Update: Kenyan Job Seekers Sent Home From Saudi Arabia Over Ebola Rules, Some After Selling Land
More than 300 workers with valid visas were turned back, The Standard reported. Many borrowed money or sold property to make the trip.
See where this is ›NAIROBI, Kenya —
More than 300 Kenyans who traveled to Saudi Arabia for jobs on valid work visas were denied entry under Ebola-related restrictions and flown home, arriving at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on Monday, Nov. 2, The Standard of Kenya reported. The group left Kenya on Oct. 30, the newspaper said.
See where this is ›Some of the workers said they were stranded at the airport in Saudi Arabia for two days, with one meal a day and cold floors to sleep on. One said some had lost luggage. “We were treated so harshly as though we had leprosy,” said Kanyi Njau, one of the returned workers.
Workers told the newspaper they had sold land and household goods or borrowed from lenders to pay recruitment agents, visa fees and travel costs. “Some of us sold things in our houses, even land,” Njau said. They are asking the Kenyan government to step in before their visas expire.
See where this is ›Monika Mwema, secretary general of the Association of Skilled Migrant Agencies of Kenya, said recruiters were “caught off guard” and that some workers with confirmed tickets had still been due to travel. The association wants to know whether workers with stamped visas must spend 21 days in quarantine in Kenya or a third country before entering Saudi Arabia. Migrant workers have 90 days to travel after a visa is stamped, and some have already finished training and exams.
The group is seeking talks with both governments and a meeting with President William Ruto. The Standard described Saudi Arabia as Kenya's largest market for labor migration and said Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale issued a warning about the restrictions on Oct. 31.
Saudi Arabia has barred people who were in Kenya or another Ebola-affected country in the previous 21 days and has stopped issuing visas to Kenyan travelers, according to The Standard. Kenya has formally protested the measures, and Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya has criticized broad travel restrictions as a primary tool during outbreaks.
What we don't know yet: How many workers were turned back. The Standard said more than 300, while Kenyan broadcasters' video reports gave other figures, with KBC's headline saying 350 and KTN News saying over 100. The account of conditions at the airport comes from the workers; Watchman News found no Saudi response, and the newspaper did not name the Saudi airport.
