When risk brings no reward: The broken dreams of fleeing Ghana

With just the clothes on his back and no money to his name, Frank Oppong drove from Ghana to Niger, then walked through the Sahara Desert for three weeks with little food and water.

He wasn’t bothered, though, because he knew once he reached his final destination in Libya, a new life awaited him – a life glittered by the accoutrements Ghana could not buy. Little did he know that once he arrived, his hopes and dreams would turn up emptier than the lonely desert he hiked to get there.

In 2013, Oppong, 34, says a friend insisted he move to Libya temporarily. “I could not find work and my friend said there is money to be made there. I saved $2000 and left Ghana,” he told Myjoyonline.

Oppong left his wife and four children behind, optimistic he would make enough money to send back home. Up until that time, he was unable to afford an education for them, and was excited about the potential opportunity to provide for his family.

But his goals turned cold – very quickly. Soon after his arrival, he could only secure odd jobs planting maze and grinding stones. Money fell short. Then he was kidnapped.

”Armed robbers took everything I had. They put me in a room for one week and demanded more money or they would kill me,” he said. “My father had to sell all of his cocoa for $3000 and give it to them before they would release me.”

As if it couldn’t get worse, last year he lost his right leg during a freak accident while working as a machine operator at a plant there. Dejected and desperate, he contemplated suicide, but his injury ended up saving his life.

  Oppong contemplated suicide after losing his leg in Libya.              

A new life at home

While at a Libyan hospital to treat what was left of his leg, Oppong met an ambassador with the United Nations International Organization for Migration, an intergovernmental agency with a mission to meet the swelling challenges of migration management.

“In extreme and vulnerable cases, we assist in reintegrating returnees back into their communities through training, resources and the equipment they need to survive,” said Kojo Wilmot, a national officer for IOM in Accra. “I like to think we are giving hope to those who do not appreciate life anymore.”

In November 2017, IOM flew Oppong back to Ghana, where the organization has rented a house for his family. He says IOM is also in the process of finding him work and covering his children’s school fees.

“Only God and IOM have helped,” he said as he fought back tears.

Why Ghanaians leave

Earlier this year, a Pew Research Centre survey reported that 75 percent of Ghanaians would leave their country if they could. The reasons as to why range, but the study revealed a lot has to do with high unemployment rates and low wages.

Forty-two percent of Ghanaians said they have plans of migrating abroad in the next five years, according to the Pew Research Centre. 

“Against this backdrop, sub-Saharan Africans could see migrating to countries with more – and better paying – jobs as a means of improving their personal economic prospects,” the study reports.

But alternatively, a growing number of Westerners are making the trek to Africa. Take Nadia Balogou, an American brand specialist who left her job and moved to Ghana.

"There’s quite a lot to observe and absorb here. I’m captivated by the creativity and the people that make up this unique country,” she said.

World leaders react

The uptick of Ghanaians fleeing the country has captured the attention of President Akufo-Addo, who addressed the crisis during the 5th German-African Economic Forum in Germany earlier this year.

“We have a duty to make things work…let’s make things better for our people, especially our youth so they stay here and work to develop the continent,” he said.

Meanwhile, other world leaders are expressing concern about the growing number of migrants fleeing their countries and seeking refuge in the West. French president Emmanuel Macron warned that migrants entering Europe illegally could be facing a “dead end,” but also reminded authorities that “these men and women are human beings” and should be treated as such as they attempt to enter Europe.

Sometimes, the risky trip abroad can teach those who dare, that they already have all they need at home.

“I will never travel again. Even if they give me visa I won’t go,” Oppong said. “I am happier here.”

Source: myjoyonline