Over 2,000 Ghanaian ladies have departed to Gulf States in search of lucrative job opportunities in five months.
Similarly, over the same period, 350 ladies have also been deported.
The unusually high number of young Ghanaian ladies travelled to Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.
Head of Public Affairs of Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), ACOI Francis Palmdeti, in a statement copied to The Finder, said the worrying migration trend was observed between September 2014 and January 2015.
“Our investigations reveal that some local agencies are operating as recruitment agents for other job agencies in these Gulf States promising unsuspecting Ghanaian ladies lucrative job opportunities,” the statement added.
It explained that the recruitment agents go further to assure them of very bright prospects in the area of domestic assistance jobs as well as the hospitality industry with very flexible working hours, thereby making it possible to take up a second job.
The statement noted that the ladies deported return with harrowing stories about their journeys.
“Whereas some of these ladies bitterly complained about how they were deceived into believing the grass was greener out there, others complained about being overworked, sexually molested, starved and subjected to inhumane treatment.
“We are told a number of ladies have been held in camps awaiting their relatives to procure tickets for their return to Ghana, since their travel expenses to these States were borne by the job agencies in the listed countries,” the statement added.
The GIS said it was difficult to prevent the ladies from departing Ghana, especially when they were adults and in possession of the required travel documents.
“It is for this reason that we are appealing to the general public and prospective travellers to be wary of promises of lucrative job opportunities in these Gulf States.
“Members of the public are, therefore, being alerted to be wary when dealing with these recruitment agencies,” it said.
Credible migration information could be sought from the Public Affairs Unit, Migration Information Bureau, Anti-Human Smuggling and Trafficking In Persons Unit of the GIS in Accra or any of the 11 Immigration Regional Offices or call the following numbers – 0302-221667, 224445, or 674125.
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