Two weeks ago refugees in Ghana fled from the Sanzule Krisan Refugee Camp to the border of Côte d’Ivoire, trying to escape very poor living conditions in the Ghanaian camp.1 The majority of these refugees are from Togo, Senegal, Liberia, and Sierra Leone while some are also from Sudan and other countries. The refugees were ordered by Ghanaian authorities to return to the camp but they refused. In reaction, Ghanaian authorities forcibly removed at least one thousand refugees from the border and returned them to the Sanzule Krisan Camp.
On November 8, 2005 at 6:00 AM, Ghanaian police arrived at the Côte d’Ivoire border and began beating refugees with sticks, forcing them onto buses and taking them back to Krisan. One hundred and eighty refugees were injured, including many seriously enough to require hospital care upon returning to the camp. The seriously injured were given passes to travel to Ikre Hospital, where they were either treated and released or kept for further treatment.
At 2:00 PM, on the same day they were returned to the camp, hundreds of refugees began demonstrating against the Ghanaian authorities. During the demonstration, protesters burned a car and destroyed a store and an office used by UN staff. Many protesters were beaten by police; some were reportedly even chased into a mosque and beaten there. Others fled to avoid being arrested.
Many of the refugees taken from the border were also protesting what they viewed as preferential treatment given to Sudanese refugees over refugees from other countries.
According to Mr. Padmore Kofi Nyankopa-Arthur, Western Regional Co-ordinator of NADMO (National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Sudanese refugees resettled in Ghana only six months ago have been fortunate to be offered resettlement packages by the USA . Some refugees from other countries have been at the Krisan Camp for as long as 15 years.2
In order to quash further violence, Krisan is currently being guarded by Ghanaian police. Last week UN officials and representatives of the Ghanaian government briefly visited the camp to view the situation, but they have not announced any new plans.
The Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy appreciates Ghana’s willingness to host the refugees, but condemns the mistreatment of Sudanese and non-Sudanese refugees by the Ghanaian authorities. The Coalition urges the United Nations and other authorities to expedite the resettlement process and to provide better protection for refugees as they wait.
1. See:Darfur Refugees Face Deteriorating Conditions in Ghana. http://www.damanga.org/conditions_in_ghana.html
2. Graphic Ghana - News: 500 Refugees Revolt
http://www.graphicghana.info/article.asp?artid=8966
