US embassy cable - 05ACCRA1548

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ACCRA 001548 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF, GH, TO, refugees 
SUBJECT: TOGOLESE REFUGEES PREPARING FOR THE LONG HAUL 
 
1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  The Togolese refugees in Ghana, now 
numbering 11,900, are gearing up for the long haul, with 
plans underway for the construction or renovation of hundreds 
of homes, the donation of medical supplies in support of 
refugees, and the establishment of informal summer schools in 
preparation for joint Ghanaian-Togolese classes beginning in 
September.  While most refugees want to return home, they 
remain leary of the GOT, the police, and the military, which 
reportedly continue to orchestrate nighttime raids on 
dissidents' homes.  There are few signs of "compassion 
fatigue" among the general Ghanaian public, who refer to the 
Togolese refugees as "our brothers," and have offered them 
their homes, land for farming, free medical care, and shared 
space in their schools.  The reaction at the official level 
is becoming more apprehensive, with several authorities 
describing the Volta Region as "overwhelmed."  Indeed, the 
Regional Minister was quoted in the press as saying, "We 
cannot continue to harbor (Togolese refugees) for a long time 
due to limited financial resources."  All of this suggests 
that the GOG is rethinking its traditional open-door policy 
to refugees.  End Summary. 
 
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Refugees in the South 
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2.  (SBU) Ref Coord Nate Bluhm traveled to the Volta Region 
bordering Togo on July 26-27 for a first-hand look at some of 
the 11,900 Togolese refugees scattered among 115 different 
locations.  He was joined on July 26 by Lome's A/DCM Martina 
Flintrop and Political Assistant Jean-Pierre Dessou for the 
southern portion of his itinerary.  During our initial call 
at the Aflao border crossing point with Regional Ghana 
Immigration Service Inspector Felix Sapong, Sapong indicated 
that there had been virtually no fresh movements of refugees 
into Ghana since mid-May.  In contrast with the xenophobic 
reaction to the 200 Sudanese in Accra (ref:  Accra 1450), 
Sapong said refugees were "still welcome." 
 
3.  (SBU) A short meeting followed with Togolese refugees in 
Klikor, 15 miles west of the Togolese border.  Some 300 live 
there, most of them having fled Lome in the days following 
April elections.  The refugees were following events 
concerning Togo closely, and knew of President Gnassingbe's 
meeting with titular opposition leader Gilchrest Olympio in 
Rome.  Refugees said that Olympio's credibility was somewhat 
suspect, since he had only lived for a few months in Togo; 
they would be eager to see words followed up with action. 
The small crowd became somewhat agitated when asked to 
explain why they could not return to Togo, asserting that 
there was insecurity in every neighborhood and describing 
Lome as "calm but worse."  Some refugees refused to rule out 
violence to provoke change in the GOT, noting that the GOT's 
own brutality called for a similar response.  As if to 
counter claims they were economic migrants, refugees noted 
that they had not yet received any assistance, one of them 
displaying hands calloused from hard work in the fields.  A 
student summed up the refugees' attitude by saying it was 
better for them to be poor in Ghana than to fear for their 
lives in Togo. 
 
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Guests in the Palace 
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4.  (SBU) Afterward we were able to meet in Aflao with 
Paramount Chief Torgbui Amenya Fiti V, himself host to 
fourteen refugees camped out in his "palace," more accurately 
described as a modest cinderblock home with a starkly blue 
reception area.  As to whether the Togolese might be wearing 
out their welcome, the Chief replied that there was "no 
problem" with extending hospitality toward them.  The Chief 
described the situation in Togo as one causing him great 
personal agony, since his chieftancy extended across the 
border to include the city of Lome.  He wondered aloud 
whether involving the chiefs could help resolve the current 
crisis; in fact, he had asked Togo's President Gnassingbe for 
a meeting.  He opined that before refugees could repatriate, 
their safety had to be assured -- most of them still feared 
midnight raids and arbitrary arrests.  When asked, one of the 
refugees living in the Chief's household said that the new 
Togolese prime minister was a particular source of 
dissatisfaction; the GOT needed to select someone from the 
"radical opposition" before he would have enough confidence 
to return to Togo. 
 
5.  (SBU) Ref Coord continued solo toward the regional 
capital of Ho, an hour's drive to the northwest.  En route he 
stopped at Penyi, where refugees were contributing their own 
"sweat equity" to renovate partially completed homes for 
eventual occupancy.  UNHCR had supplied construction 
materials, while the Ghanaian owners had offered the use of 
their half-completed properties for an unlimited period of 
time.  This pattern of cooperation involving Ghanaians, the 
refugees, and international organizations was repeated in 
many other locations. 
 
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Supportive Officials in Ho 
-------------------------- 
 
6.  (SBU) In Ho, Regional Health Director Dr. Andy 
Arde-Acquah reconfirmed his commitment to supplying free 
medical services to the refugees.  He had personally 
instructed all government-run clinics and hospitals to treat 
refugees and supply medicine at no cost.  UNHCR was 
supporting his program by replenishing supplies in the 
affected institutions.  One remaining challenge was that of 
transporting refugees from remote villages to clinics or 
hospitals where they could receive adequate care and feeding 
those who were hospitalized.  The senior civil servant in Ho, 
Steven Selormey, and the Regional Operations Manager for the 
National Disaster Management Organization, Lt. Col. David 
Davelo, echoed Arde-Acquah's support for the refugees.  UNHCR 
and NGO employees later told Ref Coord of many refugees with 
bullet wounds, most of them to the head or mid-section. 
According to them, the location of the wounds suggested that 
Togolese soldiers had aimed to kill. 
 
