More seek jobs in Middle East despite rising cases of abuse

Sharon Andeka, 27, and Margaret Ruguru, 29. The two died in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2022. [Harun Wathari, Standard]

Gladys Gekonge, 32, had been shuttling from her home in Laikipia to Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Nakuru trying to find a stable job, in vain.

On February 2, 2020, the mother of two set out on a long journey to Saudi Arabia in search of the proverbial green pastures, so that she could fend for her children.

Not knowing that she was expecting a third child, she signed a long-term contract to work as a house help in the Middle East country.

"I went abroad so that I could get some income to provide for my two children only to discover that the third one was on the way," Gekonge told The Saturday Standard.

She tried asking her bosses to relieve her of her duties, but they refused, saying they had paid a lot of money to get her there.

Gekonge worked until August 22, 2020, but she got ill and was admitted to hospital.

"At some point, I was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and I was at risk of losing the baby." She had to undergo an emergency Caesarean delivery at only six months.

However, she could not return to her employer's house and stayed in the agency until May 9, 2021, when she returned back home.

"Life in Kenya is not easy because I cannot provide for my children. I got tired of looking for work here."

With no hopes and burden of providing for her children, late last year Gekonge left the country again, this time for Qatar. She said she could no longer survive in Kenya.

According to the single mother of three, the "little" suffering in the Middle East is a sacrifice she is willing to make in order to take care of her family.

"I looked for a good agency that has allowed me to shift houses and countries without any issues."

But, even in the second country, things are not any rosier for Gekonge.

She said her employer delays paying their salaries or pays her less than the agreed amount.

"I am torn now because what I signed for is not what I get, and when I complained or asked to leave, they refused. It is tough being away from my children and parents without assurances that my salary will be paid in time and in full," she said.

The ministries of Labour and Foreign Affairs has warned women to be wary when seeking employment in the Gulf countries.

According to the ministries, legal agencies are listed under the National Employment Authority website.

Data from the Labour Ministry shows that by October 2022, there were about 400,000 Kenyans working in the Gulf, of which 210,000 were in Saudi Arabia.

Whereas many are thriving, several Kenyans have been brought back home in coffins, while some lucky ones survived to tell harrowing stories of cruelty.

Sauda Towet, 22, from Bomet, did not last six months in Saudi Arabia, despite taking three months to undergo training at an institution in Nakuru.

Towet left her two-year-old child with her mother and decided to take a chance in the Middle East.

To avoid ending up like other women, she made a detour to Nakuru for the two-month training, with assurances that she would get a job in Saudi Arabia.

The Saturday Standard had caught up with her on September 19, last year, inside a college where more than 200 women were being trained on how to live in the Middle East.

The training, which took three months, prepared the ladies in Arabic language, behaviour, and machine operating skills to give them a survival chance in the Gulf.

Speaking then, she vowed to leave Kenya, "I will go to Saudi Arabia, even if it means walking to the country. I have been living like a destitute since my parents separated."

She said she studied through college but got no opportunities and had been hustling for over three years.

"I used to make a mere Sh100 per day, which was barely enough to support my child. This job and training would give me a chance to make it in Saudi," she said then.

Towet signed a contract without reading it but believed everything her agent told her.

However, after only three months, her story changed; Towet begged to return to Kenya and asked her story be published, last month.

She said she got a brutal employer who discriminated against her, reduced her payment and sometimes delayed it, forcing her to escape from that home, to the agency's office.

Towet returned home early this month and later contacted The Saturday Standard. She said she was happy to be back home but still felt she was unlucky with the boss she got.

"I want to go back, and this time I am praying that I get a good boss. My other colleagues are living a good life, and I am sure I will get another chance," she said.

Others from the training school dubbed Twinspur College are also dissatisfied and say that life in the Middle East is quite unpredictable.

According to Lilian Waithera, 21, they are at the mercy of their bosses in the foreign country. "You go there praying that you get a good boss. If not, then you will suffer."

However, she insisted that many women have no options because Kenya does not provide them with the opportunities and salaries they get in the Middle East.

Legal agencies say most women who go to the Middle East sign contracts with illegal agencies.

Anthony Kamau, in charge of one of the agencies, said in desperation, most women sign contracts even without looking at them.

"Those women miss a chance to interact with legal agencies that can protect them in case there are issues with their bosses or if they get mistreated," he said.

He said with legal agencies, sponsors make video calls to the workers and explain to them their job descriptions and salaries.