The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration is taking steps to secure the release of some Ghanaians stranded in a refugee camp in Spain.
In a dispatch sent to the Ministry a few days ago, the Embassy of Ghana in Spain provided elaborate details about the unfortunate circumstances that led to the Ghanaians becoming stranded and finding themselves in a refugee camp.
In a statement read on behalf of the Foreign Affairs Minister, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, to Parliament, Hon. Mohammad Habib Tijani, Deputy Minister, Foreign Affairs & Regional integration, and MP for Yendi, said the Mission had visited the affected persons who were being held as illegal immigrants, but were not being subjected to any inhumane treatment.
The statement indicated that the Ministry had been working closely with institutions such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to evacuate Ghanaian nationals back to their homeland whenever the need arose.
Similarly, the various Ghana Missions abroad, the statement said, had been quite responsive whenever the plight of Ghanaian nationals came to their attention through both official and non-official channels.
However, according to the statement, the Ministry considered it rather unfortunate a publication on Tuesday, June 26, 2018, which featured the Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, accusing Government of neglecting some 29 Ghanaian migrants seeking asylum in Spain.
Hon. Ablakwa, had earlier tabled a statement to appraise the House on his findings concerning the estranged migrants which, according to him, included a pregnant woman and 3 children below the age of 13 years, but the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Ocquaye, did not allow him to make his statement nor comment on the issue, for the reason that the Standing Orders of the House did not allow commentary on media platforms when a matter had been tabled before the House.
Mr Okudzeto, during an interaction with the media, said he had visited Valencia and met with some 29 Ghanaians among the 629 migrants in the refugee camp who told 'harrowing stories of the perilous journey' from Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region through Libya to Spain.
He further made a passionate appeal to leadership to engage Ghanaians in public education on the dangers in embarking on this journey and desist from politicking with the matter.
Source: ISD (Eva Frempon -Ntiamoah)
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