Returnee Gulf domestic workers speak of stigma at home

Selestine Musavakwa was in December 2019 over the moon when she got the news that she had landed a job as a cleaner in the United Arabs Emirates.

For the widow, this was a perfect opportunity to work hard and get the much needed money to educate her two children following the sudden demise of her husband the previous year.

At the time, she could not thank enough the agent who had helped her secure the job. And so on a sunny Sunday afternoon, Selestine’s joy was beyond measure as she boarded a plane to Dubai at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

It was her first day to set foot at the airport and board a plane. She could not help marvel at how beautiful the place was—baffled by the sight of so many aeroplanes, some parked, others touching down and others taking off.

This, she says, was an experience she has never witnessed, a sight to behold. She was in the company of many other girls who were also headed for Dubai, or so they thought.

When the most awaited hour came, they left the airport. But to their surprise, an announcement was made when their plane was already airborne that they were headed for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“It dawned on us that we had been duped. Our agent disclosed that we were heading to Saudi Arabia for domestic work. We had no choice but continue with the journey,” Selestine tells Nation.Africa.

Sex slave

Being duped about her destination was, however, nothing compared to what awaited her. At the home where she was assigned as domestic worker, the man of the house turned her into a sex slave.

“When the wife was not around, he would come to my room with a gun and order me to undress after which he would sleep with me. He would threaten to kill me and put my body in the dustbin if I resisted,”’ she says.

This went on for eight months before she realised she was pregnant. However, she fell sick and suffered a miscarriage.

For the time that she worked there, she never received even a penny. Selestine says she was overworked and starved. She would wake up at 5am and retire at midnight.

When she could no longer stomach the mistreatment, she fled. She was lucky as an international organisation rescuing girls came to her aid and paid her air ticket, enabling her to come back home.

Back home, the mother of two did not expect the treatment she got. She claims to have been sidelined by friends and relatives, prompting her to contemplate killing her two children then committing suicide.

"While in Saudi Arabia, I survived poisoning, which affected my liver up to date. When I came back, I had to rely on well-wishers for my upkeep and my children’s. They saw me as a burden. That led to my discrimination," she says.

Also read: End pain of Kenyans working in the Gulf

Jane Achieng* went to Saudi Arabia in January this year and came back in September. The mother of one tells Nation.Africa that she was desperate for a job to take care of her child after she broke up with her husband.

She left behind her six-month-old baby under the care of her mother, whom she told she was going to Qatar, not Saudi Arabia. She had given birth through Caesarian section and so her life in the foreign land became unbearable as she the work was tiring.

“I could work a minimum of 12 hours per day and I soon fell sick. I had heavy bleeding and a severe headache. This made it very difficult for me to work.”

Jane chose to come back. She worked for six months but only received a salary for three.

Upon returning home, what hurt her most is the cold reception she got from her mother.

“My mother told me I should not have come back. She said all the people working there had not died,” she says.

Stigmatisation

As a result of the bad relationship between her and her mother, Jane says staying at their home became unbearable and she had to seek refuge together with her child, in a friend’s house.

“The stigma facing the returnees is real. They are shunned by relatives and friends. Some have been coming to me with loan requests, but when I tell them I don’t have money, they ask me why I was working abroad. It has been very challenging.”

Jane says she can never go back to Saudi Arabia. She is ready to do any job here to be able take care of her baby.

The two stories are just but a tip of the iceberg of tales of domestic workers returning from the gulf. They face stigma from relatives and friends. They note that some of their relatives and friends had high expectations after they participated in fundraising for them to travel abroad.

“People think that we have come back with a lot of money. They do not understand how one can go abroad and come back empty-handed,” says Selestine.

To help the returnees cope with the stigma and pick up the pieces, one organisation is providing a soft landing. The Religious Against Human Trafficking-Kenya (Paht-Kenya), in partnership with other organisations, is helping to repatriate survivors of domestic and sexual violence in the gulf.

The organisation runs a safe house for returnees. Sr Jackline Mwongela, the coordinator of the Paht-Kenya project, says they offer returnees psychosocial support and seed capital to start small businesses.

They also take the girls through technical courses to help them secure jobs and become self-reliant. So far, Sr Mwongela says, they have repatriated 15 women and are in the process of bringing back another two from Saudi-Arabia.

“The government needs to shoulder the medical expenses being incurred by the girls and women coming back from the gulf. Many girls come back while sick and need immediate medical attention. The hospital bills are high and the cost of treatment expensive for them,” she says.

The nun reveals that they are working with Kituo Cha Sheria to sue perpetrators and the agencies involved. She is appealing to relatives and society not to stigmatise girls who come back penniless.

