The head of the High-Powered Liberian government delegation to Ghana, Cllr. Jeddi Armah, Deputy Minister for Legal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged stranded Liberians in the Buduburam Camp to return home and contribute to the rebuilding process of the country.
Speaking at a program marking the repatriation of over four thousand Liberians from the Buduburram Camp in Ghana on Sunday, May 19, 2024, the Deputy Foreign Minister reminded the Liberian migrants that returning home will change their current status and allow them to live in dignity.
According to a Foreign Ministry release, Armah added that living perpetually as refugees impedes individual growth and development as well as deprives one of equal opportunities in a competitive space.
Cllr. Armah noted that the camp was established as part of an intervention to save the lives of Liberians who fled the civil wars, therefore, there is a need to return home as the country currently enjoys uninterrupted peace.
He thanked the Ghanaian government and people, as well as partners including UNHCR, the Ghanaian Refugee Board, and the Chiefs of the Gomoa Fetteh Region for the level of hospitality shown to Liberians over the years.
In remarks, the Deputy Executive Director for Operations of the Liberia Refugees Repatriation and Resettlement Commission, Richard Hoff, lauded the stranded Liberians for accepting to return home and assured the Liberian Government’s fullest support to repatriate them as buses have been chartered and the CARI Regional Transit Village in Gbarnga, Bong County, has been renovated for their well-being.
He informed the stranded Liberians that One UN has also agreed to conduct a rapid assessment of what the livelihoods of the former Liberian refugees will entail. Additionally, one hundred communities have been identified for their stay before re-integration.
Also speaking, the President of the Liberian Association at the Buduburam Camp, Ghana, Dennis Gwion, thanked President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr. for the initiative to repatriate Liberians.
He urged the Liberian community to take advantage of the opportunity to return home to live in peace and contribute their expertise to the growth and development of Liberia.
Four thousand three hundred twenty-three (4,323) stranded Liberians have been earmarked to be repatriated in phases. Under the first phase, 770 began their road trip to Liberia on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 after staying in Ghana for 34 years.
The Buduburram Camp, about 44 kilometers outside Ghana’s Capital Accra, was established in 1990 by UNHCR to host refugees fleeing the civil wars in Liberia between 1989 and 2003.
On February 27 this year, a section mainly occupied by former Liberian refugees and migrants was demolished on the order of the Gomoa Fetteh Traditional Council, the owner of the land, leaving several Liberians homeless.
