I paid GH₵27,000 to get a job in Thailand, I found myself working for rebels

Every Kenyan who has been trafficked to Myanmar hopes for a rags-to-riches story but instead enters the murky realm of the Myanmar regime.

As the government strives to save many from extremists, many Kenyans, especially young women under 30, are deceived into accepting fraudulent employment offers in Thailand and transported to Myanmar to work as scammers targeting males from specific nations.

Three women recently rescued from Myanmar recounted how they left Kenya in search of job opportunities that never came, lost a fellow Kenyan, and found a way back home after discovering they had crossed over to a foreign land and were controlled by an armed group to prevent others from falling into the same trap.

They want to warn others about the desperation that leads young people to trust any chance without considering the risks.

Damaris Akumu, 29, from Migori County, used her funds to pay for what she thought was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

“I had searched for jobs but none were available, so I paid the girl that was to arrange my journey Sh150,000 and borrowed another Sh100,000 for emergency and personal effects and left Kenya on August 4,” she says.

Ms Akumu and 26-year-old Marleen Nduta Gitau, who learned about the job offers through a relative she met at her grandparents' funeral earlier this year, traveled together.

“I'm the second of three. My parents are casual laborers, our oldest has Down syndrome, and our youngest is in college. "This means I'm responsible for the firstborn," Ms. Gitau says.

She considered working abroad when a relative told her about Thailand chances.

“In July, she called me and I transferred her Sh140,000 for flying tickets and appropriate transfers and borrowed Sh150,000 from my grandma and savings for personal effects and emergencies,” she recounts.

Ms Akumu and Ms Nduta were connected to a WhatsApp group with a Kenyan (travel agent) admin and a Chinese contact in Thailand.

“The guidelines were that we submit photographs of where we are for every stop so we can get directions for the next move,” Ms. Nduta recalled.

“A contact drove us to Mae Sot hotel in Bangkok, where we stayed. The next morning, two trucks took us to the receptionist positions we were promised.

Lilian Munyasi's tale is similar. The Teachers Service Commission had not hired the 29-year-old high school teacher (TSC).

She considered going to Thailand for teaching and front-office work earlier this year.

After paying for her air ticket and visa, she was invited to a WhatsApp group with Kenyan and Thai admins, who "interviewed" her for the job before issuing her an air ticket and hotel confirmation.

Ms Munyasi left Kenya on August 8 and was picked up in double-cabin vehicles by another group of Kenyans to go to work.

“We were amid cassava and corn plantations before crossing a river in a small boat to meet sword-wielding guys. "It was evident something was dreadfully wrong," Ms Munyasi says.

Three women reported arriving at a complex guarded by armed green-uniformed soldiers.

Ms. Munyasi says she was informed she would be shown the office in the morning.

They were advised to impersonate males from specific countries the next morning.

“We were taught to download photographs of gorgeous ladies from social media and take on their identities to lure seemingly rich men into intimate talks,” she says.

“We would lead them on until they fell in love with us, then share our contacts and expose them to crypto-currency. I gave my brother the computer's location and he confirmed I was in another country.”

They stayed with other Myanmar-trafficked women. The three became friends and met other Kenyans at the facility.

“We had targets set for us and those that failed would be forced to work overtime, race along a fleet of stairs, frog jump or get beaten,” Ms Akumu recounts.

The women heard of laborers being kidnapped and their organs sold.

Ms. Akumu recalls that rebels harvested organs and dumped victims in the river.

An incident prompted their return home. One Kenyan worker died.

Grace Njoki Mata's death hurt us. She could have survived with better care, but her company dumped her at a hospital when her condition worsened, and she died. Ms. Nduta said her family is fundraising to bring her body home for burial.

Ms Akumu, Ms Nduta, and Ms Munyasi left Myanmar at the end of the month with support from a local NGO and the Kenyan Embassy in Thailand.

“On August 30, a local NGO posted their photographs on their workstations to urge our release. "The rebels picked up the posters, questioned who we were, and released us to Thai forces, who took us to Bangkok," Ms AKumu recounts.

Some ladies were terrified to leave. They stayed behind fearing death. Others stayed because they couldn't contemplate joblessness again.”

They were arrested in Bangkok for illegally entering into Myanmar and imprisoned for a month until HAART Kenya provided air tickets to Nairobi.

Ms Munyasi now teaches at Kakuma.

I regret accepting. "I spent roughly Sh250,000 on air tickets, visa, hotel stay, and other charges that I am now paying back as some was borrowed money," she explains.

I established Lilly Munyasi Diary on YouTube to raise awareness of fraudulent travel agencies. I also informed the DCI. In court.”

Ms Nduta and Ms Akumu have also found ways to make a living at home and are actively searching for jobs, warning others not to travel to Thailand for fake jobs.

The Kenyan Embassy in Thailand, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IOM, and HAART Kenya have rescued 76 victims, including 10 Ugandans and a Burundian, since August.

The embassy stated that some had refused to return home, placing their lives at jeopardy in the insurgent-controlled cybercrime area.

In a recent statement, the embassy cautioned that Kenyans trafficked to war and criminal zones pose a major threat to national security.

Source: Nation Africa