Ofosu Kingdom, a Ghanaian currently based in Germany, shared his harrowing migration journey on SVTV Africa’s Daily Hustle Worldwide show with DJ Nyaami.
Kingdom revealed that before settling in Germany, he traveled through several countries. He initially left Ghana for Belarus. At the time, he was involved in helping others travel to Russia and Belarus, eventually finding routes to Germany. However, he admitted that many people, including himself, were not told the full truth about the dangers involved.
“We used to fly into Belarus with visa-on-arrival arrangements. Nigerians often prepared our documents. I passed the airport interview and met an agent who charged me €400. He took me to a hideout where I stayed for a week, but the goal was to move quickly to Germany,” Kingdom recalled.
He was part of a group of 13 people attempting to cross the border, but they were arrested. Although he managed to get into Latvia, they were sent back to the Belarus border. Authorities would often ask if they wanted to go to Latvia, then simply show them the path. Kingdom advised others to travel well-prepared: with warm clothing, a power bank, and a phone.
He described sleeping in the bush for seven days. On the first and second attempts, they were sent back. It took three days to walk from the Belarus border to a nearby town, where they again camped in the bush for four days. In total, he spent two months trying to cross the border.
They eventually managed to cross at night by digging under a fence—10 boys and 2 girls. After entering, they walked for hours before their agent arranged a taxi. However, police intercepted the car, arrested the driver, and forced them to flee into the bush again. They walked for six more hours and got split up when police arrived.
Kingdom and some of the group eventually entered Latvia, claiming they were coming from Germany and stayed in a hotel. But on the way to Germany, they were arrested. Kingdom was caught again using a fake ID and taken to court, then returned to Latvia where he sought asylum.
Determined to reach Germany, his sister later helped him with a lookalike passport. The first attempt failed. The second also led to an arrest at the airport. He was warned that one more arrest would lead to deportation to Ghana.
On his third attempt, they successfully entered Germany via the airport. However, the journey claimed lives. “One guy died in the cold during winter, and others lost their limbs,” he said. “Just two months ago, a friend who tried the Russia–Latvia route got beaten and lost a leg.”
Kingdom revealed he spent around GHC140,000 on the entire journey.
He advised Ghanaians to be cautious: “Agents lie. They say there are construction jobs, but that’s false. There are no jobs, and they don’t even speak English here. It’s hard to save money.”
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