Lucy Wanjiku Shows her Travel Documents
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Lucy Wanjiku considers herself incredibly lucky to have survived a terrifying experience that few others in her situation have lived through.
Ms. Wanjiku set out from Ngodu village in Njoro, Nakuru County with lofty aspirations of finding brighter prospects abroad. But her goal led to a painful and agonizing journey fraught with disappointments. Her predicament has been made worse by the silence of her little sister, Hannah Ruguru, who hasn't been in contact for years. It's a distressing situation that refuses to abate for Ms Wanjiku and her loved ones.
Having landed a position in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as a domestic worker and earning a monthly salary of Sh29,000, she felt like she'd shaken off the burden of being unemployed. Being a single mom to two kids, including a child with special needs, she thought a job like this would be her ticket to a better life.
Unaware of what fate had in store for her, Ms Wanjiku unknowingly entered another dreadful scenario upon reaching Saudi Arabia. Things appeared relatively upbeat in the preliminary days, but the guise of positivity soon dissipated into thin air. Ms Wanjiku recounts her difficult experience working abroad, recalling her employer's distressing demeanour. Despite working long hours, she endured physical abuse and had her salary withheld. As time went on, her working conditions deteriorated, and she felt increasingly isolated from her family.
To remedy her situation, Ms. Wanjiku opted to enlist the help of her agent in Saudi Arabia. After negotiations, she received partial payment for five months, but the payments suddenly stopped, and she was even denied food. Despite facing exhaustion and threats, Ms Wanjiku persisted in providing for her family, surviving on just one meal per day.
Her employer even went as far as threatening her life, and she overheard a conversation on a plot to harm her and dispose of her body. Fearing for her safety, Ms. Wanjiku repeatedly requested her release. However, she was deceived into going to the agent's office, only to be abandoned at a mosque for a week. Fortunately, she was eventually rescued by police officers who facilitated her return to Kenya.
Living with her elderly mother, Ms Wanjiku now depends on her older brother, Ayub Njuguna, for support. During her time in Saudi Arabia, she confided in her brother about the mistreatment she endured while in Saudi Arabia.
Although Lucy's mother Teresia Wambui is relieved to have her daughter back home, she is saddened that her other daughter, Hannah Ruguru, remains trapped in Saudi Arabia.
Hannah, a mother of two, had departed for Saudi Arabia in 2014 and managed to work for a year before being forcefully expelled from her employer's residence. Her boss falsely accused her of theft, resulting in the confiscation of her travel documents and the withholding of her wages.
Comments
Good keep goin to Saudi Kenyans n when u cry freedom turn to a tree. Learn to swim if ur goin to work in this countries as the waters may be ur only way home to Kenya.
Pole. Let Muslims serve fellow Muslims. U never hear a Somali or Muslim going to nanny in Saudi. Why?
There is some debate on the internet as to whether Somalis are blacks.Obviously they are Africans by virtue of Somalia being part of Africa.But if an african means dark skinned people from africa,the diaspora Included, some Somalis would rather be considered Arabs.They think it's humiliating to be related to dark skinned people,despite a good number of them being dark skinned. So they feel that Arab ,and Muslim brothers would treat them differently;better.
Ethiopians and Somalians are all over the world due to civil wars and famines though. 2000 years of contact with Middle East an advantage they didn't put to good use except nomadism worldwide
@ SimamaImara ,you are right that they did not take advantage of their closeness to the rich oil Arabs,but I believe the reticence was more on the side of the Arabs than Somalis.May be warabu did not envision any benefits other than the spread of Islam to the Kaffirs.
Comrades,
If only the Kenyan economy was doing better, these stories will be at minimal. Living with Hyenas is part and puzzle of the dynamic.
@ Kora Kanini spot-on. But the problem I have is why the Arabs subject these African Domestic workers to slave treatment? We have these kind of workers in USA,but you never hear about them being mistreated like what we read from the Arab lands.
Certainly,they have a certain view about black people.And unfortunately it is not positive,or flatterin;Sadly fortified with some verses in their Koran that demean black people.
Sometimes you have to take responsibility for your actions. At no point do I ever remember Arabs being recognized for being humanitarians and definitely not to black people. They are akin to hyenas and can't change who they are. There have also been multiple reports of Arab mistreatment of Africans in recent years. While the Kenya govt. has been deficient in creating an environment(bad regulations, onerous taxation, corrupt officials, excessive bureaucracy, inefficient courts etc) where people don't have to leave to support themselves, unless you have no access to information you have to know better than go to an Arab country.
Do you remember that last year a delegation was sent to Sauid to find out why there were so many deaths of Kenyan domestic workers ? What came of it? What did they find,or are they still there...?
And Ruto had the small Balls to stand and say how proud he was to be sending 5,000 kenyans overseas.how damn .
Why can't Biggy G sent Karen Nyamu first then we see .
@A GIRL TOTO, Big G cannot send Karen Nyamu to the middle east. My Kikuyu friend informed me that "nyamu" means a wild animal and I do not think the Arabs want wild animals in their midst other than camels.
This is very heartbreaking. I wonder whether Ruto considers such reports when he jetsets into Arab states to negotiate for their source of cheap labor.