January 1969.

Footage of the arrival home of relatives of Ghanaian fishermen expelled from the West African nation of Sierra Leone.

Over 2,000 fishermen were ejected from Sierra Leone. The government justified the expulsion on "economic and security" grounds.

Some had been living in Sierra Leone for years and the expulsion order came as a surprise to many.

The repatriated fisherman and their families -many of them of Ewe and Fanti stick- arrived back home in waves. More than 600 wives children and dependents of the fishermen were sent back to Ghana.

Mrs. Akuyo Etu, an Ewe, told reporters that they had gone to Sierra Leone because they "enjoyed travelling", but had caught less fish there than they did in Ghana and were happy to be back home.

The refugees returned in waves.

. More than 100 fishermen arrived with their families in Tema by ship in early January.
. In the second week of January, 10 wives and 9 children returned by air.
. Most of the fishermen returned by boat after their families had left.

Most of the refugees were given temporary accommodation at the International Trade Fair site in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. They were innoculated and then sent to their hometowns.

The Department of Social Welfare handled the process of reabsorbing the returnees.

Source of film: Reuters News Archive.

Note:

1. Later in 1969, the civilian administration of Dr. Kofi Busia, Ghana would expel thousands of foreigners, most of them Nigerians.

2. West Africa has a history of expulsions of foreign citizens.

. Both Ivory Coast and Nigeria had previously expelled Ghanaian fishermen, and the Ivory Coast expelled Ghanaian fisherman near the time the Sierra Leone government took its action.
. In 1954 and 1961 respectively, Ghana expelled some Nigerians and Voltaics (Upper Volta, now Burkina Faso) because "their presence was not conduisive to the public good."
. In 1959, he Ivory Coast repatriated numerous Togolese, Dahomeyans (now Benenois) and Nigerians.
. In 1963, Niger expelled its Dahomey (Benin) residents over a disputed island.
. In 1967, Senegal expelled Guineans, the same year that Cameroon requested the departure of Nigerians.
. In 1969, Ghana expelled over 100,000 foreigners most of them Nigerians.
. In 1983, the Nigerian civilian administration of President Shehu Shagari expelled around 2 million undocumented Ghanaians in an incident known as "Ghana Must Go!"

Both Kofi Busia (1969) and Shehu Shagari's (1983) moves were directed at foreigners in general but impacted most on Nigerians and Ghanaians respectively. Busia's legislative instrument was the Alien Compliance Order while Shagari's came from an Executive Order.

Footage:

Kofi Busia Defends Alien Deportations | ILO Meeting | Accra, Ghana | September 1969 [ Ссылка ]

Ali Baba Speaking About Nigeria's Expulsion of Illegal Aliens | "Ghana Must Go" | February 1983 [ Ссылка ]

Academic Paper on the Expulsion of Nigerian Immigrants in 1969
"The 1969 Ghana Exodus: Memory and Reminiscences of Yoruba Migrants" by Dr. Rasheed Olaniyi [ Ссылка ]

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