Some Ghanaians who travelled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to seek greener pastures but have become stranded are calling on the government to repatriate them.
Leader of the stranded Ghanaians whose name was given as Moses, in an interview on Eyewitness News on Thursday, June 4, 2020, said the Ghanaian Consulate in UAE has not attended to their request.
He said, although they have received support from the Prince of the UAE, they still want to be brought back home since they are not getting employment there.
“There’s been a change in my condition which is coming directly from the authorities of the land but we haven’t received any direct benefit from our government (Ghana’s Consulate in Dubai). We’ve also received some help from good samaritans, donors, individuals, the Ghanaian community here and other nationals. We’ve been offered accommodation from the Prince of the land which is far better than where we were but the motive for our plea is to get us home because it is highly difficult to get employment and all of us here want to come home,” he said.
In a related development, other stranded Ghanaians in Lebanon are also pleading with the government to open the borders so they can return.
According to their leader, Maame Christy, their employers are ready to fund their airfares back home.
“The people we are working for are treating us badly. We are working without pay and we are working without rest. When we fall sick, we are not taken to the hospital and when you complain, all sorts of things are done to you. We are pleading with Mr. President to help us come back home because we came here to work to help our families, ourselves, and our kids but we can’t work without pay, that’s why we are asking the President to help us come home. I came here in 2019 to work as a house help. An agent got me the job but when I came and was having difficulties, the agent is not responding to my calls for help. They owe some of us five, six, and eight months and when you ask for payment they tell us there is no money because of the COVID-19 outbreak yet we are always at work.”
Ghana’s borders closed
Ghana’s borders remain closed as part of measures to stop the importation of the Coronavirus disease into the country.
The borders were closed in March 2020.
Ghana receives Kuwait deportees
Recently, some 245 Ghanaians who were deported from Kuwait were allowed into the country by the Government of Ghana.
The deportees arrived via a chartered flight on Saturday, May 23, 2020.
Meanwhile, 35 of the 245 Ghanaian deportees from Kuwait have tested positive for COVID-19.
Ghana’s borders still closed but stranded Ghanaians abroad to be evacuated
Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo has indicated that his government has put in place measures to evacuate Ghanaians who have been stranded abroad due to the border closure.
He disclosed that the individuals who will be evacuated will be made to undergo mandatory quarantine and other safety protocols.
“Our border, by air, land, and sea, remains closed until further notice for human traffic. However, given that there are Ghana residents stranded abroad, a special dispensation is going to be given for their evacuation back to Ghana, where they will be subjected to the mandatory quarantine and safety protocols,” he said.
