TIRED war refugees from Liberia stumbled ashore in their thousands on yesterday after Ghana and Sierra Leone agreed to put an end to their odyssey of misery along the West African coast.
Ghana relented and allowed ashore some 3,000 refugees from the rusty Nigerian freighter Bulk Challenge, while Sierra Leone admitted about 1,000 refugees who had survived six days at sea in the fishing boat Victory Reefer with little food or water.
Both governments had originally refused entry to the refugees but came under international pressure to change their minds.
"I am relieved. I had no money and the crew was taking $5 for a bottle of water," said a Liberian schoolboy who came ashore off the Bulk Challenge, which left Liberia on May 5th.
Looking bewildered by the sight of security forces and aid workers, the tired passengers shuffled to quay side tables where they were registered and given wrist name tags by UN staff.
Women and children the bulk of the more than 3,000 refugees on the freighter were the first to disembark. Officials helped them to form four lines for the screening. Most were too tired or overcome by relief to speak.
Asked how she survived for 10 days on the cargo ship, a young Liberian mother of two managed a smile add hold out the cooking pot with remnants of freshly cooked plantain.
Security was tight and navy and police officers checked belongings with metal detectors after reports, denied by some passengers, that the vessel was carrying arms and gunmen.
The Deputy Regional Minister Mr Saidou Adamu, supervised the transfer of the passengers.
"We will take them to the Essinton camp outside Takoradi on a temporary basis. We'll look for a bigger camp later," he said.
The Deputy Foreign Minister, Mr Mohaired Ibn Chambas announced Accra's change of mind, citing an upsurge of clashes in, Monrovia to where Ghana had hoped the ship Bulk Challenge would return. "Ghana has agreed ft0 accept Liberians stranded aboard the Nigerian freighter Bulk Challenge, currently docked at Takoradi port," he told the Ghana News Agency.
"Ghana believes that these innocent civilians should not be made to suffer any more for the failure of their political and faction leaders to reach a peaceful solution of their differences," he, added.
The Bulk Challenge had already docked twice at Takoradi before yesterday's decision. Food and water were in short supply and three people on board died.
In Geneva, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency, Mr Ron Redmond, said "Ghanaian authorities are requesting UN assistance to care for the refugees. We're standing by ready to help as we said we would."
Ghana, which is leading peace efforts in Liberia on behalf of the Economic Community of West"
African States (Ecowas), originally" argued that admitting the freighter", passengers would encourage a further exodus of refugees from Liberia into neighbouring states already sheltering a million Liberians.
Ivory Coast, which hosts more than 300,000 Liberian refugees forced the leaking Bulk Challenge back to sea on Thursday after emergency repairs at San Pedro port.
Sierra Leone also relented yesterday, allowing 1,000 refugees to land in Freetown. Most of the passengers from the fishing boat Victory Reefer were Sierra Leoneans but included Liberians, Nigerian peacekeeping troops stationed in Liberia, some Lebanese and an Italian.