I was 'haunted' by plight of domestic workers in Middle East - Ayorkor Botchway

The Minister Designate for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, has revealed how the horrifying stories about the plight of Ghanaian domestic workers in the Middle East haunted her for weeks.

Government placed a temporary ban on the recruitment of workers to Gulf countries after a hike in reported cases of abuse faced by migrant workers.

The directive followed calls by several human rights activists to ban Visa-20 – visas issued solely to those seeking to travel to the Gulf as house helps.

A report by the Ghana Immigration Service said over 2,000 young Ghanaian women were stranded in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon only after five months of reaching the countries through fake recruitment agencies that promised them lucrative jobs.

According to the report, the victims who are mostly women are mostly subjected to sexual molestation and inhumane treatment and they cannot afford to return to Ghana.

Speaking to the Appointments Committee in Parliament on Thursday, February 11th 2021, Minister-designate for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway said the horrifying stories of these women was one of my lowest points as a minister.

According to her, the ban on agents has only driven them underground and that there would be the need to go back to the registering of agents to ensure that they are held accountable.

She revealed that government has signed an agreement with the UAE and that what’s left is to operationalize it.

“For four years, not a week went by where I was not horrified by the stories of Ghanaian domestic workers in the Middle East and Gulf countries. It was one of my lowest points as a minister because you have these young ones searching for so-called greener pastures. Many of them are deceived by unscrupulous agents to go into slavery. As a government, given that the ban on agents has only driven them underground, we need to go back to the registering of agents to ensure that they are held accountable.

It is also important to have formal agreements with these countries, where we regulate the travels and know who is going where. We have signed an agreement with the UAE, what’s left is to operationalize it,” Ayorkor Botchway added.