In order to make sure that the 143 Ghanaian migrants who voluntarily chose to return from Libya are properly integrated into society, both the government and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have made a commitment.
On Thursday, February 8, the group—128 men, 6 women, and 9 children—was welcomed at the Kotoka International Airport following the failure of their hopes to find better opportunities in Libya and other European nations.
These people join the thousands of young Africans who cross the Sahara desert in dangerous attempts to reach Europe through Libya and Niger.
The returnees are a subset of the more than 5,000 Ghanaians who have benefited from the Migrant Protection, Return, and Reintegration Programme for Sub-Saharan Africa since 2017. The program is overseen by the International Organization for Migration – Ghana.
The International Organization for Migration hopes to reintegrate the migrants into Ghanaian society through this program in partnership with the government.
IOM Ghana’s Chief of Mission, Fatou Diallo Ndiaye, told the media that the organization is not just supporting the returnees at the airport. To guarantee their social and economic reintegration into society, plans have been put in place.
“The reintegration plan will come immediately after the support that we will offer today. Let’s say that we are not resettling them because they are returning to their home country. The program focuses more on the social and economic aspects, so in addition to receiving any necessary support—such as food and pocket money—they will also receive psychosocial support, according to Ms. Fatou Diallo.
She went on, “After this, we’ll get together again to discuss how we can structure their business plans and provide them the chance to expand on them.”
Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports Evans Opoku Bobie welcomed the returnees on behalf of the government and informed them of the various programs the government has put in place to help them start over.
“Over the past seven years, the government has created numerous interventions in this country to give support and assistance to Ghanaian youth,” he declared. Once they return home, they must also take advantage of those interventions because they are also Ghanaians. The National Entrepreneurship Program is one example. I have counseled them to make use of these interventions in order to obtain some financial support in order to launch their own company and become entrepreneurs.”
How many of us will go ahead and take the money if someone calls you while we’re all gathered here and says, “Come for any amount of money you want, but with the condition that you will die the next day”? You see, nobody is going to pursue it. You shouldn’t risk everything by going on this hazardous adventure in the hopes of making money. Don’t take on any money-making adventure where you know there is very little chance of survival. The hitmaker of Things Fall Apart warned, “It’s not worth it.”
One returnee, who spoke with JoyNews on the condition of anonymity, urged all stakeholders to prioritize returnees’ economic reintegration in order to discourage them from embarking on the perilous journey again.
Meanwhile, the IMO Mission Chief discourages young people from taking unapproved routes to seek greener pastures abroad.
Since 2017, the IOM has assisted 5143 Ghanaians, 4449 men and 715 women, in voluntarily returning home through the programme.
