By Mohamed Kamara

A high profile presence of Civil Service Organizations was evident at the office of the Network of some Ex- Asylum Seekers.

The office situated at 54 Wellington Street, Freetown.

They converged there on Tuesday November 5th 2024 to engage and found solutions to urge the government of Sierra Leone to enact a Migration and Deportation act aim at protecting the constitutional rights of deportees as Humans and preventing further causalities of deportees evident over the years principally caused by overwhelmed stigmatization from society.

In his welcome address, the National Coordinator Mr. Abdulai Daramy thanked CSO’s for their support in disseminating the information about the need for government support for deportees. He said the Network of Ex-Asylum Seekers cannot succeed in its national campaign for the security safety and empowerment of deportees without their unflingehing support. He apologies for the break in holding consultative meetings for the past two years due to unprecedented financial challenges and the escalating deportation of Sierra Leoneans from Asia, Europe to the United States of America.

Mr. Daramy said, the organization has made outstanding improvement to address the issue of deportees, he said the organization has widen its relations with government Ministers and held fruitful dialogue with the respective authorities who show great appreciation for their initiative.

He said with the cooperation of his able staff, NEAS has successfully worked on the necessary documentation that will attract government’s inclusion for its success. He encourage them not to relent as the task may be greater but with determination they hope to conquer.

For his part, the Programa Officer   Mr. Yusuf Mansaray. Said over the years, NEAS has engaged with the Law Reform Commission to discuss the Legal framework involve. He said they are now in constant collaboration with the Ministry of Social Welfare and other Alien Ministries including the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone, He said when once the Service Level Agreement is finalize, the Commission is expected to convey a grand meeting with all stakeholders before the validation status report to be submitted to the architects of law and policy on migration and Deportation.

He said NEAS      is pessimistic of success and is very much thankful to the authorities for their open hands whenever they called on them.

CSO representatives unanimously urged NEAS not to relent but to keep on establishing relations with the foreign Affairs and International Relation Ministry and other Alien Ministries. They pledged to continue their support and said the question about putting pressure for deportation to be constitutionally inclusive is not about money but rather saving and revamping lives of victims and minimize stress in their families.