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Three Border Villages in the Northern Volta Region 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
7.  (SBU) On July 27, Ref Coord met with refugees and 
Ghanaians living in Oboase, the northermost terminus of 
Togolese migration into the Volta Region, a good four-hour 
drive north of Aflao.  The refugees, numbering 589, were 
engaged in making clay for the simple mud apartments they 
were building, initially 18 units in six separate blocks of 
three apartments each.  As in Penyi, UNHCR has contributed 
some materials, in this case, cement for the flooring and tin 
sheets for the roof; refugees themselves built the mud walls 
and installed wooden frames for the windows.  Eventually, the 
entire community will vacate the housing currently shared 
with the Ghanaian host population to occupy the newly 
constructed apartments.  The local chief had loaned them land 
for both housing and farming.  In other good news, a bore 
hole drilled one kilometer away has proved to have a good 
recovery rate, allowing for continuous pumping of potable 
water.  The primary complaint among refugees concerned 
scorpions, which have caused five non-lethal casualties thus 
far. 
 
8.  (SBU) It was relatively easy for the refugees to reach 
Oboase, a short 15-minute walk over the hills from the 
unmarked Togolese border, and about a one-hour stroll from 
their home village of Kessibo-Dzodzi.  Recounting the events 
of April, refugees said their village had voted massively for 
the opposition.  Following the elections, which they assert 
the opposition won, soldiers arrived and began beating up the 
residents.  Eventually the village left en masse for Ghana. 
Refugees expressed fear of arbitrary arrest if they returned, 
citing some who had crossed back into to Togo only to 
disappear.  Some confirmed reports that the Togolese regional 
capital of Atakpame had been particularly hard hit, and noted 
that ongoing military roadblocks prevented freedom of 
movement within Togo. 
 
9.  (SBU) Moving south along the border, Ref Coord met with 
many of the 580 Togolese refugees living in Kute, a 
hardscrabble village flanked by the towering forested hills 
that demarcate the Togolese border.  Refugees described 
post-election beatings and seven fatalities in their home 
villages, although one elderly woman said she simply followed 
the crowd into Ghana, having been told that life there would 
be better.  Communicating through an Ewe-speaking interpreter 
(some of the Togolese did not speak French), Ref Coord 
learned that refugees were prepared to return home "when the 
violence has stopped and there is peace."  Some asked how 
they would rebuild their lives, since their homes had been 
destroyed and their cattle stolen.  All housing was shared in 
Kute, where Ref Coord observed one pregnant women attempting 
to rest on a thin mat atop a bare cement floor.  Refugees 
were grateful for the services of the village mid-wife, who 
had waived her customary $3 fee when delivering six refugee 
children, with another six pregnant women in waiting. 
 
10.  (SBU) The final stop was in Likpe Todowie, a village 
just north of the famous Wli Falls, home to 262 Togolese, 
with another 600 refugees living in three neighboring 
villages.  Refugees were a mix of farmers and those from 
cities, including Atakpame and Lome.  Here the Togolese were 
housed in a mix of shared properties and separate structures, 
previously uninhabited, but undergoing renovation or 
completion with a combination of UNHCR assistance and refugee 
labor.  Another thirty refugees occupied a former church 
building, sleeping on the bare cement in crowded conditions. 
Two refugees had hair with a reddish cast, suggesting 
malnutrition; however, a food distribution program to the 
needy has already begun in the northern Volta Region, soon to 
be extended to refugees living in Aflao.  As was typical, one 
refugee cited his support for the Togolese opposition, noting 
four fatalities in his home village and scores of injuries 
amid the late April post-election violence. 
 
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Waning Support for Refugees? 
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11.  (SBU) Ref Coord later learned that the Likpe village 
chief had complained to an NGO, Christian Rural Network, that 
refugees had utterly overwhelmed his village.  In the same 
vein, the Volta Regional Minister Kofi Dzamesi told the press 
this week that his province could no longer cope with the 
refugee situation, as the Togolese were bringing "untold 
hardship on the communities" and "dwindling limited 
resources."  He added that the GOG could not continue to 
harbor them for a long time due to limited financial 
resources. 
 
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Comment 
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12.  (SBU) Comment:  Despite substandard living conditions in 
most locations, UNHCR has clearly accomplished much during 
the three months since the Togolese first began arriving in 
Ghana.  Speculation that many refugees would return home 
before the start of the school year has not been borne out; 
most are doggedly gearing up for the long haul, skeptical 
over the possibility of a more inclusive government in Lome, 
but still hopeful of eventually returning to a secure, 
peaceful life in Togo.  The cooperation among the Ghanaian 
hosts, the refugees, and the donor community has been 
outstanding.  Refugees have also profited from a number of 
other factors:  close ethnic ties, proximity to their 
homeland (and the ability to keep in touch with current 
events via cell phone), and refuge in a low-density area 
offering readily available arable land and a mild climate. 
Although their settlement in 115 different locations has 
posed some logistical challenges, in the end it has proved 
advantageous in terms of cost, having alleviated the need to 
construct camps.  Yet there are signs that some Ghanaian 
officials are tiring of the refugees' massive presence in 
some rural areas, even if international donors are picking up 
most of the tab.  End Comment. 
 
13.  (U) This telegram was reviewed by Embassy Lome prior to 
transmission. 
YATES