“Stigma, particularly from family members, has been worsening the situation for these girls. Parents need to accept them back without discrimination,” she says.

Sr Mwongela cites financial constraints as one of their major challenges.

Another organisation called Domestic Workers Returnees of Kenya is working with the returnees to help them rebuild their lives. Its secretary, Sophia Amimo, herself a former domestic worker in the gulf, concurs that one of the biggest challenges facing the returnees is stigma.

“Many of them have been rejected by their families, making their lives even harder. Some are scolded and told they should have persevered just like the rest out there are doing,” Sophia says.

She cautions parents and relatives against reject the returnees. “Their relatives need to be understanding. Some are not paid at all while working abroad and, therefore, have no money when they come back. They should receive and accept them the way they are.”

Pre-travel awareness

Her organisation has been at the forefront of creating awareness of the situation in the countries and how to cope. “We offer pre-departure lessons to girls travelling for work in these gulf countries. Our lessons entail what they should do and not do while there and what to expect,” says Sophia.

Her plan is to have an organisation that will help returnees back on their feet through support that would enable them set up businesses. She welcomes the announcement by the government to establish safe shelters in Middle East countries for domestic workers in distress but urges the government to involve the returnees when coming up with the facilities.

An investigation report by the Ombudsman released in September revealed details of the state of Kenyans living and working in Saudi Arabia as domestic workers. Among the discoveries from the Commission on Administration of Justice is that Kenyans working there are underpaid and their working conditions are dire.

"There are gaps in the Bilateral agreement, including Kenyans being paid lower wages in comparison to their counterparts doing the same kind of work from other countries, unequal timelines for notice of termination of employment, and a lack of clear sanctions for rogue domestic workers," the report reads.

The report further found out that Kenyan domestic workers in the Middle East face abuses that range from passport confiscation, imprisonment ahead of deportation, sexual abuse, racism, religious intolerance, labour exploitation, psychological abuse and movement restriction.

In recent years, there has been a jump in the numbers moving abroad in search of greener pastures despite the rising abuse cases by employers in the Middle East.

Most young Kenyans, especially women, have been seeking employment opportunities abroad with the Gulf states dominating. Many Kenyans have been complaining about sexual harassment, physical abuse, starvation and being overworked by their bosses. Kenya-based recruitment agencies deny any wrongdoing.

Francis Wahome, the chairperson of the Association of Skilled Migrant Agencies in Kenya (Asmak) last month said many girls are mistreated for being high-headed and refusing to obey their employers.

He termed some cases self-inflicted, arguing that pre-departure training in homecare incorporates units on how the girls should conduct themselves.

“Our girls have no discipline. And I am sorry to say this. Why would a Saudi Arabian pay a lot of money until the housemaid gets there only to mistreat her?” asked Mr Wahome.

Parliament supports ban

Recently, the Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (Kewopa) asked President William Ruto to ban Kenyans from travelling to the Middle East to take up domestic work until Kenya puts in place proper protection measures.

The MPs said unless the government addresses the plight of migrant workers following numerous complaints and deaths, no other Kenyan should be allowed to travel to seek house help jobs in the Middle East.

Parliament has set up a panel to address the plight of migrant workers, students and holders of dual citizenship living abroad following numerous complaints. The Select Committee on Diaspora and Migrant Workers is expected to deal with all matters relating to the protection of the rights and welfare of Kenyans in diaspora.

Also read: How Kafala system in Arab Gulf states is leading to the death of Kenyan girls

The 14-member team will handle all issues facing Kenyan nationals with dual citizenship, Kenyan migrant workers and their families abroad and Kenyans undertaking studies abroad.

Last week, the government announced plans to establish safe houses in the gulf to shelter migrant workers in distress before they are repatriated.

Appearing before the Senate Labour and Social Welfare Committee chaired by Julius Murgor (West Pokot), Labour Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore said the National Policy on Labour Migration has proposed the establishment of safe houses as temporary shelter for migrant workers in distress.

“The establishment of safe houses was approved by the Cabinet in 2021. The safe houses will be used by distressed migrant workers before the transition to another employment or repatriation back to the country,” said Bore.

The CS explained that Sh60 million has already been set aside by her ministry in the financial year ending June 30, 2023, to establish a safe house in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

She said the other cities targeted are Jeddah and Dammam in Saudi Arabia and Qatar respectively, following a 2021 Cabinet approval.

Ms Bore told the committee that the government has so far established three labour attaché offices in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, adding that the attachés are mandated to protect migrant workers.

*One returnee's name has been changed to protect her identity

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