Hundreds Of Ghanaian Football Fans Seek Asylum In Brazil
About 200 Ghanaians who went to Brazil to support their team as they played in the World Cup have requested asylum on religious grounds.
Ghanaian fans at the World Cup
The police have said another 1,000 Ghanaians are expected to request refugee status once the tournament is over.
According to Brazilian federal police, the Ghanaians who entered the country legally on tourist visas to watch their team play in Natal, Fortaleza and Brasilia, said they are Muslims who were fleeing inter-religious conflicts in their home country.
They have filed their applications in the southern city of Caxias do Sul, in one of Brazil's most prosperous areas.
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The Brazilian authorities believe many of the Ghanaians are looking for the right to work legally in the country, BBC reports.
Noerci da Silva Melo, a federal police chief in Caxias do Sul, said that the Serra Gaucha region is known as an area of full employment and has became a magnet for foreign workers.
"You go through the streets and you can see many Haitians and Senegalese selling pirate CDs and watches. The area is overcrowded now," Mr Melo explained.
Brazilian legislation allows potential refugees to work legally in the country once they have filed for asylum.
Most of the Ghanaian asylum seekers in Caxias do Sul have already been given shelter by local Roman Catholic churches.
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The Ghanaian team known as the Black Stars lost two of its matches to United States and Portugal, and had a draw with Germany, thereby failing to progress to the knockout stages of the competition.
Source: Legit.ng
