The first batch of 238 Ghanaians fleeing from attacks against black Africans in Libya arrived in Accra early Sunday with sad tales of how they escaped death.
The evacuees, who were brought in a special Ghana Airways flight, included women, children, the injured and the sick, one of whom was brought in a wheelchair.
Some of the returnees, brought home thanks to the efforts of a government team led by President Jerry Rawlings, came with their belongings while others had nothing on them.
On arrival, they were conveyed to a reception area for registration and screening by immigration and health officials, after which they were given food and later put on buses to take them to their respective regional capitals.
Ghanaian officials on the plane said at least 5,000 Ghanaians have been listed for evacuation from Libya following attacks by Libyans.
Differences between Nigerian and Libyan drug gangs in the Gregare area, noted for illicit drug dealing and prostitution reportedly sparked off the attacks.
Other nationals affected by the violence, which reportedly left more than 100 immigrants dead, are from Niger, Chad and Nigeria.
Some of the evacuees told harrowing stories, blaming the Libyans for high-handedness.
They commended President Rawlings, who is currently convalescing from two operations, for his personal involvement in the evacuation process.
"They just did not want to see us, their black brothers, in that country," said 33-year-old Yaw Augustine.
Yaw, like most of the young men returnees, went to the North African country by road without any specific job plan, ended up in masonry.
He sang praises to God and invoked blessings for the President for his efforts to bring him back to Ghana.
Jacob Laweh Ameyaw, 25, from Dodowa who arrived with a swollen right hand kissed the ground and thanked God for bringing him and others home safely.
"The area boys used broken bottles on my hand, I managed to flee to a neighbour who later got me out to our Embassy," Jacob said denying any wrongdoing.
A 27-year-old mother of two, Rebecca Acquah said the area boys had burnt the belongings she had acquired over five years in that country.
Rebecca, carrying a child at her back while the husband, Samuel Oppong, handled the other, denied allegations that some Ghanaians flouted Libyan laws.
She confirmed that she and her husband got to Libya by "the desert".
Speaking to newsmen, the minister responsible for Protocol and Chieftaincy Daniel Ohene Agyekum, said government was speeding up arrangements to bring home other Ghanaians who are currently being kept at a camp outside Tripoli.
Reports said conditions were deteriorating at the camp, located near a refuse dump, and could lead to an epidemic.
Agyekum could not put a time frame on the exercise. However, sources close to the national carrier said there will be another flight on Tuesday.
Meanwhile the Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation, Kofi Portuphy, said the evacuation exercise, was wholly funded by government. He did not reveal its cost.
Medical officials screening the returnees at the Kotoka International Airport have confirmed cases of infectious and tropical diseases such as malaria.
