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General News of Tuesday, 3 March 2015

Source: starrfmonline.com

Stranded women in the Middle East can't be rescued – GIS

The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has stated that they cannot rescue the stranded Ghanaian women in the Middle East.

According to the GIS, the only thing they can do is to educate women on the dangers they are likely to encounter in those countries in their quest to seek a better a life.

Scores of Ghanaian nationals are reportedly stranded in some of the Gulf States including Kuwait and Qatar, and are calling on the government to rescue them.

Last year, Starr News highlighted the plight of the some Ghanaian women who are being molested in their quest to seek greener pastures.

The Ghana Immigration Service has now revealed that over 2,000 Ghanaian women have travelled to Middle East countries within the last five months.

Some of the women who spoke to Starr News said they are now being forced to sleep with men to help them save enough money to return home.

Mr. Francis Palmdeti, Head of Public Relations of the Ghana Immigration Service has called on Ghanaian students to be wary of promises of a better life outside the nation's shores.

In an interview with Starr News, he said the Immigration service has no plans in place to rescue the stranded Ghanaian women in the Middle East.

“We are not doing anything to rescue these Ghanaians,” Palmdeti said, adding “it is important to once again inform the public to educate and advise their compatriots who have intentions of going to such destinations”.

Mr. Palmdeti also said: “Our mandate does not extend to rescuing people from there…our mandate is clear about regulating the movements and activities of foreigners within the country and also patrolling the country’s borders and ensuring that persons who come in have the right documentation”.

Mr. Palmdeti clarified that out of the 2,000 Ghanaian women who have travelled to the Middle East between September last year and February this year 350 have returned with different stories and it is difficult to establish if all the women are being molested in their search for a better life.