West African nationals staged a protest in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR) on Monday 19th July 2021, to protest against the new prices for obtaining residence cards.
Protesters gathered in front of the Nigerian embassy in Bangui. The rates were deemed high and unfair by them.
The Central African Republic’s parliament has adopted modifications to the immigration law, which stipulates payments of 100,000 Francs ($110) for ECOWAS citizens and 50,000 Francs ($55) for nationals of Central African republics for residence cards.
“They force us to pay 650,000 Francs ($708), which is why all the ECOWAS countries are gathered this morning at the Nigerian Embassy to voice our anger over what is happening in CAR. Currently, our brothers and sisters are in prison because of this paper”, Mark John, a protester, expressed his dissatisfaction with the situation.
The country’s officials are yet to respond to the charges.
Many foreigners from West Africa live in the Central African Republic, which is ravaged by conflict. They are generally employed in the business and retail industries.
However, now that order has returned, the country is eager to normalize immigration.
Some migrants have previously been accused by authorities of becoming mercenary fighters.
N.W. Catnella