ACCRA, GHANA – Ghanaian Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa himself greeted the first contingent of 297 Ghanaian evacuees from South Africa at Accra International Airport following escalating xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
“Let us put our foot down today and let the whole world know that we Ghanaians have a very caring government. Our Ghanaians are precious. They are cherished and beloved,” Mr Okudzeto told the gathering during the welcoming reception. “Anyone who thinks that they can mistreat Ghanaians wherever in the world they find themselves because they are orphans, that no one loves them, then you are wrong.”
These were some of the first evacuees under the government-organised voluntary repatriation mission, which was organised due to the xenophobia witnessed in South Africa. The evacuees recounted their ordeal on the special charter flight from Johannesburg, which included Victor Atsu Togoh, an ex-Uber driver who got shot while being hijacked in South Africa and now has a bullet lodged in his spine. “Esther Ofosu” was among the evacuees who left everything behind due to the hostility they faced in South Africa.
The repatriation operation was implemented following a viral video showing a Ghanaian being harassed; after the incident, the South African ambassador had to appear before the Ghanaian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to apologise. Although the South African government has already condemned the violence that occurred, concerns about civil unrest have caused hundreds of Ghanaians to apply to the Ghana High Commission in Pretoria for an evacuation service.
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