American grandma, 58, dragged across floor after being deported to country she has never visited
American Woman Says She Was Deported to a Country She Has Never Visited
A Maryland woman says she is still reeling after being deported to a country she claims she has no connection to — and has never stepped foot in.
Rabbiatu Kuyateh, 58, originally fled Sierra Leone during its civil war nearly three decades ago.
Earlier this month, she was unexpectedly removed to Ghana after being detained during what was supposed to be her routine annual immigration check-in.
A disturbing video circulating on social media appears to show Kuyateh being dragged across the floor by individuals she believes are Ghanaian government personnel.
In the footage, people in green uniforms pull her on her stomach and load her onto a bus bound for Sierra Leone, where she is now staying at an undisclosed location.
Speaking to NBC4, Kuyateh said she tried to resist as she was forcefully handled. “That’s when they dragged me.
They bumped the back of my head,” she recalled. Photos shared with the outlet appear to show injuries she claims were sustained during the struggle.
Her son, Mohamed Alghali, said the detention came without warning. He described feeling “defeated” and heartbroken when immigration officers suddenly separated them. “They called her to the back and said, ‘Rabbiatu, you have an order of removal. We’re detaining you.’ My heart just broke,” he told NBC4.
Authorities have not yet provided full details on why she was sent to Ghana instead of Sierra Leone, where she had originally sought safety decades earlier.
