We Are All Migrants In One Way Or Another( International Migrants Day)- Inspector Akakpo

Regardless of the causes that prompt people to move, migrants are among the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in society.

On December 4, 2000, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) declared December 18 to be International Migrants Day to commemorate the anniversary of the UNGA’s adoption of the International Convention on the protection of the rights of all migrant workers and Members of their families in 1990. It aims to promote a humane and orderly management of migration for the benefit of all.

Partnered with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) commemorated the 2022 International Migrants Day (IMD) by raising awareness and giving public education about the day’s importance to Ghanaians, which took place specifically in Western region of Ghana.

Speaking in an interview on December 19, at the Beach FM studio, Assistant Inspector Mr. Akakpo, who is the PRO for Ghana Immigration Service, along with Assistant Superintendent Of Immigration(ASI), Emma Cromwell from the Immigration Information Service Center and Assistant Immigration Commissioner(AIC), Sandra Appau, connoted to the relevance of shedding light about the International Migrants Day to the general piblic.

According to the Assistant Inspector, December 18 is set aside mainly to promote the rights of all migrants across the globe.
“IMD is a day set aside by the United Nations to celebrate the contributions of migrants all over the world and to seek the protection of their families”

Each individual has value, whether a migrant or not. The inspector acclaims that immigration officials use this day to bring out issues that affect migrants adversely and also to highlight on the contributions they make in every country they find themselve.
“Migrants mostly become vulnerable in foreign lands especially with wrong documentation, when they become fugitives and illegal immigrants, they are treated with no dignity.”

The notion of a person seen to be a migrant as one who enters a country legally, illegally or through displacement should be re-evaluated, given that Assistant Inspector Mr. Akakpo acclaims that all persons are migrants in one way or the other, that is “either you’ve traveled before, about to travel or planning on traveling”.

In New Takoradi, a town in the Western region, immigration personnels joined in the general cleanup campaign and ceased the oppportunity to educate the residents of the town on the importance of IMD, which followed with church visitation, also to raise awareness as part of the IMD celebration activity .

In respect to curbing illegal migration, the Assistant Inspector claimed that the numbers aligned with illegal migration have significantly declined in recent times as a reault of hardwork on the part of Ghana immigration service and IOM who partnerd with them to bring sensitization to every Ghanaian
“In 2019, we managed to bring down the national celebration of IMD to Western region specifically new takoradi for strategic reasons and since that time weve been working assiduously with chiefs, community leaders, assembly members in New Takoradi to get people to understand that it is safer, it is cheaper and responsible when you use the right way of migrating. So they’ve cooperated with us so much so that if we were to conduct a poll today, you’ll realize that the numbers have decreased”

Giving an advise to individuals who plan on migrating or traveling to different parts of the world, “just take the proper channel or take the proper way to acquire you documents so that you can travel safely without any problems”, Assistant Superintendent Of Immigration(ASI), Emma Cromwell said.

Always follow and adhere to travel and immigration laws in any country you find yourself, according to the Assistant Inspector.
“We are not here to tell our people not to travel. We don’t have that right and it is through responsible traveling that we get to do the work we’ve been mandated to do.”

He appealed to Ghanaians that in order not to find ourselves in vulnerable positions or to be taken advantage of by “unscrupulous” people , it is best to “travel the right way”.

Author-Roberta Appiah