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afrol News, 26 June - 186 Liberian asylum seekers today finally conclude a 25-day sea odyssey, being allowed to disembark in Lagos, Nigeria. On their long journey from war-ravaged Liberia, Ghanaian and later Beninese government officials had denied the Liberians to disembark, although the humanitarian situation onboard was very poor. Nigerian Red Cross workers in Lagos, today received the 186 Liberians, 36 of them children, providing them with emergency first aid. The sea voyage - 25 days without adequate food and water - had left them in a poor state. The Liberians are now on their way with Red Cross volunteers to a refugee camp in Oru, Ogun State, 150 kms from Lagos. The Swedish-registered ship 'Alnar Stockholm' was carrying 186 Liberians who had been refused permission to disembark at a number of west African ports before the Nigerian Government intervened and they were allowed to disembark this morning in Lagos. - They were relieved to get off the ship, said the Secretary General of the Nigerian Red Cross, Samuel Orebiyi. "We treated 12 of them, mainly for malaria and diarrhoea but none required hospitalisation. Most needed food and water. We have made arrangements for all of them to be received at the camp and are working closely with [the UN refugee agency] UNHCR who provided us with the medicines," said Orebiyi. The group comprises 80 women, 36 children and 70 men, reportedly escaping from fighting in Liberia, states the Nigerian Red Cross. On Friday last week, officials of the regional body the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) informed UNHCR that Nigeria had agreed to accept the ship and its passengers "on humanitarian grounds." The UN refugee agency suspects that several of the Liberians might be refugees. Port authorities in Lagos last night were still trying to find a docking space for the vessel in the overcrowded port, something they succeeded with this night, enabling 'Alnar Stockholm' to dock this morning. Under the arrangement, UNHCR and the Nigerian Refugee Commission were allowed on board after immigration authorities had first visited and spoken to the passengers. The 'Alnar Stockholm' has been moored off the Nigerian port since Sunday, after nearly four weeks at sea. The 'Alnar Stockholm' left Monrovia, Liberia, on 1 June. It initially stopped in Accra, Ghana, where some Ghanaian and Nigerian passengers were allowed to disembark, but not the Liberians. It then headed for Benin, and Togo, where it was not allowed to approach the coast. During the four-week odyssey, UNHCR made repeated calls for authorities in different West African countries to allow the ship to dock and allow UNHCR staff on board in order to assess the status of the Liberian passengers. UNHCR also expressed growing concern over the deteriorating conditions on board, amid worrying reports mentioning lack of food, water, and medicines.
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