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About 57 Liberian refugees, who refused to go back to their home country, are fighting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for their resettlement packages.

According to the refugees, who have now pitched camp at the Cantonments Police Station, UNHCR presented them with three options, including integration, repatriation and resettlement in a country of their choice.

Barh John Guey, one of the leaders of the refugees currently at the Cantonments Police Station in Accra, vowed to stay at the place until their demands were met.

About 100 aggrieved Liberians last Thursday besieged the UNHCR Ghana headquarters to protest, but a police patrol team forcibly removed them from the place and transported them to the Cantonments Police Station.

The refugees, including women and children, have threatened to stay at the police station until their resettlement packages are given to them.

Speaking to Daily Guide, Barh John Guey, one of the leaders, said in June 2012, all refugees living at the Liberian Camp Budumburam were given three options by the UNHCR as part of the resettlement.

“We were asked to choose, those who wanted to be integrated in the country; those who want to be repatriated back to our home country, and the third option is those who want resettlement in another country of their choice.

“Those who chose to go back to their country were given a package and sent back and those who chose integration have been settled.

“They are now refusing to settle those of us who chose the third option of being sent to another country of our choice.”

The refugees said they opted to be sent to the United States of America, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.

The Cantonments Police Commander, Superintendent William Asante, told DAILY GUIDE that the Liberian refugees besieged the offices of UNHCR last Thursday to make their demands.

“After speaking to them we asked them to go back to the camp and use the appropriate channels to seek redress.”

“We went for a police patrol car to convey them in batches, but they refused, claiming they were not criminals to use such vehicles.

Superintendent Asante said the refugees asked the police to hire a bus to transport them back to the Budumburam Liberia Camp.

When the UNHCR was contacted, Edmund Quartey, Associate Protection Officer, said the agency does not recognize them as refugees anymore.

According to Mr Quartey, they were given two options and not three as they claimed.

“Resettlement is not one of the rights of a refugee and they cannot insist that UNHCR send them to a country of their choice.

“UNHCR can only advocate a country to receive them, but currently since their country is now peaceful, no country will be willing to receive them as refugees.

“In 2011 to 2012, there used to be about 11,000 refugees living at the Budumburam camp. Out of the number, 5,000 opted to be sent back to their country after the war ended.

A total of 3,500 chose the second option to be reintegrated into the society, which has been done, and government of Ghana gave those persons two-year residential permit but the third is no other of importance,” he added.

The Deputy Chief of Missions at the Liberia Embassy in Accra, Alieu M Massaquoi, told the paper that Cantonments Police informed them about the happenings last Friday.

He stated categorically that they no longer have refugees in Ghana and that they must be transported to Liberia or integrated into Ghana.

He added that the High Commission would communicate with the Government of Liberia over what to do.

Meanwhile, Liberians living in Budumburam camps have been given up to January 15, 2018 to vacate the camp for the land to be given to the chiefs of the area.