Ghana plans to evacuate more than 300 of its nationals stranded in Dubai and other parts of the United Arab Emirates. It comes as they face arrest and detention for illegally traveling there.
Ghana’s Foreign Affairs ministry says that over 300 people left Ghana in search of jobs and better living conditions in Dubai and other parts of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They were assisted by fake recruitment agents and arrived in Dubai illegally.
As law enforcement agencies in UAE go after illegal migrants some of Ghana’s nationals have become a target.
Ghana says it is collaborating with the UAE government to evacuate its citizens living in the country illegally.
Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have been attracting many young people from Ghana and other West African nations for cheap labour. Some of the migrant workers face abuse in those countries.
In 2017, about 800 Ghanaian migrants illegally living in Saudi Arabia turned themselves in to be voluntarily deported.
It followed a three-month amnesty granted illegal residents by the Saudi government to leave or be sanctioned. -Reporting by Nabil Ahmed Rufia in Accra, Ghana
