Liberian refugees in Ghana lost their status and legal backing which enabled them to reside in the country as refugees on June 30, 2012 , leaving them with two options - to be repatriated voluntarily to Liberia or apply for integration into the Ghanaian society. According to the Ghana Refugee Board, there are over 4000 Liberian nationals who have applied and are waiting for approval into the local integration process. There are also about 729 people waiting to be repatriated to their home country of Liberia. Over 1000 refugees are also seeking an exemption from the whole processes: to remain refugees citing security reasons. Speaking on Multitv’s pm:EXPRESS, the programs coordinator of thee Ghana Refugee Board, Tetteh Padi emphasized that the repatriation was voluntary, and for the local integration program, not everybody, he stated, who applied would be granted residence permit. Persons with criminal record for instance, he explained, would not be qualified for the local integration. Mr. Tetteh Padi also said the Gomoa Fete Traditional authority, who own the land on which the Budumbura refugee camp is located have come out to claim ownership of the land and the land will be returned to them after the camp has eventually been shut down. He further stressed the cessation is not going to be an abrupt one but a gradual process especially for the Liberians seeking a local integration. Mr Karl William, a former Liberian refugee, however maintained the issue of repatriation was not cast in stone. He explained that not all Liberian refugees have known relatives back home to return to. He stated for instance that during the war some children were just rescued and brought into Ghana, so after twenty years of stay in Ghana they have lost contact with any relative back home and would be a daunting task to even locate where they came from. Mr William, therefore, believes it would be misplaced to insist that such a person should go back to Liberia when he does not have relations there - even if he does they are unknown to him. Karl William complained that the $300 for adult and $ 200 for children being given by the UNHCR is woefully inadequate to start life with, adding that the Liberians are not refusing to go back home but situations, such as mentioned earlier, make the move very difficult and in some cases almost impossible. Nevertheless, both panelists agreed there was the need for more education and information about the repatriation process and must be done with a human face without being misconstrued as xenophobia. The repatriation process has also become necessary due to the fact that a person cannot remain a refugee forever; and more so, when peace has returned to the country of origin, he or she must return to help build that home country.