To erode the emotional and psychological impact of the military brutalities at Ashaiman from victims, the #FixTheCountry movement says an immediate therapy is needed to achieve that.
The traumatic experience residents were subjected to, according to the movement could sting on their emotions for years if a remedy is not sought immediately.
The group made the call in a statement issued Friday, March 10, 2023 on the brutalities suffered by residents of Taifa, a suburb of Ashaiman in the Greater Accra region.
“…We also call on psychologists to come to their aid by providing counselling and therapy to help them overcome this traumatic experience that has left an emotional and psychological impact on the children and the community and could last for years to come if not attended to,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, #FixTheCountry is also working to ascertain the full facts surrounding the entire mayhem since it believes the military have omitted certain details from their releases.
It says the release from the soldiers’ outfit after the incident has failed to establish the “exact number of civilians that were abducted by the Military since this information has been purposely left out of the press release and subsequent attempts to establish this fact.”
Leadership of the movement adds that a visit to the scene of the incident has revealed the military trampled upon the rights and freedoms of innocent citizens without prior investigations into the said issue for which they undertook the swoop.
READ ALSO: Soldiers allegedly subject Ashaiman residents to beatings in reprisal for murder of colleague
“We saw the aftermath of the events and from what we understand through interactions with some of the victims, the military stormed into the community at dawn, broke into homes of citizens, terrorized market women who were going to trade, workers who were using the route through Taifa to their various workplaces and violated the rights, freedoms and properties of innocent Ghanaians who had flouted no law and subjected them through inhumane treatment by forcing them to drink filthy water collected from the gutter, used electric wires, canes, sticks and metal bars to beat them under an unforgiving rain,” the statement contained.
In their quest to establish the facts of the matter to seek justice for the innocent souls that were tortured, #FixTheCountry is calling on the public to assist in any means to provide medical care for those affected.
READ ALSO: Military brutalities at Ashaima: ‘Exercise restraint and allow due process’ – Mahama tells soldiers
Read the full statement below:
On the 9/03/2023, #FixTheCountry visited Ashaiman Official Town also known as Taifa, the hub of the incident which was allegedly brutalized and terrorized by military officers of the Ghana Armed Forces on 07/03/2023.
We empathize with civilians who had their dignity, freedoms, and rights trampled on by personnels of the Military, a service which is meant to protect citizens of Ghana.
We saw the aftermath of the events and from what we understand through interactions with some of the victims, the military stormed into the community at dawn, broke into homes of citizens, terrorized market women who were going to trade, workers who were using the route through Taifa to their various workplaces and violated the rights, freedoms and properties of innocent Ghanaians who had flouted no law and subjected them through inhumane treatment by forcing them to drink filthy water collected from the gutter, used electric wires, canes, sticks and metal bars to beat them under an unforgiving rain.
They happened to live in a low-income community where a fellow citizen had been murdered. Our understanding is that the military stormed the community even though no investigation had been completed and no conclusion had been reached.
The entire community has been left distraught by the incident and are now having to find a way to cover the unexpected medical bills brought about by the actions of the military.
As #fixthecountry continue to establish the facts and provide support for the community to seek justice for these events, we are also calling on the nation to come to their aid by donating medicine for treating wounds, donating cash or any other resources to the community that have had their homes broken into and have to find resources to repair the damage caused and have their very lives threatened by the actions of the military.
Donations can be sent to one of the assembly members of the community on 024-467-2049 (Fred Kabutey Ayiku).
We also call on psychologists to come to their aid by providing counselling and therapy to help them overcome this traumatic experience that has left an emotional and psychological impact on the children and the community and could last for years to come if not attended to.
Currently, we are working to understand the full facts including exact number of civilians that were abducted by the Military since this information has been purposely left out of the press release and subsequent attempts to establish this fact.
We will inform the Ghanaian community of any happenings while we try to unearth the temerity of the military’s actions.
Signed #FixTheCountry
By Felix Anim-Appau|Onuaonline
