#AfricansinUkraine Ghana “welcomes home” first batch of its citizens from Ukraine.
USAfrica: Amidst the crisis of dislocation arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the west African country of Ghana has become the first African country to evacuate some of its citizens from Ukraine.
They arrived in Accra on Tuesday, March 1, 2022.
Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong welcomed them back home.
The following is the transcript of what Ampratwum-Sarpong said, available to USAfricaonline.com :
“My fellow compatriots, on behalf of the President, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Government and People of Ghana, I heartily welcome you all back home. We thank the Almighty God for keeping you safe and for granting you traveling mercies.”
“My dear students, we are proud of you for the bravery and perseverance you exhibited in the face of the dire situation you found yourselves in. You have had to halt your studies and other activities in order to escape the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Some of your colleagues are yet to be evacuated from Ukraine. Let me assure you that the Government of Ghana will continue to work to ensure their safety and return to Ghana. The government will also continue to work with its International Partners to ensure that and urge for dialogue between Russia and Ukraine for a peaceful and quick resolution of this conflict.”
“I would like to commend your various Student leaders for cooperating with Government to ensure a smooth and successful evacuation exercise thus far.”
“You are the first batch of Ghanaians to have arrived from Ukraine. As of 28th February 2022, 527 Ghanaians had crossed the Ukrainian border into neighboring countries of Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Moldova, Hungary, and Slovakia. In the coming days, we are expecting more of your colleagues to be evacuated from these countries. We are working with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Organization and we are confident that this will enhance the success of the evacuation exercise.”
“The Hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional integration is scheduled to meet parents and guardians of affected students later this morning to discuss issues concerning the evacuation and return of their loved ones.
“I wish to reiterate that Government has put in place the necessary package to facilitate the transportation, accommodation, feeding, medical support, etc to ease any burden on our compatriots who are still waiting to be evacuated and we urge all of them to take advantage of this exercise to come home. On this note, I will like to welcome you once again. Enjoy your time with your families.”
USAfrica and USAfricaonline.com note that there are several thousands of African students and families who are in precarious positions and dangerous situations inside Ukraine and in countries neighboring the severely embattled country.
