Ghana’s President John Mahama on Thursday condemned the growing normalisation of “hatred” and hostility towards migrants, days after former US President Donald Trump delivered a fiery speech at the United Nations calling for tighter borders.
Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, Mahama urged world leaders to “speak frankly” about the rising anti-migrant sentiment in the West and reject policies rooted in xenophobia and racism.
“We cannot normalise cruelty. We cannot normalise hatred. We cannot normalise xenophobia and racism,” he declared.
Mahama shared stories of successful African immigrants in Western nations, stressing that they are neither “invaders” nor “criminals.” He also highlighted how climate change—fuelled largely by industrialised nations—has forced many Africans to migrate.
“When the desert encroaches on our villages and towns and they become uninhabitable, we are forced to flee,” he said.
Although Mahama did not name Trump directly, his remarks followed the former US leader’s speech on Tuesday, in which Trump warned European nations that “your countries are going to hell” for accepting migrants. Trump touted his mass deportation campaign and vowed to resist the “globalist migration agenda.”
Despite his criticism, Mahama’s government has cooperated with Washington by agreeing to receive non-Ghanaians deported from the United States.