It was a beautiful ceremony at Appiatse when the Vice President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, and his entourage commissioned one hundred and twenty-four (124) housing units for all victims who were affected during the disaster two years ago.
The smiling faces of residents of Appiatse on the day were a clear indication that they were happy with the gesture.
Many Ghanaians have as well applauded the government for putting up such a splendid show by fulfilling a promise of restoring the Appiatse community.
Unfortunately for those who lost their lives on the day of the accident, they are not available to witness the beautiful houses built for them and their families.
But behind the beautiful apartments visibly seen at Appiatse are the sad untold stories of some persons who had life-threatening injuries on the day of the disaster.
These victims live outside Appiatse and cannot be beneficiaries of the beautiful houses.
They have lost their livelihoods and are unable to work. They are currently at the mercy of their various families for daily meals following their life threatening injuries.
They have been abandoned to battle for their lives all alone.
Samuel Donkor, 30, a workshop Manager with Zonda Tech Ghana Limited and a resident of Agona Nkwanta was on his way to Wassa Akropong to perform a duty on the day of the incident.
He had met huge traffic at Appiatse and decided to inform his HR manager about the snail-pace traffic situation.
In the process of talking to his HR manager, he was suddenly caught in the explosion.
This was the beginning of his current predicament.
He woke up at the Hospital to see doctors performing surgery on his left leg.
He has lost his kneecap (a small triangular bone that rests on the front knee) and needed different types of surgeries to get him back to normal.
“My company initially sent about GHC 5,000.00 for the initial medical bills. The Appiatse Committee also made payments totaling about GHC10,000.00 to assist in the payment of my medical bills and that has been it. I have so far spent over GHC50,000 trying to get my leg fixed but to no avail. My company has stopped paying my monthly salary of GHC1,200 which they did for twelve months.
“I have become a burden on my family with nobody from the government or the company which truck caused the explosion.
“I can’t join public transport because of my crutches, I have been abandoned to battle with my life all alone when the accident was no fault of mine. They have rebuilt the Appiaste community but nobody remembers I exist”, he sadly narrated his ordeal to Nhyiraba Paa Kwesi Simpson, the host of Connect FM’s Omanbapa Morning Show.
Samuel Donkor is not the only victim battling for his life.
Joseph Arhin, who was working with the physical planning department at Wassa Akropong District Assembly has a similar story.
He has been left bedridden in his house at Takoradi for the past two years.
He lost his left leg on the day of the accident whilst on his way to Takoradi.
He has so far sold his two vehicles to settle hospital bills. All efforts to seek support have fallen on deaf ears.
“I needed to do a surgery on my leg and had no money. I went to the house of the Western Region Minister who assisted me with some funds and that has been it. When I saw the commissioning of the new community, I cried because I had been abandoned, nobody cared about me. I do not even know who to call for assistance and nobody has tried to reach me to find out how my situation is. Money is involved in every bit of the healing process. There has been nothing from the government, no compensation, nothing from anyone. I cried during the inauguration ceremony because life must go on,” he also narrated.
We believe people in high authority will hear the cries of these young men.
Their only wish is to get their lives back and continue taking care of their families.
It was through no fault of theirs that they find themselves in this pitiable situation.
It is somebody’s liability, yet, they have seemingly been abandoned to fight for survival.
By Eric Nana Gyetuah|Connect FM|Takoradi
