Runaway Kenyan in Saudi Arabia lives in distress with no papers

20 January 2014: Arab News

A 19-year-old Kenyan housemaid Lavin Oloo is leading a pathetic life in Jeddah, without any travel documents or money for sustenance.

Lavin, who had run away from her sponsor alleging that he had failed to fulfill the terms of contract, could not avail of the amnesty since all her documents including passport are in the sponsor’s possession. The sponsor refused to return her passport arguing that he had spent a lot in recruiting her.

Lavin told Arab News that she ran away from her sponsor because he did not pay her monthly salary of SR800. She worked with his family for three months during which time she was also forced to work for his relatives without payment. She left her job hoping that the Kenyan Embassy in Riyadh would help her return home.

Stating that she has spent one year and 11 months in the Kingdom, Lavin said she did not have any travel documents or money and the sponsor has refused to get her final exit visa.

She tried to find employment elsewhere when she couldn’t return home. However, most people refused to hire her as the amnesty period ended on Nov. 3, 2013, and labor laws prohibited hiring of expats who had run away from their sponsors.

In July last year, Lavin met some Kenyan officials from the embassy in Riyadh who had been sent to Jeddah to help Kenyan expats wanting to leave the Kingdom. But, they failed to do anything because she had no travel documents.

“The Kenyan Embassy told me that I would have to visit them in Riyadh to get help. But I have no travel documents to go there. I went to the deportation center of the Passport Department but they too couldn’t help me get deported to my country,” she said.

Lavin does not know whether her sponsor has her Iqama. “When I came to Saudi Arabia, my sponsor promised that he would take care of Iqama procedures. But, I think he has not done anything yet,” she said.

Arab News tried to get in touch with Ali Mohamed Mambo, second secretary at the Kenyan Embassy in Riyadh, to get information on the issue, but he did not respond.