Story by Theophilus Chuma, Investigative Editor
THE Zimbabwean government has issued a warning to nationals about fraudulent online recruitment agencies amid ongoing human trafficking risks in the Middle East. Officials said the schemes primarily target prospective domestic workers, luring them with promises of lucrative salaries, accommodation, and free travel to countries such as Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Investigations have revealed a network of foreign nationals working with local intermediaries to recruit unsuspecting job seekers.
An investigation conducted three years ago revealed that a person claiming to be a domestic worker seeking Omani employment was actually an online recruiter. The investigation further exposed a syndicate of foreign nationals who work with locals to lure unsuspecting employment seekers to these destinations.
Once they touch down, they are roped into the notorious Kafala system, binding their residency and employment status to a specific employer throughout the period of their residence in the country.
With passports confiscated, their lives will be at the mercy of the employers. In 2022, there was a video of a Zimbabwean woman who had been trapped in Oman.
“Please help me. I do not even know what to do. I have not eaten for the past week and I am suffering from an infection of the appendix. Please help,” the victim said in the viral video.
She was among 100 Zimbabwean women who were later rescued by the government from captivity in Oman and safely returned home.
Since then, this news crew followed human trafficking victims who had once lived in Oman and their stories are heartbreaking.
“I was made to eat just one meal a day after waking up at 4am. They never allowed me to rest. I started thinking of killing myself because life was becoming so unbearable. I suffered so much under my employer,” another victim added.
Fortunately, Tanyaradzwa managed to escape from her employer and returned home.
There have been reports of some nationals from Uganda and Kenya who have died under unclear circumstances, casting a dark cloud on human trafficking incidents.
While these are the lived realities of human trafficking, recruiters still find their prey especially through social media adverts.
In the latest warning, government says human trafficking involving domestic workers is a national crisis requiring urgent attention.
It cites social media recruiters who are on the prowl with fake job opportunities in Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
In 2022, cabinet approved the Principles of Trafficking in Persons Amendment Bill to strengthen efforts in curbing human trafficking.
Since then, the Government has made efforts to end trafficking through arresting and convicting local agents connected to the global syndicates of fake recruiters.
