Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Ambassador Kamau Macharia has blamed the misfortunes of some Kenyans working in the Middle Eastern countries on their lack of subservience to their masters.
Addressing Members of Parliament during their induction on Monday, PS Macharia described Kenya’s diaspora experience as an “exciting and positive experience”, something he said should not be overlooked due to the few cases of misfortune among Kenyans abroad.
“We have millions of Kenyans in the diaspora. We have over $310 million a month coming from the diaspora. Our diaspora experience is an exciting and positive experience and it is very important that we never lose sight of this,” said Ambassador Macharia.
He cited cultural differences as the key factor in the mistreatment of Kenyan workers by their masters especially in Saudi Arabia, saying the country’s “ancient traditions” call for certain submission which is generally not found in Kenyans.
“In a country like Saudi Arabia, we are facing a special challenge… There are some places where, culturally, unyenyekevu ambao unahitajika kwa kazi zingine za nyumbani sio unyenyekevu ambao unapatikana sana kati ya watu wetu (the kind of obedience needed in some jobs is not the obedience you find in Kenyans) so sometimes our people will not be so subservient, when they go to these countries under contract in places like Saudi Arabia where their traditions around housework are very ancient,” said the PS.
Macharia said the mistreatment is only confined in domestic setups, maintaining that Kenyans working in other sectors have had a good experience in the Middle-East countries.
“The people who suffer terrible beatings and abuse are people who are of that category; house helps, But in that same country where we have over 100,000 Kenyans working in different capacities; in hotels, transport and taxis, we have no problem,” noted Macharia.
The PS was of the opinion that the experience of Kenyans in the diaspora should not be reduced to a negative story because the number of deaths from the “unfortunate stories” are“the kind of death that you would find at home anyway.”
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