Niger begins repatriation of its citizens, street beggars in Ghana

09/06/2022

After Senegal, Niger has launched special flights. This concerns several hundred nationals with women and children who, according to officials, tarnish the image of their country abroad.

The first special flight of Nigerian beggars repatriated from Ghana landed this Wednesday. On board: 558 people. Everything is in place to welcome them: biometric identification and distribution in the buses that will take them back to their region.

"This is a group that used to go to Algeria in the past, but for some time now, they have not gone to Algeria because of the repression there," explained the Minister of Humanitarian Action, Laouan Magagi.

Begging and child trafficking are prohibited in Niger. This time, nearly 356 minors were on the trip, sponsored by 202 adults. "Unfortunately, there is trafficking. People take children on hire and pay the parents  to (go) beg," adds Laouan Magagi.

Adama Moustapha is blind. He used to walk the streets of Accra, accompanied by his grandson: "It was the famine that drove us out of the country. Thank God, today we can go back. We are not going back to Ghana.

Zenabou, with her baby astride, tries to justify herself: "When you see someone leaving his country to beg, it's not right. It's not a good thing that we beg. It's not good."

These repatriated beggars come mainly from the Zinder and Maradi regions.

Source (RFI)