Ghana puts measures in place to help students exit Ukraine

Ghana’s diplomatic offices in various countries surrounding Ukraine are expected to receive about 460 Ghanaian students who have been trying to leave Ukraine following Russia’s attack on the country.

Amid negotiations between officials from Ukraine and Russia in Belarus on 28 February, students were travelling and being received in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, where Ghana’s diplomatic missions, honorary consuls and the minister of foreign affairs and regional integration have been on standby, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Ghana’s minister of foreign affairs, said on 27 February.

Botchwey said the government put in place the necessary package to facilitate transportation, accommodation, feeding and medical support to ease any burden on Ghanaian students and nationals, adding that, “the collaborative efforts have led to 220 of our compatriots exiting Ukraine and [they] should be with us in Ghana soon. We are earnestly facilitating the safe return of a lot more”.

Addressing the media in Accra, she gave a breakdown of those who exited Ukraine. In total, 24 students were expected to arrive in Bucharest, Romania, where Ghanaian diplomats were procuring tickets for them to leave for Accra.

An addition 48 are being processed at the holding area and another 60 were going through border formalities at the time of the press briefing. A further 38 students who have crossed into Poland are with our officials.

Some students remain stuck

Botchwey said one challenge that the students faced is the fear of crossing borders close to Russia, for obvious reasons.

This is why the country’s diplomatic mission in Moscow has been asked to assist with their passage as it will be unreasonable and dangerous to now start looking for another border to access.

Unfortunately, said Botchwey, there are reports of incursions at a border post, which posed a challenge for about 85 Ghanaians.

However, despite the ongoing efforts, she said according to the government’s information there are still three cities in Ukraine where students cannot be evacuated from due to the high risk situation identified there: Kharkov, Sumy, and Dnipro.

“We are currently also making arrangements for those who are willing to be assisted to get on flights and so far, 25 persons are en route to Prague from Slovakia, assisted by the honorary consul, and will be received on entry by the mission in Prague,” she said.

Botchwey said 25 people arrived in Hungary and were being sheltered at the Pentecostal Church in Budapest. A further 85 were being assisted by the Ghanaian embassy in Moscow to cross the border.

Repatriation expected to continue

“These numbers are bound to increase in a few days as we observe the team spirit being displayed by our compatriots, reaching out to each other, setting up group WhatsApp chats, sharing important phone numbers of consular officers and other individuals who could be of assistance and the cascading effects of the initiatives,” she said.

Botchwey said that reports of a bus carrying some Ghanaians to the eastern part of Ukraine were unconfirmed.

The country’s diplomatic missions in Bern, Ankara, Prague, Moscow and the Vatican are working around the clock in a coordinated manner to secure the safety at all times of Ghanaians and their evacuation, she said.

“I have ordered the despatch of officers of some of our diplomatic missions to meet with our citizens who are being evacuated to facilitate the processes and handle any outstanding challenges.”

Botchwey said due to the effective collaboration with the Hungarian authorities, the government has secured passage through Hungary, on a visa-free basis for Ghanaian students who are in possession of Ghanaian passports.

“We are told the Hungarian government is also providing coordinated assistance to enable our nationals to reach airports in Budapest or Debrecen. The government of Ghana is grateful to the Hungarian government,” she added.

She said: “We need to appreciate the fact that coordinating evacuations in a vast country such as Ukraine with students and Ghanaians spread all over the country comes with difficulties, especially with restricted movement due to curfews and lockdowns,” adding that officials of her ministry have held productive meetings with diplomats of the Russian and Turkish embassies in Accra to discuss the pathway to an incident-free evacuation exercise.

Both meetings resulted in an agreement to facilitate the passage of our compatriots, should the need arise, she said.