Reconsider Demolition Exercise At Budumburam Camp - Refugees To Government

Some Liberian refugees in the Budumburam Camp in the Central Region say they may have no choice but to live on the streets if the government goes ahead with the planned demolition exercise at parts of the camp on September 30, 2021. The Budumburam Camp became the home of Liberian refugees after it was opened by

the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1990.  It was initially home to some 12,000 refugees. It also houses refugees from the Sierra Leone who fled their country’s civil war between the 1991 and 2002. There have also been complaints that the camp currently serves as home for suspected criminals, with

the chiefs within the enclave also asking government to decommission the camp. Government recently gave the green light for portions of the camp to be demolished. But some inhabitants have urged the government to reconsider the decision. We are asking the government to intervene, One of the inhabitants said. We did not

come here on our own. It was a refugee camp, and they gave us a building… For someone who has lived in your community for 30 years, why would you give me just two months to leave? A woman who has been at the camp since 1996 also voiced similar concerns. I don’t have a place. I don’t have anywhere to move to. I don’t

even have money. There’s no food for me to eat, I don’t have anything, she lamented. A single father of two who spoke to the media highlighted the cost of rent, which he said was beyond many of the refugees. Any place you go to in Ghana, you will also see people charging GHS300 for a single room. Where are we going to get

the money from because many of us living here are not working. The District Chief Executive for Gomoa East, Solomon Darko Quarm, has also said the demolition is targeting areas which also harbour a lot of suspected criminals. The assembly too has also said that enough consultation has gone on between opinion leaders and the community, with eviction letters given to everyone concerned.