Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05ACCRA1548
2005-08-03 17:04:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Accra
Cable title:  

TOGOLESE REFUGEES PREPARING FOR THE LONG HAUL

Tags:  PREF GH TO 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ACCRA 001548 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF GH TO
SUBJECT: TOGOLESE REFUGEES PREPARING FOR THE LONG HAUL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ACCRA 001548

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF GH TO
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.

--------------
Refugees in the South
--------------


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.

--------------
Guests in the Palace
--------------


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.

--------------
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.

-------------- --------------
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.

--------------
Waning Support for Refugees?
--------------


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.

--------------
Comment
--------------


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