Everything started in the morning of Wednesday, June 7, 2023, when Bright Ofori, a youth advocate, was at the Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands and overheard a woman speaking Twi, while in a queue.
Narrating what transpired thereafter, he wrote about how he later saw that immigration officers started whisking the woman away.
Concerned, he followed the action to where it was.
“On June 7, around 8am, I was at the Schipol airport -typically full of white folks, so it's easy to recognise blacks. I saw one woman being whisked away by immigration officers. I had earlier heard her speak Twi while in a queue, asking someone which line to join because she was transiting to Germany. She seemed confused. She had done nothing wrong. It was her first time travelling and as an elderly woman, she didn't know her way around. They suspected her because of how she was moving about. Also, she could speak only Twi. So, they pulled her aside for interrogation. Her flight was to take off around 9 am,” he wrote.
He continued to share how the woman began to get more and more frustrated, to the point that she opted to travel back home to Ghana so she could get her needed relief and comfort.
But he remained with her, making every effort possible to get the woman as relaxed as possible, including calling her family so she could speak with them.
“Over an hour, the immigration officers said they were waiting for an interpreter, and they don't have an idea when the interpreter will come. They seem not to be bothered. They had the woman's passport. Madam was crying and distressed. Saying she doesn't even want to travel anymore. She's comfortable in her house in Ghana.
“I spent over 2 hours with her, interpreting for the officers, calling her children whom she was travelling to visit with my phone, and ensured they sent all the documents the immigration wanted. I made sure she was issued a new ticket, took her to her boarding entrance and got her snacks Her flight was to take off late in the afternoon. She didn't have a smartphone and had written her daughter's number on a piece of paper. The officers were so surprised that I spent hours ensuring a stranger was released. One ended up escorting me and had a conversation with me till I left,” he added.
In the comments section of his tweet, several people poured in to show their appreciation to him for his kindness.
I remember coming to the rescue of a woman who had been detained at the Amsterdam Airport because I heard her speak Twi.
On June 7, around 8am, I was at the Schipol airport -typically full of white folks, so it's easy to recognise blacks. I saw one woman being whisked away by pic.twitter.com/Wv7iuDZCmJ
You can also watch today's GhanaWeb news headlines in Twi here
Meanwhile, click below to watch the latest episode of #SayItLoud on GhanaWeb TV as host, Etsey Atisu, discusses issues troubling NUGS:
Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.
