Some 800 Ghanaians in total are expected to leave South Africa after Accra organised repatriation flights in response to a wave of protests and violence targeting both documented and undocumented foreigners in the country."It has never been easy for us in South Africa over the past few weeks," Victor Atsu Togbe, one of the roughly 300 returnees who landed Wednesday afternoon, told AFP at the airport. "We want to thank the Ghanaian government for taking us out of the lion's den."South Africa, the continent's most industrialised economy, has long been a destination for both legal and undocumented African workers.
Some 300 Ghanaians arrived at the Accra airport from South Africa © Nipah Dennis / AFP
But saddled with an unemployment rate of over 30 percent, it has seen repeated spurts of xenophobic protests -- including renewed violence in recent weeks.A viral video showing the alleged assault of a Ghanaian man triggered outrage as it circulated widely on social media."Wherever Ghanaians are, we will make sure you are protected," Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said upon greeting the returnees at the airport.On the flight were 26 people who had been jailed by South African authorities over visa violations, he added.South Africa's Border Management Authority said about 90 percent of the travellers were undocumented, with "most" having overstayed a visa by more than 30 days "whilst some overstayed by a year or more."Ghana's High Commissioner in South Africa however has criticised South African authorities for backlogs in immigration processing for those seeking to renew their permits.Ablakwa reiterated government promises for psycho-social support and financial reintegration packages for the returnees."If you mess around with Ghanaians anywhere in the world, thinking that they are orphaned or nobody cares about them, you are mistaken," he said. "And you are making a mess of yourself."Door-to-door threats
