With unemployment in Kenya reaching an all time high, some prospective ones are flocking to Middle Eastern countries in hope of finding a job. Interestingly, the fact that one is a Muslim and working in a Muslim country does not make one immune to mistreatment or even abuse as Fatma and Zaina found out.

As many prospective Kenyan job seekers flood the West in search of greener pastures, others are venturing into uncharted waters of the Middle and far East countries in droves. Naturally, for Fatma Mia and Zaina Nyambura-both Muslims in their 20’s, a trip to the Muslim country of Saudi Arabia was their dream come true. The verse in the Holy Quran (Surah Hujarat 49:9): “All believers are brothers.” Could certainly not sound any better.

So when the opportunity beckoned in August last year, through an employment agent only known as Hadija based in Eastleigh, both Fatma and Zaina did not hesitate to call for an impromptu harambee. They even had to sell some house-hold items to kick start their dreams. Within days, they had gone through the mandatory medical examinations needed and temporary passports acquired.

On their departure day from Nairobi, and excited beyond belief, both Fatma and Zaina could care less about what awaited them in Saudi Arabia. They were vague about their exact job descriptions but aware that they would be paid KSh20,000 per month.

Upon landing in Riyad, Saudi Arabia, they were warmly welcomed by their employer as their travel documents were secretly taken away from them, says Zaina.

Our employers could converse in English and we were glad we could communicate easily. We were given accommodation at a self-contained servant quarters located at the top of the house. It was also to be our place to performing our prayers.

“It was on the third day after our arrival in Saudi that our chores were allocated. I was to be the cook while Fatma would take care of the kids. As per our briefing in Nairobi, we were made to believe that we would be taking care of two kids. However, this was not to be. We discovered there were ten kids to look after ranging between 2 to 23 years old.”

Trusting that we had undergone adequate medical examination in Nairobi, we were put through several more in Saudi before we could begin preparing meals and taking care of the children.

Drama began unfolding several days later when Fatma realized that the children were hard to manage and unruly. “They were unquestionable and I was not allowed to discipline them. They got so emboldened and they would undo the work I had done.

You can imagine a day’s work of thorough cleaning being ruined in several minutes? Communication was also a problem with them. I would talk English while they spoke Arabic.” Fatma would wake up at 4 a.m to begin her cleaning duties and would rest at 3 p.m. “It was a tiring chore with no adequate rest.” Meanwhile, Zaina had difficulties in preparing Arabian cuisine (food) as she had no prior skills.

Soon they swapped their chores. But before then, news was that Fatma failed the medical examination. “I was heartbroken and I volunteered to undergo three tests to verify. I really cried that day,” Fatma said.

Fatma was given a new lease of life when the medical results were returned to her employer indicating that she had been misdiagnosed. Come month end, Fatma and Zaina encountered no difficulties in receiving the initial payment. “It was on the second month that we started encountering delays in our dues and that is when problems began. We were being paid 800 Riyals (KSh16,000) each.”

The lady employer would delay giving us the money with false promises of doing so. Whenever we persisted she would insist that they had ‘bought us’ for KSh200,000-the amount she paid the agent.

It was when we informed her that we wanted to go back home that she realised we were serious.

As for our employer’s husband, we never encountered any difficulties with him.

Plotted escape

Events took a turn for the worst when the lady employer would deliberately fail to provide them with meals during her family’s day out.

“We would be left hungry as the family went out. We were valuable when there were house hold chores to be done, collecting shopped items from the family car into the house among others. Fortunately, Fatma being the cook had devised ways of hiding some portions of meals just in case,” Zaina says.

Like any other Kenyan living out of their country, Fatma and Zaina wished to ‘wire something’ back to their people but they had nothing.

It soon dawned on them that they were getting into the third month of employment with a month’s arrears of payment. Life was becoming unbearable as they began realizing that their dream in Saudi was becoming a den of frustrations.

In something akin to movie, Fatma and Zaina plotted their escape. “The only people who got suspicious of our intentions were the older boys. They would come and curiously look at us and go,” Zaina says. On the material day, the lady employer went to work as usual and suspected nothing.

Since our room was located at the top most floor, it was tricky to get our possessions without raising suspicion. We swung into action and hid our possessions inside trash bags and confidently took them out to the main gate.

As house helps, Fatma and Zaina had all along kept spare keys to the main gates and doors just in case of an ‘emergency’.

kenyan Embassy

“Taxi drivers in Saudi are a very suspicious lot especially about those deemed as ‘foreigners’ and with baggage’s heading to the airport. Thus several of them did not stop even after flagging them to stop.” We thanked God when a Sri Lankan taxi driver obliged and drove us to the airport. We paid him with small money that we had ‘saved’ from the first payment of salaries.

“It was at the airport that we discovered we had no travel documents. So what next? We were directed to sort out our problems with the Kenyan embassy in Saudi.”

While at the Kenyan embassy, we were told that the Kenyan government was not ‘aware’ of our existence in the Kingdom since we had failed to register with them. Therefore, as per the rules, Fatma and Zaina were taken to a detention center.

A detention center is a place where all immigrants into the Kingdom without travel documents are housed as they await communication with their respective governments.

Fatma and Zaina’s stay at the detention center was another sobering experience. “We thought we were the only Kenyans but upon going to the center, we were surprised by being welcomed by fellow Kenyans and a mix of other women mainly from South America, India, Pakistan just to mention but a few,” says Fatma. “Kenyans at that time were 13 while the South Americans were the highest in number.” We were informed that our tickets back home to Kenya would cost KSh40,000 each.

“All in all, our thanks go to the Kenya Embassy staff in Saudi Arabia. They really helped us. Some even bought us food using their own money.”

lesson to kenyans

Our stay at the detention center lasted for 2 weeks and had its surprises too. Here at the center, despite being well taken care of, it was a hygienic disaster with no privacy whatsoever. It had blocked sewerage system and poor water supply. “We would shower in toilets as cases of sexual harassment/abuse from fellow women was rampant,” Zaina laments.

As Fatma and Zaina waited for their travel to be sorted out their interaction with fellow Kenyans holed at the detention center was an eye opener as to how Kenyan girls are lured into prostitution and other vices in the Kingdom. “Many girls face not only being trapped into prostitution but also risk physical and psychological abuse from Saudi employers. In fact, one Kenyan narrated to us how she came with her husband after job promises. He, the husband, ended by being employed as a house boy,” said Fatma.

Despite the fact that they got back home empty handed, Fatma and Zaina are glad to be back home alive unlike others who have not been lucky.

“Kweli asiye skia la mkuu huvunjika guu,” says Fatma regretably. “Despite several warning from my friends, they were wondering what was taking us to Saudi yet we have peace and freedom even if the financial situation is tough.

Source: The New Dawn