Dr. Michael Boampong, a lecturer and an Associate Professor at Open University, U.S is urging various authorities to help address the underlying cause of irregular migration among the youth in the country.
Speaking in an interview, he averred that, poverty increase was a major factor in the constant migration which mostly sees most of the youth moving to Saudi Arabia amongst others.
“What we have to note as a society is that, migration in itself is a cultural endeavour in our society and in Ghana, there is this notion that travel and see. Migration has become a poverty reduction strategy in several households because, the family will expect you to provide for the younger ones. It has become something so common in our society such that when you reach a certain age your parents will be expecting you to cater for the young ones.”
Michael Boampong
He also averred that, most people embark on this journey in the quest to further their education but end up in various households. That notwithstanding, Dr. Boampong noted that, it is not enough reason for one to embark on this irregular migration.
Dr. Boampong further called on government to find better legal options for the young people who cannot afford to travel regularly. He averred that notably amongst those who embark on these irregular migrations are mostly people who cannot afford to do so.
“The scholarship secretariat must be able to afford the young people the opportunity to find education in other countries where they are not going to be abused and also for those who want to work in other countries. They can do this by having bilateral agreements with other countries to be able to let immigrants have the kind of the decent work they need.”
Dr. Micheal Boampong
Touching on how people, still manage to travel despite the ban on entry to these countries, he stated that, there is a structural problem in the country whereas legal options are not made available to those who need them.
He then urged government to ensure that the ban is removed and also guarantee that, legal options are made available for those who wish to move to these countries to seek greener pastures.
Dr Boampong then employed the labour and employment ministry and authorities to ensure some labour agreements are made with other countries to reduce these illegal and irregular migration.
Also, Seth Asafo, a Clinical Psychologist, touching on the psychological impact of what these immigrants face, said the initial change of environment is stressful averring that, there are several levels of impacts with people who have gone through these experiences, regardless of their means of travel.
“The change in itself is stressful. In a lot of instances when people have gone through a lot of stress, and its significance, this causes them to have a compromised view of the world. Now, whenever you have an expectation, and the expectation is not met, it leads to disappointment and this can come with its own depression because, an extended feeling of these can actually lead to anxiety and various complications or could even lead to ill health.”
Seth Asafo
He posited that, one of the ways through which people who go through this maltreatment abroad can resort to, will be social support from their families and the society.
“All of this support can be psychological, financial, and even emotional support. All of this can help the person regain their life back into society.”
Seth Asafo
