GIS Rescues Woman Forced to Travel to Lebanon

The officials of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) at Kotoka International Airport (KIA) Command have rescued a 26-year-old woman, who was forced by her family to travel to Lebanon.

The woman, whose name is withheld, hails from the Egbazo, Nzema, in the Jomoro District of the Western Region.

A statement signed by Barbara Sam, Assistant Superintendent of Immigration (ASI) at KIA, copied Ghanaian Times, said the woman was spotted crying at the Departure Hall of KIA, by an officer.

It said upon interrogation at the Immigration Fraud Unit, KIA, the victim revealed that she was recruited by one Alberta, who later transferred her to another agent by name Mina in Accra, to facilitate her transportation to the Gulf state.

The statement said the woman told GIS officers that she was charged GH¢7,500, however, her family was able to raise Ghc 2,200 with the promise to pay the balance on her arrival in the Gulf State.

She disclosed that her family had threatened her not to return home should she refuse to travel to Lebanon.

The statement said thorough checks on her passport revealed that she had travelled earlier to Saudi Arabia.

In a related development, six girls aged between 21 and 22, who were also scheduled to travel to Lebanon, on board Ethiopian Airlines, were intercepted from embarking the journey.

The girls who are from the Bono, Ashanti, North East and the Volta Regions, suspected to be trafficked, appeared younger than their purported age in their passports.

When the girls were interviewed, they were unable to tell the purpose of travel or their final destination, but one of them disclosed that she was travelling outside the country to work in a shop.

The Regional Commander of the GIS, KIA Command, Assistant Commander of Immigration (ACI) Edith Penelope Arhin, urged parents to be cautious about the welfare of their children, especially the girl child, because travelling outside the country did not guarantee their future.

"Parents should beware of people who pose as travel agents with juicy proposals of taking their children abroad to better their lives. There is no better job or greener pastures anywhere", she advised.

'With determination and hard work they can make it here in the country' Madam Arhin added. The irony of the Gulf issue is that most girls return home mentally derailed, sick or dead on arrival as harvesting of human parts is on the increase out there," the statement said.

ACI Arhin urged young girls to pursue their educational goals and acquire skills or apprenticeship, and cautioned parents and their girl child not to fall prey to human trafficking agents, who lure them with juicy jobs in the Gulf.

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