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Ghana Airlift Brings Thousands Home from Libya

   Ghana  deputy  information  minister  says government working with aid
   groups to evacuate those who wish to leave

   Peter Clottey | Accra, Ghana  March 13, 2011

   "Swiftâ and âimpressive.â

   Thatâs   how  Ghanaâs  deputy  information  minister,  Samuel  Okujeto
   Ablakwa,  describes his governmentâs efforts to airlift home thousands
   of  Ghanaian  migrants stranded in Libya, where rebels are fighting to
   end the rule of Moammar Gadhafi.

   A  rebel  fighter  sits  on  a  truck as he fires an anti-aircraft gun
   during  an air strike at a rebel fighters checkpoint in Al Ugaila area
   along a road between the towns of Brega and Ras Lanuf, March 12, 2011

Reuters

   In  Libya,  thousands  of  Ghanaian migrant workers have fled fighting
   between rebels and loyalists to President Moammar Gadhafi.

   Ablakwa  says  Ghana's  a  small country with little in the budget for
   such  emergencies.  However, he says the government is working closely
   with such international groups as [1]the International Organization on
   Migration  and [2]the International Committee of the Red Cross to help
   evacuate  those  who  wish to leave. He credits the organizations with
   helping  to find Ghanaians within Libya, including those at the border
   with Tunisia and Egypt.

   âWe  did  not  make excuses,â he said, âbut immediately negotiated. We
   got  charter  and  even  commercial  flights  at  special rates and we
   continue to negotiate to get our citizens back.â

   So  far,  he  says,  nearly  6,000 have returned and hundreds more are
   expected.

   âWhen  they  return  home,  we  welcome  them,â explained Ablakwa. âWe
   screen  them so that those who need medical attention are attended to.
   We also make sure that they are supported with some stipends to get to
   their various destinations.â

   âSo  far,  the  Ghanaians  who have arrived have indicated they are in
   touch  with  relations  and  loved ones, so we do not need to create a
   camp or a temporary holding place for them,â he added.

   Ablakwa  says  the  government  remains committed to citizens wherever
   they  may  be.  He says he expects the evacuation of Ghanaian citizens
   from Libya to be completed by the end of the week

References

   1. http://www.iom.int/jahia/jsp/index.jsp
   2. http://www.icrc.org/eng/

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