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.
The group, which included 128 men, 6 women, and 9 children, was greeted on Thursday at Kotoka International Airport following the failure of their hopes to find better employment in Libya and other European nations.
These people join the hundreds 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 returns at the airport. To guarantee their social and economic reintegration into society, plans have been put in place.
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 such interventions since they are also Ghanaians. The National Entrepreneurship Program is one example. I’ve given them advice on how to utilize these initiatives to get access to some funding so they can start their own companies and become entrepreneurs.
One returnee, who spoke to JoyNews under the condition of anonymity, urged all parties involved to give the returnees’ economic reintegration a priority in order to deter them from considering taking on the risky journey once more.
In the meantime, the youth are being discouraged by the IMO Mission Chief from traveling illegal routes in their quest for better opportunities overseas.
Since 2017, the IOM has assisted 5143 Ghanaians—4449 men and 715 women—who have freely returned home as part of the initiative.
