“We prefer to live here, don’t come for us” – some Ghanaian students stranded in Ukraine tell the government

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong has revealed that fifteen Ghanaian students have refused to return home despite the government supplying them with air tickets.

According to Evans Mensah of Ghana Connect, the administration is working diligently to ensure the safety and evacuation of all Ghanaian students in Ukraine following Russia’s incursion.

He argues, however, that this group of pupils turned down the offer, causing the government to lose money.

“The latest is that we have another batch of eighteen who’ll be arriving tomorrow on Qatar Airways. An unfortunate thing is that a large number of those who were originally scheduled to travel this evening and arrive tomorrow have decided that they are not coming.

About fifteen of them have decided that they were not taking advantage”, he disclosed.

He went on to say that the students notified the government of their decision to stay on March 3, 2021, after the government had paid for their airfares.

Mr. Ampratwum-Sarpong addressed the students’ refusal to return home by stating that they had been offered numerous opportunities to complete their studies in Hungary.

According to him, schools in Hungary have shown a desire to house and educate Ghanaian pupils, which is why they are refusing to join the evacuation flight.

According to the Minister, some of these kids’ parents have approved their children’s decision not to return to Ghana.

As a result, he indicated that the Ministry could not force the students to return home if they did not want to.

However, he stated that his organization will ensure that the Hungarian government’s commitments are adequately documented in order to bolster the students’ decision to remain in Hungary.

Meanwhile, the first batch of Ghanaians evacuated from Ukraine, including students, arrived in Accra on March 1, 2022.

Because Ukraine’s airspace has been closed since the beginning of the crisis, these people have been rescued by land through neighboring nations.

The government has been working on a number of protocols in coordination with diplomatic missions, honorary consuls, and other stakeholders to get all Ghanaians evacuated to safer zones.

According to Dr. Albert Kitcher, a Foreign Ministry representative assisting with the evacuation operation, many of the students left stranded in Ukraine continue to arrive at the borders of Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Poland.

He added that he has received 45 of them thus far, all of whom safely crossed the Ukraine border on Monday.

“The majority of these are students,” says the narrator. Non-students I know have gone off on their own. You must complete around four or five stages before proceeding to the border and boarding the plane.

These people are leaving Kyiv and are therefore on Ukrainian soil.

As they leave, the bus driver communicates with me and some of the student leaders on a frequent basis, and we coordinate as they travel.

We’re passing information to the Ghana Mission as they leave so when the people arrive, they’ll be ready to greet them, “he said.

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