It was unfortunate, inhuman for deportees to be handcuffed - Foreign Affairs Minister

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey has described as unfortunate the maltreatment suffered by Ghanaian and Liberian immigrants who were deported from the United States of America. The 63 illegal migrants arrived in Ghana last week in handcuffs.

They arrived at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra on Wednesday, 14 June in handcuffs.

The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and the Ghana Police Service screened the deportees upon arrival.

The deportees, most of whom had no records on them, are the second batch of immigrants to be brought back since Donald Trump became president of the US.

The Minister speaking to our parliamentary correspondent Naa Darkuah Dodoo described the situation as inhuman.

The minister in charge of Foreign Affairs questioned the American government when Parliament summoned its high commissioner in Ghana to answer why it treated the deportees in that manner.

Hon. Ayorkor Botchwey also blamed the so-called employment agents who promise heaven to fly the youth to the foreign land only to enslave them in the end. She said the ministry would have to intervene in most cases to rescue those who find themselves in trouble in most cases.

‘’Instead of availing themselves to the Ghana embassy when they travel, Ghanaians would rather hide till they are faced with challenges. This is not the best so they must desist from such attitude’’ she lament.

Meanwhile, the US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert P. Jackson has debunked claims of maltreatment against the deported 63 Ghanaians who touched down at the Kotoka International Airport last week. He was responding to questions when he appeared before Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.

According to him, the US government had identified about 7,000 Ghanaian citizens who were staying in the US illegally, and that plans were underway to have they brought back to Ghana.

“The 63, who returned recently, arrived in a chartered flight, refused to board a civilian aircraft and return voluntarily. I do not consider the conditions under which they were returned inhumane. They were fed, they had some freedom of movement on the flight. It is not as if they were chained to their seats,” he said.

The Ambassador added that “It is true that 7,000 Ghanaians who have overstayed their visas or are staying in the US illegally are in various stages of the deportation processes. There will be additional deportations because the 7,000 people who are under deportation orders have either committed crimes in the United States or long overstayed the visas on which they entered.”