adminFreedom Mutanda
RECENT Press reports on the human trafficking that has been occurring under our noses for the past five or so years make disturbing if not surreal reading coming as it does when migrants are proving to be a nuisance to European countries as people from Third World countries make a bee-line for the shores of Europe after withstanding the vagaries of nature in a dingy or makeshift boat in a desperate bid to enjoy life in the metropolitan countries.
Back in the compounds where I grew up in the lush eastern highlands, life was not a bed of roses as many of us could not afford secondary education in view of the pittances that our parents received at the farm. We would go and pick coffee during the holidays to augment the little that our father earned. We would help mother in the picking for us to buy the maroon uniform so that we would be proud when we returned to school the following term.
Some girls never reached Form 1 let alone Grade 7 as fees proved to be elusive. These girls would go to town and become house maids. At Christmas, they returned attired in what we thought were the latest fashion trends although we smiled knowingly when we engaged them in small talk and realize that these girls had an exaggerated Zezuru or Karanga accent. Occasionally, we would be dismayed to find that the girl was working in Chipinge town yet she spoke as if she had been working in the capital or in one of the big cities.
These maids changed towns and cities as they sought for the elusive greener pastures; after some years, we would see them back in the compounds, this time, heavily pregnant. Months and years would pass by and no marriage took place; Kuwait is the latest country to take our womenfolk to the cleaners in a subtle way and our citizens have fallen for it.
In the 1980’s and early 1990’s, there was a flood of Mozambican boys and girls who worked for Zimbabwean families. Girls worked in the homes while boys mostly herded cattle. Some of the employers had a condescending attitude towards the boys so much at times, they did not pay them. Due to the war between Renamo and the government, these young people had to endure the abuse. Most Zimbabweans did not take kindly to the abuse and told the police. However, some callous businesspeople among us, used muti after killing the boy or girl to enhance their business. Needless to say, their actions had disastrous consequences as the avenging spirits wreaked havoc on the employer’s family.
Unfortunately, we may be unable to call upon the avenging spirits to trouble the horrid Kuwaitis who have just reminded Africans of the Slave Trade. Crucially, not all Kuwaitis do that but it is surprising that these heinous acts occur while the government says everything is all right.
According to the US Department in Person’s report (June 2209) Kuwait is a destination country for men and women trafficked for the purpose of forced labour. In other words, no gender is safe from the Kuwaitis.
Human nature loves easy life and many people who come across these ads never think they will be fooled and left in Kuwait without money to go back. Agents of deception know how to play people’s minds in the direction they want them to go.
People don’t make any due process of investigating the authenticity of an advert before they go on to take measures to go there. Granted, one would be excited at the prospect of working in oil rich Middle East.
Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with self reported oil reserves of about 104billion barrels which are translated into 5% of world reserves. Oil accounts for 95% of export revenues and 80% of government income. That is beside the point. Human trafficking is illegal under international law and Kuwait is a friend to Zimbabwe; thus, there is a Kuwaiti embassy in Harare.
Why are these unscrupulous traffickers failing to understand the basics of friendship which are trust and reciprocity? Money is the root of all, as the Bible rightly says.
Time will tell. We are victims of our own success as a nation and the fact that we tell the whole world we are hard working and intelligent make other callous people take advantage of that.
Someone once observed, ‘’if you see a very good bargain that is too good to be true, be circumspect. It could be a scam and 90% of the time, it is.’’
Every day, in our national newspapers, adverts are flighted that promise heaven on earth to anyone who applies and is accepted to work in those exotic areas. If it is too good to be true, then it is time to verify the authenticity of the advertisement. Background checks are not only done by security people but even prospective employees can do it lest they are abused by the agents or the – would-be-employer.
As the economy is in a tail-spin the mere mention of traveling to exotic destinations such as Dubai and Kuwait sends women’s hearts leap in anticipation of good things knocking on their door step. Rationale goes out the window and emotions take over. In their haste to enjoy traveling first class, they ignore warning signals. Working in a foreign land is no walk in the park.
For the Kuwait debacle, women who applied via the Kuwaiti embassy and saw the embassy official as one of the people in the job advert thought they were home and dry only to find themselves at the mercy of their masters in the host country.
Now, the horse has bolted and we can look back and use the benefit of hindsight. I believe there are advertising ethics that need to be adhered to. If the legislature and the judiciary put in place measures to treat any person involved in human trafficking classified as person-non-grata, it would make it easier to forestall a high incident of these embarrassing situations.
Some adverts have email addresses that are fake and nothing is done about it. We have had incidents when prospective employees were raped and the custodial sentences are not deterrent enough and that has made daring conmen to up their game.
A concerted effort between Kuwaiti and Zimbabwean police via Interpol will send a clear message to be would-be-perpetrators to stop the practice forthwith.
Some think those entrapped girls saw it coming; that’s a sure way of imitating the ostrich. Act now to send a word to the world that you don’t mess with Zimbabweans and get away with it.
I know my brother Milton Kamwendo, the renowned motivational speaker, would say one has to try or die trying. Be that as it may, slavery belongs to the Dark Age and nearly 300 years after the formal abolition of slavery, we find other people seizing the opportunity to enslave others after enticing them or dangling a juicy carrot yet beyond the juice, there is poison.
What does the international say about that? Should we wait until there are some deaths before we raise alarm through our Ministry Of Foreign Affairs? Everyone knows that Kuwait is our all weather friend but it’s time, we must use the strongest language possible against Kuwait to nip the practice in the bud.
Economic refugees deserve respect. As a matter of fact, as a country, we haven’t been seen on the wrong of the stick in as far as treating refugees is concerned.
Like the Nigerians on the Chibok girls, we cry: we want our womenfolk in Kuwait, back in Zimbabwe safe and sound. It has to be a reminder to everyone called for interviews for these overseas positions, that the grass is not as green as you would like to believe, on the other side.
Online Reporter