|
*Caution*
What
Are They Doing In Ghana?
Saturday,
March 29, 2008
By Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh
If I had a
guest staying over at my house, I expect that
particular guest to leave my home at the time
specified, so as not to wear out his or her stay or
wear out my generosity. If a natural or man-made
disaster struck, and my wife and I were asked to take
into our home one or two persons until the crisis
stabilizes, we will surely agree to host that
displaced person or persons, but expect the
individuals to honor their end of the deal because we
don’t expect them to stay in our home forever.
These are
supposed to be the basic rules of hospitality and
civility; that is to leave a person’s home or
country in time when you’re supposed to leave, which
ought to be adhered to by the traveling public in
times like these when civil wars, natural and man-made
disasters and the need to travel – to get away for a
vacation can land a person with a tight budget or no
budget at all into the home of a friend, a loved one
or a relative; or can land a displaced person with
nowhere to turn into the home of another person or a
foreign country.
Those
Liberians that are scattered in the Buduburam refugee
camp in Ghana, whose public protests against the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNCHR),
decision to disburse to each refugee $100 instead of
the $1,000 the refugees demanded before they can go
back to Liberia, did not play well with the Ghanaian
government already fed up with what seems to be an
indefinite stay of Liberians into their country years
after the war ended, was met with brute force,
deportation and international condemnation of the
government for the callousness shown their displaced
guests.
It is
heartbreaking to see one’s countrymen and women in
such distress, because we feel the collective pains of
those human beings that share a part of our genealogy
and cultures, who are not supposed to be treated like
sub-humans simply because they are in another
person’s country.
With women,
children and the elderly in tow, it is believed
hundreds and hundreds of Liberians were arrested and
detained because the individuals exercised their
protected right to free speech, to protest against the
UNCHR for more money that supposed to help them
resettle in Liberia, a country with no hope many left
years ago.
Had the
Liberian government pre-empted the crisis before it
happened, there would be no crisis in Ghana today
between the Ghanaian government and the 30,000
Liberian refugees in that country. Had the Liberian
government incorporated into its national plan a
strategy to tackle the refugee crisis, knowing there
are Liberian refugees lingering in neighboring
countries and in faraway places, there would be no
crisis today.
The Sirleaf
administration cannot say it is unaware of the fact
that Liberian refugees reside in Ghana and in other
parts of the region. If the Liberian government is
aware of the existence of these refugees in Ghana and
in other countries, why hasn’t the Liberian
government or President Sirleaf, who has won numerous
international honors for leadership and courage, show
leadership and courage by appropriating the necessary
funds needed to gradually bring these Liberians home
to resettle and be a productive part of society?
However, it
appears the Liberian government wanted to shift the
burden of taking care of its citizens displaced in
another country to the host country, oblivious of the
fact that it is just a matter of time for the “time
bomb” to explode, as we have witnessed during this
entire week.
It is true
the Liberian government is struggling to get on its
feet, and is obviously insensitive and inexperienced
in handling such a crisis. The Sirleaf administration
is also unprepared to take in the refugees and provide
job training, jobs, healthcare and housing for them.
It is one thing to be unprepared to take on a
challenge of this magnitude, and it is another thing
not to show any interests in tackling that challenge.
Unfortunately, President Sirleaf failed to meet this
major challenge of her presidency, and failed
miserably to be responsive to the needs of her
citizens at a time when they needed her to intervene,
which highlights her leadership skills and put the
Ghanaian government of John Kuffour in a predicament.
The
predicament is that if you are President John Kuffour,
you are supposed to act on the wishes of your people,
who are fed up with Liberians in their country. If you
are also a true friend, you just don’t embarrass
your friend in such a public manner (in this case
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf), by abruptly
targeting her helpless and displaced citizens until
you fully discussed your government’s intentions
with her on an official basis. And if she cannot take
her people out of your country because of reasons
known to her government, you will have no other choice
but to get them out by any means necessary.
However, the
Ghanaian government and people probably overstretched,
reminds me of the host who is suffering from
‘fatigue syndrome’ – wants to do more but is
tired, and because of public (political) pressure
cannot continue to allow such an influx of people from
elsewhere to reside in their country indefinitely.
As a result,
there are constant public feuds between Liberians and
the Ghanaian government and police, between some
vigilante Ghanaian citizens who often take matters
into their own hands at times dispensing vigilante
justice against Liberians, often resulting in
fatalities, one of which was the 2005 gruesome murder
of one “Miller,” whose body was decapitated beyond
recognition.
A friend of
the deceased acquired the pictures of young
“Miller’s” death and sent it to The Liberian
Dialogue, which was immediately published in July,
2005. Because of this crisis, we will once again
publish the gruesome photos of this young man at the
end of this article. Exercise caution when viewing
graphic photos at the bottom of this page.
With all
that is happening to them, it is fair to ask why are
these Liberians still in Ghana, and why are some still
returning to Ghana years after the end of the civil
war? These Liberians are not helping themselves, some
are not serious at all, and there are the usual
reports of fighting, criminal activities (black
money), prostitution, drugs, and alcohol abuse and
gangster activities that are a part of the refugee
life.
Many of
these Liberians are not in school and are not working,
but live in a fantasy world obsessed, mesmerized, and
often romanticized coming to this wonderful United
States, as if not coming to the United States is the
end of their journey in this world. As such, some
literally put their entire lives on hold waiting and
waiting for their turn to get their names on that
so-called resettlement list to come to the United
States.
It is easy
now to wrap oneself in the fervor of national pride by
attacking the Ghanaian government for being
insensitive without ever blaming the refugees who did
not make something of their lives, and the Liberian
government that let them down.
Because this
is a national issue that requires national attention,
President Sirleaf needs to hurriedly bring this issue
to an end in order to bring credibility to her
administration and dignity to the those Liberians that
are returning home.
Mangled
body and parts of the late Miller
Body of the late Miller
Young Miller (3rd from left) in t-shirt and
necklace
|
