US embassy cable - 05ACCRA773

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 000773 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
NAIROBI PASS TO KHARTOUM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: GH, KWMN, PREF, PREL, SU, refugees 
SUBJECT: INFLUX OF 224 NEW SUDANESE REFUGEES INTO GHANA 
 
 
1.  (SBU)  Summary:  In what may be the beginning of a larger 
wave, 224 Sudanese refugees have arrived in Ghana over the 
past two weeks.  Except for four women residing at a UNHCR 
transient center, all are currently housed at the former 
Usher Forte prison, which is nearly at full capacity.  The 
group mainly includes Muslims from Darfur, along with a 
smaller number of Christians from southern Sudan.  Thus far, 
the GOG's National Disaster Management Officer has been able 
to manage the flow, capably providing tents for shelter and 
food.  Larger numbers would impact seriously on Ghana's 
humanitarian infrastructure and could provoke compassion 
fatigue.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (U) Press reports have sensationalized the arrival over 
the past two weeks of 224 Sudanese refugees into Accra. 
Initially making their way to Ghana in small groups, the 
Sudanese eventually congregated at the horse racing track, 
then took shelter beneath the Kanda overpass, two kilometers 
west of the Chancery.  Local authorities, concerned for the 
refugees' safety, moved them to the campus of the Ghana 
School of Languages.  When it became apparent that sanitation 
facilities were inadequate, the group was relocated to the 
former Usher Forte prison, situated on Accra's beachfront. 
Confined to the prison, the refugees nonetheless seemed 
relatively content and well cared for when Ref Coord visited 
on April 20. 
 
3.  (U)  The latest influx of Sudanese is in addition to an 
already resident population of 200 Sudanese, most of whom 
have already been adjudicated, granted refugee status, and 
housed at the Krisan refugee camp near the border with Cote 
d'Ivoire.  Krisan, intended for refugees with special needs, 
is now completely full, as is the much larger Budumburam camp 
on the western outskirts of Accra.  According to UNHCR 
Representative Thomas Albrecht, the GOG is considering using 
an abandoned state farm at Adidome, halfway between Accra and 
Lome, for long-term sheltering of the most recent arrivals. 
Other sites in Ghana's far north, more similar in climate and 
topography to Sudan than the coast, are also under 
consideration. 
 
4.  (SBU)  UNHCR has begun the process of interviewing the 
new refugees, after which Ghana's Refugee Board will 
adjudicate their claims.  Albrecht opined that the GOG had 
responded well but was disappointed that a few Sudanese 
working discreetly on the local economy had been rounded up, 
moved to Usher Forte prison, and forced to become dependent 
on GOG assistance.  Another UNHCR official told RefCord that, 
after interviewing the new influx of refugees, she suspected 
some of them may have been trafficked. 
 
5.  (SBU)  For its part, the GOG response has been measured. 
Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama remarked that Ghana should 
not be "lenient" with the refugees and cited the need for the 
country to secure its borders.  Toward that end, the Minister 
of the Interior left on April 19 for the border post of 
Aflao, just west of Lome, Togo, where many of the refugees 
are believed to have crossed.  Albrecht told Ref Coord 
privately that most refugees had entered Ghana from Togo, 
with a few having trekked across the northern border with 
Burkina Faso.  Either they bribed the border guards or 
crossed unofficially at an unmanned point, according to 
Albrecht.  One border guard told Ref Coord on April 15 that 
he had not personally witnessed a single Sudanese crossing at 
Aflao. 
 
6. (U)  Observers continue to wonder why the Sudanese have 
opted for distant Ghana, a 1,600-mile journey from the 
western Sudanese border.  One arrival cited Ghana's 
relatively peaceful environment; others have mentioned the 
relatively low cost of living here.  Refugee leader Mubarak 
Omar Wadi told Ref Coord his people were looking for an 
Anglophone country, since some of them spoke English, but 
were not encouraged to stay in Nigeria.  The 200 Sudanese 
refugees already resident in Ghana, most of whom enjoy full 
food rations and low-cost medical care at Krisan camp, 
probably constituted another pull factor. 
 
7. (SBU) Comment:  Judging from past experience, most of the 
new Sudanese refugees will likely be granted refugee status 
by June, at which time UNHCR will assume responsibility for 
their care and protection.  Despite some grumbling, the GOG 
will continue to welcome refugees in need, unless Ghana 
becomes overwhelmed with larger numbers fleeing into the 
country.  The GOG has repeatedly demonstrated that it can 
manage reasonably small flows, but a deluge could test the 
limits of its compassion and organizational abilities. 
Although the recent influx of Sudanese refugees made front 
page headlines in major Ghana newspapers, they constitute 
less than half of one percent of the total number of refugees 
resident in the country. 
YATES