A cry by poor women caught up in the vice of human trafficking

Late last month, the media widely reported the rescue by police of some 25 Burundian women from alleged traffickers in Ruiru, Kiambu County. Three Kenyan women suspected to be part of a human trafficking ring were arrested. The victims, aged 24-34, were initially arrested by the police and taken to a safe house, from where they would attend court as state witnesses against their suspected traffickers. They were en route to Saudi Arabia in search of “greener pastures”. Then fresh reports emerged that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations had rescued a number of women from Asian countries smuggled in for sexual exploitation — or slavery — in exclusive clubs in the tourism-rich coastal towns and Nairobi. Then came the arrest of 12 young Nepalese women, including minors, at a bar in the upmarket Nyali suburb of Mombasa, where they were said to be subjected to sexual exploitation in the guise of cultural dances. The proprietor was arrested and charged. With Kenya identified as an international hub, source, transit and destination of the global evil of human trafficking, it is a fact that women and children are the most vulnerable. Latest reports and research indicate that, while Kenya is yet to fully meet minimum standards to end human trafficking, the government has made notable progress to combat the crime. The “2018 Trafficking in Persons Report on Kenya” by the US Department of State notes that the government has “demonstrated increased efforts” compared to the previous year to eliminate human trafficking. They include monthly digital law enforcement data tracking, vetting of 45 recruiting agencies to comply with a code of conduct and moving to deploy labour attachés in its missions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Saudi Arabia, said to be notorious for mistreatment of female domestic workers. But Kenya failed in key areas, with trafficking victims treated as criminals and negligible protection offered to them. Does anyone pose to think about the victims, other than taking them as criminals who have ‘broken the law’ to run into the arms of ruthless traffickers? Last week, I interacted with a group of such victims, who are still waiting to be cleared by the courts, where they are slated to testify as state witnesses. Listening to their tales was heartbreaking. They are a vulnerable lot and most come from very poor and disadvantaged backgrounds. They had seen hope for themselves and their families when they were approached by agents of the traffickers. Some families sold all they had to raise the agency fees and air ticket. They were excited after being told they would be earning Sh800,000 per month! In the group are those who ran away from their matrimonial homes, pushed out by poverty, leaving behind their husbands and children. After all, they reasoned, their men would “forgive” them and understand why they took that decision once they made the millions and sent the money back home. They now face a bleak future, in a foreign land far from their initial destination. Their tales bring out the need to relook at their circumstances and treat them with the dignity they deserve as human beings and not criminals. They are only victims of circumstances. Apparently, the victims face another hurdle when they finally get back home. There is a tendency of source countries treating their repatriated compatriots more as suspects than victims. Besides stigmatization from their families and self-pity, some governments even go ahead to prosecute the returnees. As a continuation of the good job the government is doing, interrupting the workings of human traffickers, it should ensure that the victims are protected and helped to restart their lives, not persecuted.