A large number of youths from Nakuru County are applying for passports to travel overseas in search for employment.
The Regional Immigration Officer, George Anunda, said his office receives 30 to 35 passport applications daily from young Kenyans seeking employment in the Arabic countries.
Anunda said that since the Foreign Affairs and Labour ministries made it mandatory for employment agencies to network with diplomatic missions based in Kenya, job seekers have been leaving en masse in pursuit for better lives.
“The job seekers are travelling to Dubai, Qatar, Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries. Most of them are indicating that employment is the reason they are applying for the travel document,’’ said Anunda.
The queues for passport application start forming outside the immigration offices as early as eight in the morning, everyday.
One of the employment agents, James Wanyoike, said there are many vacancies in Arab countries. He said he has assisted three girls get passports and are already working as domestic workers in one of the Arab countries.
Wanyoike said immigrant workers sign a two year contract and they get an air ticket, food and accommodation. The workers’ pay averages between Sh20,000 and Sh30,000 per month. The workers also call home as often as possible.
Recently, there have been several media reports of domestic workers abuse especially in Saudi Arabia. A Kenyan girl from Mombasa was thrown off a balcony two years ago by her Saudi employer and sustained serious injuries.
Justice for such cases is rarely realized as it is a long diplomatic process between governments.