US-Based Ghanaian Died in Stadium Tragedy

The Ghanaian Chronicle carries that four weeks ago, Nana Akwasi Berfi Asimeng, 46, left his Auduborn Avenue apartment in Alexandria, Virginia, for Accra, his nine years of work as an illegal immigrant in the US having finally changed.

He had received his residence permit from the US Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS), and his decision to holiday in Ghana for the first time since his arrival here was in celebration of this sought-after dream of many illegal immigrants in America.

The trip to Accra, according to the Chronicle, however turned out to be the last stretch of journey Akwasi would ever make alive. He never had the opportunity to say goodbye to his African American wife, Mauryn Asimeng, and her three children.

Mauryn and the Ghanaian community here were stunned early this week by news from Accra that Akwasi had been identified by INS documents found in his pocket as one of the victims of last Wednesday's Accra Sports Stadium disaster that left over 126 people dead. The disaster occurred when police fired tear gas into spectators after a top local soccer match between Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.

The news of Akwasi's death has further unlocked the pains of Ghanaians in this Alexandria neighbourhood where Twi, Ga, and other local Ghanaian dialects are commonly spoken.

Other Ghanaians here are reported to have lost relatives and family members in the soccer disaster.