A Kenyan domestic worker who worked in Saudi Arabia for four months is finally back home with her family.
Patricia Wanja Kimani jetted into the country on June 23 at around 1.15 pm in the same dress she left in on March 7.
Wanja, 28, left Kenya with the help of Maharan Human Resources Company, a Nairobi-based recruitment agency, which would later abandon her.
Upon landing in the gulf country, the agency confiscated her travel documents and later assigned her a working station.
Read: Enslaved Kenyan Woman Seeks To Return Home After Saudi Arabian Employer Physically Abused Her
Her woes, the mother of two said, started the same day she met her employer who reprimanded her for allegedly damaging the vacuum cleaner. The repairs, she said, cost more than her salary.
Before leaving Kenya, Wanja had been informed that she would be pocketing a gross salary of Sh30,000. But before she boarded the plane at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), the agency lowered the amount to Sh24,000.
“Since they handled the payment for my travels, I had no option but to travel,” she told the Standard.
On May 21, Wanja shared a video in which she complained about her beastly employer.
Read Also: Family Seeks Gov’t Intervention Following Daughter’s Death In Saudi Arabia
In the video that has since gone viral, Wanja said, “I have grown so weak but I keep working because I don’t want to go back to the office. The supervisor told us that whoever complains becomes imprisoned. I kept quiet about a lot of things because I didn’t want to risk imprisonment in a place where our girls have been disappearing mysteriously!”
Her friends pushed for her release under the #ReleaseWanja. Thereafter, she told the Standard, threats started streaming in.
“A stranger from the company that hired me wanted to come and pick me up on June 13, saying my ticket and Visa were ready, but I had learnt that they were up to no good and I refused. I later learnt that they wanted to dump me on the streets at night,” she told the daily.
After the International Organization of Migration contacted the Kenyan Embassy in Saudi Arabia, her plane ticket and passport were delivered to her but she remained silent for fear that it was a hoax.
Read Also: Relief For Kiambu Family As Body Of Kin Detained In Saudi Arabia For 3 Months Arrives
“My flight ticket was sent to me but I was so skeptical. I only told a few people to ensure I don’t give false hope. However, the following day my passport was brought and it was real,” she added.
Wanja has seen been reunited with her children aged 7 and 2, who have been under the care of her aunt.
“I met my son at around 5pm, but I couldn’t meet my daughter until the following day because she was in school,” Wanja said.
She is still, however, still worried about over 70 Kenyan women still trapped in the Arabic country. Wanja has urged the government to look into their plight.
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