Exploratory visits to displaced communities

On the 8th and 23rd September 2023, the UG-CMS-IDRC chair on Forced Displacement- Professor Mary Setrana, together with some members of the project team and some faculty members of the Centre for Migration Studies, paid a visit to some selected communities in the Ashanti Region and Greater Accra Region as part of stakeholder engagement activities in the research program on forced displacement in West Africa. In Accra, the visit was carried out with officials of National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), a key project partner of the forced displacement research program (see detailed report attached).  In all, four (4) communities including Tetegu, Wiaboman, Glefe and Old Fadama in the Weija-Gbewe and Ayawaso East Municipalities in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The communities visited have a history of displacements associated with floods (nature) or human development.  In each of these communities the Team held discussions with women men and youth groups.

Observations carried out in the Tetegu, an Island community located between the River Densu and the Sea revealed that extreme weather events including floods had led to increase in the volume of water in the Densu River contributing to flooding of the entire community. This had led to several hundreds of residents to forcefully moving out of their homes to safe heavens. Interaction with community members (youth, women groups), and traditional authorities revealed that residents lost their livestock and other sources of livelihood and took refuge in Churches nearby the hills.  The visit to the wiaboman community revealed that a vast Ramsar site has been encroached on through the development of housing infrastructure. Hitherto, the community was preceded by a large-scale salt mining company which has also suffered encroachment on its territory. The team observed the existence of deplorable road leading  to the community and several homes that were still flooded because of heavy rainfall days before the visit. Debris of houses that had been washed away was noticed at the estuary. Despite the floods the community was still densely populated with varying degrees of economic activities taking place within the enclave. The visit to the GLEFE- community revealed that the community is largely a swampy area with different displaced people from varying backgrounds and nationalities living there. Despite having indigenous community residents, the team observed that more people are trouping into the community and building in the swampy sites against all indications of possible flooding and displacement.

The last community visited was old Fadama. The site is drained into the sea by the famous Odowna River and adjacent to the Agbogbloshie market and equally in the heart of the famous spare parts dealing market “Abosokain”. The presence of the market has over the years attracted thousands of people from varying parts of the world who have settled in the area for different kinds of reasons but predominantly for trade. The site previously hosted some thousands of people on the other side across the Odowna River on the popular “Sodom and Gomorrah” land which served as an offloading and selling point for vegetable, fruits, and yam traders from different parts of Africa. It equally served as a dumping and metal-extracting site for electronic waste managers. The presence of the activities of the residents has choaked and polluted the river and always impedes water flow leading to flooding in the area. Although several hundreds of people are still in living the place, thousands have been displaced because of developmental projects of government in the area, waste disposal and flooding. During the visit, it was observed that the flooding in the area has not in any way stopped and there is no indication of it been resolved now. There is no doubt that displacement is going to be a perennial affair for the residents in OLD FADAMA.