’m going to my country … it’s not easy to be in someone else’s country and be disturbed all the time,” he said, declining to give his name.
Migrant-rights groups say they are being scapegoated by South Africans who blame them for the country’s economic problems, namely high unemployment, which hovers at over 30% and disproportionately affects the Black population.
DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS TO EASE TENSIONS
Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quashie, said the departures were part of efforts to ease tensions while preserving strong diplomatic ties between the two countries.
“The demonstrators have said they want us to work together. We must ensure that those who are undocumented are returned home and that institutions are allowed to function,” Quashie said, dismissing speculation of a diplomatic rift with South Africa.
South African authorities have condemned violence against foreign nationals and pledged to crack down on xenophobic attacks, saying such acts have no place in the country’s constitutional democracy.